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Writing Research, or An Expensive Lesson
Mar. 5th, 2012 11:15 amThe Night Watch, sequel to Pirates of Mars, is done. So, I've been thinking about my next project, working title "The Gunmaker." As one could guess, the plot is driven by somebody who has a burning desire to make a gun from scratch, in this case because they are stuck on a settlement in space that has successfully banned guns.
So I've been thinking about making improvised guns. Now, if you Google that phrase, you'll quickly hit the web page of the late Philip A. Luty, a British resident who built and released detailed designs for a submachine gun one could make with a file, sheet metal and a portable drill. Although fascinating, my character needs something smaller and more concealable. The character will also have access to a metal lathe and a drill press.
During my research, I became aware of the American gunsmith Bill Ruger. He rather famously made a couple of copies of the Japanese Model 14 Nambu pistol in his garage. The knowledge gained from that went into designing the pistol that became the Ruger Mark II, a simple and reliable .22 pistol. The Mark II appears fairly easy to make, and should scale up to at least the 8 MM round used by the Nambu.
I also happen to own a Mark II, which I realized 1) I'd never field-stripped it and 2) the process of field-stripping would probably inform my writing. So, yesterday I pulled out the manual and gave it a go. Alas, I couldn't get it back together, at least not in a functional manner. I ended up taking it to a gunsmith, who, for $50, cleaned and re-assembled it for me. I also did some Googling, and discovered that many users have problems field-stripping the gun, enough so that Ruger's YouTube channel has a video on how to do it. (The trick is to dry-fire the gun with an empty clip to get the hammer in the right position.)
At any rate, I learned a couple of things. First, don't field-strip your Mark IIs. Second, part of what makes making a gun hard is designing for field-stripping. Third, one could make a gun in one's garage.
So I've been thinking about making improvised guns. Now, if you Google that phrase, you'll quickly hit the web page of the late Philip A. Luty, a British resident who built and released detailed designs for a submachine gun one could make with a file, sheet metal and a portable drill. Although fascinating, my character needs something smaller and more concealable. The character will also have access to a metal lathe and a drill press.
During my research, I became aware of the American gunsmith Bill Ruger. He rather famously made a couple of copies of the Japanese Model 14 Nambu pistol in his garage. The knowledge gained from that went into designing the pistol that became the Ruger Mark II, a simple and reliable .22 pistol. The Mark II appears fairly easy to make, and should scale up to at least the 8 MM round used by the Nambu.
I also happen to own a Mark II, which I realized 1) I'd never field-stripped it and 2) the process of field-stripping would probably inform my writing. So, yesterday I pulled out the manual and gave it a go. Alas, I couldn't get it back together, at least not in a functional manner. I ended up taking it to a gunsmith, who, for $50, cleaned and re-assembled it for me. I also did some Googling, and discovered that many users have problems field-stripping the gun, enough so that Ruger's YouTube channel has a video on how to do it. (The trick is to dry-fire the gun with an empty clip to get the hammer in the right position.)
At any rate, I learned a couple of things. First, don't field-strip your Mark IIs. Second, part of what makes making a gun hard is designing for field-stripping. Third, one could make a gun in one's garage.
