Gratuitous gun(smithing) porn

In truth, "gunsmithing" is a word too grand for what goes on around here. "Often successful tinkering" is more honest.

Unfortunately, even light tinkering ambitions sometimes require a vice -- a cursably in-the-way beast is when not in use. I put up with them permanently installed in the big shop, but the gun room bench is too small. Hence this morning's pre-sunrise project:

The nearly self-evident trick here is use of through bolts and wing nuts to attach a small machinists vice tightly but temporarily to the bench I use for reloading and small "clean" gun work. You can mount or dismount it in less than a minute.

The ploy won't amaze many of you, but it makes an excuse to post a picture of a neat old Saturday Night Special and one of St. Ackley's books.

The revolver is "The American Double Action," in .32. Others were made in .38 and .44. H &R built some 850,000 of them c. 1883 through 1941. This one needs a couple of parts, and we're scrabbling through the junk box.

Iceland Destroys World

As if that woebegone country didn't have enough problems, it is now responsible for continued global cooling of the kind that reduces job opportunities for Al Gore's otherwise unemployable acolytes.

You'd think a nation that could pass laws making everyone happy, womb to tomb, could manage to arrange some legislation forbidding its domestic volcanoes to erupt.

Take this form and shove it.

With the best of intentions I walked out the door and headed for the office and the pile of tax papers. but my eye fell on the saw. My other eye fell on the dead burr oak on the northwest corner of the base.

Maybe I'll do the taxes tomorrow. Or just wait for the black helicopters.

Airy ripoff

According to my most dependable travel advisor, I have a brand new reason for not flying. How about up to $90 bucks to carry a large attache case to where you're going and back?

Even when flying was fun (the piston era through the days of the first hijackings), it was credibly argued that anything under 500 miles could be covered more efficiently and pleasantly by car. Make that 1,000 now, at least.