S&B is one of the world’s largest ammunition companies and has changed hands a few times. In December 2023, Colt CZ announced it would acquire 100% of Sellier & Bellot from CBC of Brazil. for $703 million, excluding Sellier & Bellot’s net debt. The deal included cash and new Colt CZ common stock. It’s my understanding the deal closed in May 2024.
Okay, being an American, I saw “Colt” and immediately wondered if there was a relationship with the traditional Colt firearms brand in the US. As you often see in the firearms / defense industry, owners may come and go but established brand names rarely die and Samuel Colt’s name and brand continue to live on.
The brands continue to move around. Colt is owned by CZ who changed the holding company’s name to “Colt CZ”. They bought S&B in May 2024. So, Colt CZ has a formidable lineup and it’s always interesting to see “who owns whom” at a given time.
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I am a huge fan of S&B ammo, factory tour videos and Ian McCollum’s Forgotten Weapons series (If you don’t know about Ian, click here for his website and here for his Youtube channel.) So, when he posted this morning about his tour of the S&B facility in Vlašim, in the Czech Republic, I knew I had to watch it.
As usual, Ian does a great job. Larry Vickers created a video back in 2018 of his tour and it was interesting to compare what Larry saw six-plus years ago to what Ian just saw.
I learned three new things watching Ian’s video:
Literally every single round that ships from S&B is QC inspected at each step of manufacturing through various computerized methods – imaging, weight, etc. Literally, every single round – not samples – must pass their quality checks. No wonder their quality is so good.
It takes 2-3 days to change over from one to another caliber so they want long production runs to absorb all the setup costs. I can only imagine the fixed costs are enormous too. A facility like you see in the video costs millions and millions of dollars.
Civilian and military ammo both have their necks annealed. The only difference is that the military inspects want to be able to see that it happened whereas commercial/private shooters view seeing the discolored neck as defective so additional polishing is done to remove it. Other than the additional polishing – the process is the same.
The 100% QC capabilities are stunning. This machine will kick out any case that video inspection deems as being deffective. Literally every single case! All of my old school sampling and inspection methods from 30+ years ago sure seems dated now.
So, with no further to-do, here’s Ian’s S&B factory tour video:
Summary
This is S&B factory tour video is another great production by Ian. I have shot S&B for years – espectially 9mm, 10mm and .45ACP plus some .300 Win Mag and .338 Lapua and they continue to impress me.
I hope you find this interesting also.
Note: All screen shots are from Ian’s video and remain his property.
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I’d bought an Aero M5 lower receiver on sale a while back and decided to build it. Over the years, I’ve assembled a couple of M4s and one M5 where I bought an assembled lower and upper but this was my first actual build. I’ve always found the quality of the Aero parts to be good and they definitely made some unique tweaks to their M5 vs. their M4.
Rather than “yet another post about how to build an AR”, I decided to comment on the differences I noticed about the M5 lower. In general, the AR10-series of weapons aren’t standardized and you have no guarantee that parts from different vendors can interchange so you need to do some research and plan your build.
It is a DPMS Gen 2 pattern lower with Aero’s own spin on it. With that said, even though it is patterned after the DPMS, verify any other brand parts before you try to use them. I can tell you that AR grips and stocks work plus triggers.
I opted for a 16″ Aero upper, bolt, charging handle, recoil spring, buffer and lower parts kit. However, I had a Trigger Tech Duty trigger pack I wanted to try out plus I wanted to use a Magpul grip and UBR stock. The UBR has been on my radar for years but hadn’t tried one before now.
It starts with a pile of parts.
The pile was getting more organized. Huh … I had two LPKs – one with a Magpul MOE grip and one without. Well, spare parts never hurt … especially when the detents launch into orbit…
A Closer Look At The Aero M5 Receiver
It is a forged receiver using 7075-T6 aluminum and that is just fine. Now, arguing forged vs. billet will start all kinds of arguments about which is stronger, lasts longer, can solve world peace, etc.
Ignore the marketing and people weighing in on forums who have no idea. From a purely practical perspective, buy a receiver that you like the looks of from a reputable firm and have read reviews about. Honestly, forget about forged vs. billet. End of story.
There are plenty of other things to worry about rather than theory vs. practical reality. A receiver is just part of the puzzle that includes the other parts of the firearm, the ammo, the optics, you (the shooter), the environment, the situation, and far, far more.
It’s a gracefully executed design. You can see the large flared mag well,the stylized “A” for Aero symbol, the integral oversized trigger guard, a shoulder screw is used instead of a roll pin for the bolt catch, pictogram around the selector, the rear takedown pin is oversized, and the buffer tube has a flat area on the side. Everything is nicely machined and the anodized surface has a nicely done uniform finish.
The bolt catch having a shoulder screw makes that part of the assembly very easy not to mention lowering the odds of scuffing the receiver if someone lacks the proper tools. The M5 just requires a 1.5mm hex head bit. In this case, I am using one from my Strebito precision screwdriver set.
Ok, did not expect this. The front detent spring and pin go in through the boss. It’s not exposed like an AR15/M4 so none of my regular tools would work.
I used a 1/4″ clevis pin to go through the bosses, I pushed the pin and spring down with a thin hex key while sliding the pin forward. The pin then captured/retained the detent and spring. I then carefully slid in the front takedown pin while keeping the clevis pin pushed against it. Once the channel in the pin was over the detent, it sprang forward and everything was set. I carefull rotated the pin to make sure the detent was in the channel and then pushed it into the open position to make sure the takdown pin was correctly captured.
There are two changes I want to point out in the grip screw area. Just to the right of the grip screw hole is the bottom of the nylon tipped tensioning screw. Before you install everything, install your upper and adjust this screw to get the tension you want so the upper doesn’t rattle. Too much tension and you will not be able to disassembe the rifle without a punch if at all. Note, I have the selector detent in there. I dumped it out before I flipped it over to install the upper. The hole to the right of the selector detent is the takedown detent hole. Because the M5 lower is longer, putting it here makes sense. Aero does have it tapped for a 4-40 set screw so you can elegantly capture the detent spring if you want to. Note, you do need to trim the detent spring level with the receiver using some nippers before you install the set screw if you go this route. Oddly enough, my lower parts kit either did not have the set screw or I lost the set screw so I did not go that route.
Here’s the hylon-tipped top of the tensioning set screw.
I set the tensioning screw just enough so the upper didn’t rattle but also such that I could push out the takedown pin by hand. Since I lacked the 4-40 set screw to capture it, I just juggled both detent springs as I installed the pistol grip. It wasn”t too hard actually but the set screw would definitely have made it easier.
Summary
First off, kudos to Aero for another fine set of parts. I found the small differences with the Aero M5 interesting. Aero Precision turns out quality – I’ve owned various ARs and even have a .308 Solus bolt rifle from them right now. I have no hesitation recommending their products.
I hope this helps you out.
Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.
If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.
My friend Scott Igert owns Michigan Gun Exchange and recently got in a bunch of out the front (OTF) automatic knives from Great Lakes Firearms and Ammunition (GLFA). This caught my attention for a couple of reasons – 1) I had never heard of GLFA. 2) The knives looked and felt decent 3) The 8″ model was only $45 at the time when Scott was introducing the model line. Well, I had to buy one right then and there to study it. At least, that would be my cover story if my wife asked.
Who is GLFA?
According to their “About Us” page – Great Lakes Firearms and Ammunition is located in Sparta, MI, and is a family owned business. They started in firearms retail in 2013 but noticed an opportunity for affordable AR rifles and started manufacturing. They now have over 30 CNC machines, do their own Cerakoting and are steadily expanding. They do not have any knife listings on their site – in general, their site is pretty light on products and details.
I’ll be honest, I did some reading on their ARs and they have mixed reviews. Some guys love their rifles and others don’t so I really can’t speak to them. The focus of this post is about the OTF knife I bought from Scott.
Opening The Box
At home, I took a hard look at the knife. It came in a box with a white label on it with a cheap sheath. It was pretty bare bones which immediately made me think it was made by somebody else – probably in China given the price point. I couldn’t think of any firms in the US being able to wholesale an OTF knife for under $45 (you can see the sticker on the box – that was what Scott was selling it for at the time).
The knife came in a bare bones package. The while label is pretty much a giveaway that another firm was the OEM.
I’m make my only real negative comment up front. It comes with a really cheap belt sheath that I would recommend replacing if you want a sheath. The stitching is light and I have zero faith in the velcro belt loop on the back.
I wouldn’t trust the velcro belt/equipment loop. I guess they felt they needed to include one but I would replace the sheath vs. ever use it *if* I wanted to carry the knife in a sheath.
Honestly, at the price point this sells at, this is the only thing I am going to ding them on and it’s not a big deal to get a good sheath. I’d rather they invested in the knife anyways.
The GLFA OTF Knife Itself
It’s just over 8″ open. It’s almost 8.5″ when you include the glass-breaker stud on the pommel. “GLFA” was engraved in the notched area on the handle below the thumb switch.
It comes with a decent belt clip that is secured by the glass breaker. It also serves to keep the halves together should the screws come loose.
The blade looks the same on both sides. You can see the grinding or milling “lines” on the blade. These are common on many knives and is an observation. Note the distinctively shaped lightening holes at the top. I think they are decorative but may have also been done to reduce mass.
Let’s Disassemble the Knife
To open up the knife, find a nice clear flat work area. The green work matt keeps small parts from rolling or bouncing away – it’s not just a decorative background. I’ve done my fair share of searching for small parts so I try to take some precautions now. Also, take lots of photos to remember how things go back together 🙂
By the way, you may need to do this some day if your knife gets dirty and will not cycle. You’ll need to open and clean it.
I removed the screws and then realized I needed to remove the glass breaker tip. I’d recommend you remove the tip first and then the screws. I just put my screwdrive in one of the holes and turned counterclockwise to remove it.
Lift the thin side where the screws were at off the thick part where the mechanism is. At this point, my moving things around ccased the spring clip on the left to slide up and snap back. Normally, it is all the was forward over that rectangular piece called the “lock actuator”
So the spring assemly is in the top middle. It’s sitting on the lock actuator. Under the top left of the actuator is the open lock and to the lower right is the closed lock. The locks look like small tabs seated in the handle.
Below the handle is the lock actuator. You can now see the two locks that remain in the handle. The blade could be slid out the end if so desired. By the way, my best guess is the handle is some zinc-aluminum alloy given the weight and color. Note, all of the maching is decent – even inside.
Here’s the blade – it just slides out. By the way, that funny looking piece of metal above it is the thumb stud/trigger. It’s upside down.
That little spring is what does the magic. Note the small tab is to the left and the longer one is to the right. They get stretched from the front to the end of the lock actuator. Given the size of the spring, you now also know why the blade needs to be clean and it doesn’t take much force to stop the forward momentum of the blade. I literally stopped the blade with a piece of 8.5×11″ 20 pound typing paper. The tip went through about an inch before it stopped. In this stalled state, the blade is “sprung”. You need to either pull it all the way forward to recock the spring or snap your wrist like a gravity knife to get it out and recock the spring.
I’d like to meet who figured out the combination of spring, locks and actuator. The formal name is the “machined lock actuator” and it has surfaces to depress the lock at one end or the other so the blade can spring forward or backward. It’s simple when you look at it but the person who first thought it up was pretty smart!!
To Re-Assemble
Stretch the spring from left with the short tab to the right end of the lock actuator witht he longest tab. Both tabs are face down. Yes, it takes a surprising amount of force to stretch that spring. Note the blade is in the handle and half way but not at one end or the other. You want it out of the way of the spring tabs or they will just pop up if they hit the stud on the blade.
So with the blade part way in, lay the actuator down on top. You then put the thumb switch back on the exposed vertical tab of the slide lock actuator.
Finally, put the other half of the handle on, reinstall the screws so they are snug and then the belt clip and glass breaker. Done. I definitely recommend the Strebito set if you need small screw driver bits.
As mentioned above, the blade will be sprung. You will need to either pull the blade out to recock the spring or flick it down like a gravity knife. I did the latter out of habit to recock the spring and then everything worked fine.
Here it is by a ruler for scale.
Note, a knife like this needs to break in / wear in as parts get smoother with use. If you need to lubricate it, use a dry lube and not oil. For example, Dupont’s Dry Film Lubricant spray.
Who made the knife?
Whomever built this knew what they were doing and had masws production capabilities to drive the price down. From my perspective, there was no way GLFA could produce a decent OTF knife like this, at such a low price point and still have time to make their rifles. Clearly they were OEM’ing them from someone. As mentioned earlier, I was almost certain it was a Chinese company.
I did some digging based on the four relatively unique design elements that I figured would be rare to see combined – the shape of the handle, profile of the blade, the distinctive successively larger lightening holes in the blade and the glass breaker tip.
I used Google Images and some industry trade sites I know of and narrowed it down to the most likely candidate who does OEM knife work including OTF knives: Yangjiang Honglin Industrial Co., Ltd of Guangdong, China. They claim to have been in business for more than 10 years, have over 20,000 square meters of manufacturing, over 10 production lines and several Chinese quality certifications. They can build a knifefrom the point of raw materials to finished goods.
Could I be wrong about the manufacturer? Yes, but nobody else had all of those design elements present in the photos of sample products I saw.
So, they are a legit knife maker and that then makes my best guess that the knife steel is the Chinese 8CR13MOV which is a perfect decent/average stainless alloy. The average hardness of 8CR13MOV is 58-60 HRC but that’s an industry average and no guarantee of what the Chinese company actually did.
In short, they did a decent job designing and building the knife. I doubt they used junk steel and it’s what you’d find in many sub $40 retail Chinese import blades from Kershaw and others.
By the way, this is not a negative post about GLFA. I was curious as to who made this. Finding and importing quality products takes effort and money.
Summary
For the price, you can’t beat the GLFA OTF knife. You can afford to buy one, use it, enjoy it and not worry about it getting lost or damaged. Speaking for myself, the more expensive a knife gets, the more inclined I am to baby it than use it. I’ll use this GLFA and not worry about it and I’m saying that in a good way.
If you are interested, you can order this and other models from Scott’s website or visit his Michigan Gun Exchange store in Saint Joseph, MI.
I hope this helps you out.
Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.
If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.
As I mentioned in the first post, a fit of nostalgia over the MACs and then seeing the 3D printed firearms coming out using MAC uppers started me digging. What really cemented the deal is that you can build a VMAC9 very affordably. I’d argue it’s one of the best deals out there and at the end of the day, you have a modular firearm you can change over time as your needs change.
There are a number of companies that make complete uppers and I am only going to list the ones I heard good things about. Just remember that any person or business can produce a defect. I look for general trends, comments about customer service and how much money is being spent. The reason for this is that under a certain price level, I will gamble. Conversely, once somethings is over a certain level, I will not.
So, here’s the list if you are looking for MAC-type uppers and I’d recommend you do some research to here what folks are currently saying about a given company:
Being new to building a MAC, I decided to one stop shop and buy the lower and upper parts kits from Velocity Firearms. I went with side cocking uppers because I wanted a Picatinny rail on top to mount optics. I bought their 5.5″, 11.25″ and 16.7″ complete uppers – they had their barrels installed and came with complete bolt and spring assemblies.
Up to this point, I had three assembled lower receivers. Once married with their respective uppers, I created two pistols and one rifle subject to the applicable regulations of the ATF and laws of Michigan. The two pistols had to be registered as such. Note, I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. I will tell you one thing – know what laws and regulations apply to whatever you build.
This is the 5.5″ pistol upper on a lower during test fitting. The magazine is a refinished Israeli 20 round Sten unit. You can get a barrel with either just the original 3/4″x10 rear threads or with the 1/2″x28 front threads also.This is the 11″.25″ upper. They used an adapter on the barrel’s 3/4×10 threads to mount an AR handguard. What you see there is a free-floated handgurd where a ring is turned backwards to extend and lock the handguard in place and a set screw is tightened to secure it.This is the 16.7″ upper and the cylindrical handguard you see mounts directly on the barrel’s 3/14×10 rear threads.
Fitting Will Likely Be Required
The front of the upper receiver has a trunnion that holds the front in position. The rear of the upper is held up by a spacer. I’ve seen it called the “Flat Rear Spring”, “Sear Spring Holder” and “Rear Spacer”. Regardless of the name, it’s height matters a great deal.
Velocity Firearms calls this rear spacer the “VMAC9 Flat Rear Spring”. It sets the rear height which is critical to smooth operation. This must be sitting flat at the rear and may need to be bent either closed or open a tad to set the height.
See those two holes on the right? The top is where the end of the recoil rod sits and the bottom is for the ejector rod. The upper receiver is sitting on top of the flat spring. The top hole is for the recoil rod and the bottom is the ejector rod.
This is the bolt but it is sitting on it’s side – the left side is face up and the bottom is in the shade. The important thing is to look at the rods – the recoil rod with the spring is at the top and would be at the top in the firearm. The bare steel is the ejector rod.
So here’s the problem – the bolt is moving front and back in the upper tube. It’s vertical travel is limited. The rods are vertically aligned at the rear by sitting in the holes in the receiver. If the upper, bolt and end of the rods aren’t sufficiently aligned then the bolt will bind as it moves towards the rear.
Why was my bolt binding?
Well, I hinted at the problem above. My flat springs were sitting on the bushing of my Practical Solutions 1913 rail adapters. When I racked the slide back, the alignment issue was so bad that the bolt would jam open at the rear plus the upper did not want to go back into the raised portion of the lower.
I write these posts after I build firearms and may seem like I have things figured out but let me assure you – at the time, I was having a WTF? moment. I somehow wound up talking to Sam Schneider, who owns Practical Solutions, who is a class 2 manufacturer specializing in MACs and Class III firearms. He has a wealth of knowledge about the MACs and explained the importance of getting the vertical spacing right. My “flat spring” sitting on the bushing of his adapter was throwing everything off when the bolt travelled backwards.
Ahhhh … That made sense. The bolt is at the mercy of the upper’s channel and it also rides the recoil and ejector rods that are spaceed by going into the back of the receiver. Of course it would make things bind up if they were off.
So, after talking to Sam, I knew I needed to fix this. I would cut a slot so the “flat spring” could sit flat plus it would cradle the oblong bushing so it could be tightened.
I used my calipers to find the center and then mark the offset on both sides so I cut out the notch with a Dremel. I deburred it when I was done.
I noticed some welds in the corners that I ground down out of the way.
Once the notch was done, and the welds were gone the spacer could sit flat.
At this point, it cycled better but I could still feel it binding just a bit. The last step was to crush the flat spring just a bit in my vise to lower the upper a bit further.
This took me three or four tries – I’d squish the flat spring just a bit and then test fit and cycle the VMAC. By the last time, it felt really good so I called it even. The trick is to not rush and just bend it a little bit followed by testing. I bought a couple of spare flat springs just in case.
Summary
There are a lot of MAC/VMAC upper options out there. Make sure your flat spring is seated on the bottom of the lower and is at the right height. If you feel binding, odds are it is too high and you can see this because the upper is hitting the top rear of the lower and not wanting to seat fully. Just take your time and bend the flat spring and test over and over until it fits.
I hope this helps you out.
Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.
If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.
The defacto standard rear connector for braces and stocks on large format pistols is the 1913 Picatinny Rail adapter. The concept was pioneered by Justin McMillion and his firm JMAC. The idea exploded and now tons of companies offer adapters, stocks and braces to do just that. So, when I started planning my VMAC9 builds (they are basically MAC-11 9mm firearms), I knew I wanted a 1913 rear rail for flexibility.
Vendors of Adapters
A3 Tactical, Practical Solutions and Stormwerkz were all contenders because I used different products of their’s in the past. The A3 Tactical and Stormwerkz designs are similar – the are aluminum and cradle the rear to limit movement. The Practical Solutions model is a thick chunk of carbon steel welded at a right angle but does not cradle the rear.
I went with the Practical Solutions model because it is steel and I figured I could compensate if there was movement. Any design with a single mounting point is at risk of moving/working loose over time.
This is the Practical Solutions 1913 adapter for semi-auto pistols.
My Problem
Now, I did run into a challenge. The Practical Solution’s adapter needs to sit flat against the back of the receiver and that assumes the rear is at a right angle from the bottom. For whatever reason, none of my receivers had a rear at a right angle — all were slightly off.
The hole the bushing goes into is oversized presumably to allow for a wider range of fitment. Iou can move the adapter all over – left/right, front/back and angles but there is only the one screw/connection point.
Combine the loose fitting bushing on the botttom andthe back of my VMAC9s that weren’t square and the adapters would never stay tight.
Now, I did experiment and had two braces on each of the pistols and one stock on the carbine. They all acted like lever arms and I could easily get their mounts to turn. Let me show you what they looked like:
This is a carbine with a 16.7″ barrel and has a Midwest Industries 1913 to buffer tube adapter with a Magpul ACS stock. To be honest, that combo has a length of pull over 10.5″ that is just past the limit of what I like and I am exploring other options.
This is a pistol with an 11.25″ barrel and a SB Tactical TF1913 triangle folding brace. It makes for a nice setup at 9.5″ long.
This is a pistol with a 5.4″ barrel and a SB Tactical FS1913A aluminum strut brace that is 9.25″ long. I definitely like the length of this one too.
The Solution
I knew the primary issue as the irregularly shaped receiver back. The way to fix it was to mix up glass reinforced epoxy and “bed” the adapter so it could sit flat.
A second decision was whether to make this nearly permanent by epoxing the adapter directly to the receiver. I decided against that – at least for now – in case I decide to change or repair something. This decision to make what would more or less be a gasket between the two meant that I would spray release agent on the surfaces so the epoxy would cure but not adhere to the parkerizing.
Purely FYI – parkerizing makes an ideal surface for weapons finishes and epoxy due to all of the “nooks and crannies” it creates. If you don’t use some form of release agent, the bond is stunningly good and will only come off with heat.
For general epoxy work lately, I’ve been using PC Products’ Super Epoxy translucent model 502 dispensed from a 50ml cartridge. Cartridge dispensers are a bit more expensive but boy are they convenient. To use a cartridge, you need a gun and then tips – you can get everything off Amazon very cost effectively.
They do sell a black epoxy but I’ve been using the translucent epoxy and can dye it the color I want. Despite the gimmicky sounding name, I’ve been using it for a little over a year now. The working time before it hardens is 15 minutes and mostly cures in 3-4 hours with a complete cure of 4-7 days. This stuff has proven itself for me for general use.
By the way, In general, I would recommend you stick with a known brand of epoxy and the longer it takes to cure, the better it tends to hold up over time. Fast 5-15 minute cure epoxies tend the break down over time when exposed to repeated shocks – sometimes called “sugaring” where you can see the epoxy breaking down into small pieces.
The Steps
Apply the release agent to the receiver and adapter and let it dry. I use Mann’s Ease Release 200 – that’s what I use with the molds for my furniture also. If you read about release agents guys use when bedding rifle actions in stocks, you can see guys have used various forms of wax, etc.
To make the bedding compound, I put the epoxy and 1/32″ milled glass fibers in a cup and sti. The glass fibers help to reinforce the epoxy. You don’t need a lot of glass fibers – maybe 25% of the volume. As you increase the volume of glass fibers, the thicker the material is. In this case, I really just want the fibers to reinforce the epoxy so I went with about 25%.
To make it look decent, I added in black dye so it would blend in and not be so obvious.
I thoroughly mixed everything.
I apply the material using nitrile gloves and a plastic knife.
Acetone can be used to clean up any extra exposed epoxy until it cures.
Once everything is position correctly, I tightened down the screw on the bottom and let it cure. made sure everything stayed positioned correctly and checked for any runs or drips. Again, stuff like that can be cleaned up with a rag with acetone on it until it sets up.
Once the material has hardened, I put the part in a 150F degree oven to cure faster. With epoxy, hard to the touch does not mean fully cured.
The results seemed perfectly acceptable. If they loosen up again, then I’ll consider next steps. For now, they seem solid.
The results felt rock solid. Time will tell.
Summary
I like the Practical Solutions adapters. Bedding them made for solid connection points for braces of stocks.
Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.
If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.
We visited some friends last night and were treated to an amazing sunset on I94 starting with golds and moving to reds and purples. It really got spectacular around Porter, Indiana, and we watched it peak and fade. Shortly after we left I94 and turned onto I80 towards Mokena, the sunset faded completely.
My phone was in its cradle so I would just occasionally push the photo button and grab what it saw. When set at 200 megapixels, a Samsung’s S24 Ultra’s camera is pretty cool. My wife, who always takes better pictures than me, has the same model phone and took some also.
The photos are in a “tiled gallery” – if you click on one, it will open up and you can navigate around:
I shot the ones in portrait (tall and narrow) mode and my wife took the cool landscape (wide) oriented photos. See – I told you she’s better.
I hope you enjoy the photos. I’ve driven on I94 so many times, I couldn’t even guess how many sunsets I have seen. Without a doubt, this was probably the most stunning sunset on I94 I’ve ever seen.
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We visited family in the Philippines in August 2024 and I was amazed at the power poles in the greater Manila area. Everything is on poles – power, phone, fiber, you name it. So, as we were driving around, I couldn’t help but snap some photos.
Below is a photo gallery – click on one and then you can navigate around:
If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.
