If you haven't seen these yet, Mark's concept started as $10 and 3 hours of time, make a gun in your garage with simple tools then trade it into one of the local gun buy back programs.  This is to prove many points, the buy backs don't get guns off the street, its a waste of public resources, they can't stop people from owning guns, and you CAN make a gun that works.  Even with simple tools.  The key is his very simple design.

So, I didn't buy his plans nor did I research how he did it anything beyond my head turning after seeing a video.  The result is a poorly planned, crudely executed version of Mark's design.  Unless you enjoy learning the hard way, I suggest buying his plans.  I think they're like $12.

Yes I have a mill, I have a lathe, but I didn't use them.  The most expensive tool I used was a $100 drill press and that could have been done just as well with a hand drill.  The majority of the work was done with Harbor Freight right angle grinders, a hacksaw and files.  Hence the crude results.






 

Rough Cuts


Shaping up
 

Cleaning up the edges
 

Time to get to work
 

Just getting started
 

Roughing out the "Action"
 

Starting to get the idea
 

Beginning the trigger/trigger bar/sear
 

Trigger / sear a little better than roughed
 


Trimming the "Bolt"  Little trick to keep from rocking the file, don't hold the file.


Fitting the “Bolt” or center piece of the “slide”



Drilled the “Bolt” now to match it up to the slide slabs



Gutting the “Bolt” for springs



Guide pins for the springs, I have since eliminated one spring


Slide fitted

 
Need a recess for the rim


A little off center, but that’s how it goes with crude tooling sometimes…


Firing pin hole


Barrel block rough cut, I opted to use a solid block of 5/8" scrap I had laying around


Cutting slots for the “frame”.  I used a cut off wheel in the grinder to rough it, then a file to clean it up.


Slots done, time to drill it for the liner.  This is one of the mago components that keeps it from being some illegal weapon, ie zipgun


Soldered in a barrel liner


Some mounting holes


Threaded the barrel block

 
Still have to make some grips



Got some time applied to the grips


Rough cut


Might do some more shaping before final finishing


A different angle


I tried some oxo cold blue, had rubbed just to see how the junk steel will take the color.  It didn't come out well in the pictures, but the color while far from perfect was much better than I'd expected.  The plan, for now until it changes, is to sand blast, then bead blast, then hand rub more cold blue.  I've only ever cold blued small parts, some new some old, but always small.  I usually hit them with the heat gun or torch just until you can see the moisture escape, then start rubbing or if they are small enough, just drop em in.  I'll be interested to see how this comes out.
Cold bluing teaser.


Ha, I said "might".  Lots of grinding and filing.  Fixed the bottom barrel block to slide lines too.


Firing


Adding Mark's video to get your creative wheels turning.

 

 

Sweet plate steel pics.

Nice.  How did you rifle the bbl, or did you just use a stub from something else?  Went back & looked - you soldered in a bbl liner.

Here's what I put together Sunday night:

Attached File


Just chopped off the tail of an eBay AR trigger jig, everything bolts up.  Need to throw a .223" upper on it, see if I get ejection and bolt lockup.  AR57 upper, here we come!  

That's awesome

Yes, plenty of free cash available at buybacks

Nicely done! Building single shot pistols is a great way to practice skills and craftsmanship, and gun buybacks make a nice way to offload mistakes or earlier designs as your work evolves.

Personally I learned to work on stocks by making pipe shotguns (ala TM31-210) by carving and finishing stocks made from logs, 2x4s/2x6s and plywood.
Also got to test several such guns for longevity as useful firearms and improving on the designs. (as a fun note, a better trigger can be made by using a medieval crossbow "nut" style trigger to hold the striker back)

Sadly, the buybacks around here don't pay worth beans now days, you use to be able to make good money/gift cards off those things

I really like homemade guns.  
Interesting build, using common hand tools just proves how "simple" it can be.

Starting another.   9mm stainless.  Eventually.

This thread reminded me I have a 12"x12" piece of 1/4" steel in my garage I purchased with the intent to build a few single shot handguns out of.

When you start getting serious about it, let me know.  I have some stainless I could donate.

Obviously these aren't the coolest of the homemade gun designs.  But the the simplicity has a cool factor all of its own.  

I've toyed with several designs.  Each has their own appeal.  This one is the simplicity and cost.  It's still a lot more time than the end product warrants, but I've wasted more time on less.

Plenty more projects and ideas in the hopper.
But the wish list is long.  Like a gatling gun.  I'd love to make some dies and start cranking out WWII Liberators.

Awesome! I recently saw that video and have been considering some homemade gun designs. I've got a pretty well equipped shop to work in but I always seem to be too busy with other things! 

I'm also torn between a simple gun design like this or working on a black powder cannon of some sort. 

Thanks for the offer!

What other designs have you looked at?  I was planning on messing with the JACO stuff but instead of 22LR make them in straight walled rimmed pistol cartridges.  I really do want to make a Kirkit25....but probably in something a bit more powerful than 25ACP.

I'd like some small Derringers.  Even pepper box style stuff like the brownie or double tap.  Probably a palm squeezer of some sort.  I'm sure at some point I'll make a copy of my NAA mini.  

In ohio, besides slugs, only certain pistol calibers are legal for deer hunting, so a 38/357 rolling block or Stevens favorite type single rifle is on the short list.

For those not keeping up with his builds post ARFcom, sixtysixdeuce built a GB22 in 380.

Well, finally getting somewhere with the GB9mmss so I guess it's time to show some progress pics and start documenting the "build"

Chicken sharpie


Same initial rough cuts as the crude build.  Let's face it, fast is easy.  


Looks ugly here, again not much different than previous.  Just lining them up to get them "roughed" to shape.  And I mean roughed.


Really rough


Down to working just one.  Started with the grip.  I know I know, everyone hates Glock's finger grooves.  But they fit my hand perfectly and they are just a starting point.  I will adjust if need be later.


So one of my faults, self assessed, is lack of official documentation,  ever.  I'd rather just get into it.  I do the same in my professional capacities and it always works out.  


After getting the "action" laid out, I'm going to cut the trigger first.  Cutting the action all the way through wouldn't leave much clamping abilities and add a lot of flex.  My clamping methods left plenty to desired on the is one but stainless sucks and I can't take heavy cuts anyway.  



Getting close to having the trigger roughed out.


Trigger is almost cut.  As the trigger "flexes" it mostly drops down, so the space between the botTom of the trigger and the trigger guard is the over travel limit.  So I cut this as thin as possible with a hacksaw and a dremel as I don't have a 1/16 or 3/32 end mill.  


A little better look after completing the trigger milling.  The rest is hacksaw, dremel and file work.  Much like the crude build, but I ddint use the dremel on that one.  


Since I have the crude build torn down for clean up and final finishing, I took the opportunity to do a sided by side pic to highlight the differences in my v1.0 and 2.0, remember the lack of planning.  There were a few things I did with the first I didn't like so much.  The gap for the trigger spring was not supposed to be 3/8 wide, I had no idea how much I'd need to get the spring I needed so it was thinned and thinned and thinned down some more.  Having a better idea on the second I just slotted with a 1/8th end mill. I moved the "Beaver tail" a little lower.  I also changed the trigger guard.




X

Nice, keep us posted.  I'm trudging through all the woodworking projects before kiddo #2 is born.  Might actually get my bandsaw frame built before the big day...if I'm lucky...

Why does that look like a 22 blank? Yet possibly a hole in the can? It's hard to tell as it's never seen clearly but maybe for a frame or two. Did you put a .22 pellet in the barrel and then chamber a blank and fire it?

In the video I fired a crimped 22 birdshot.  

I never fired a blank, but I've seen a few designs using buck shot and ball bearings in front of a nail gun charge.

Did Mark Serbu ever get a reply from the ATF to the letter he sent?

OST.  I love threads like this...

If anyone wants to try their hand at home-rifling a GB-22 barrel, here is a video about a DIY method using EDM:

Electro Discharge Machining (easier than it sounds).

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ixwAVj9fCoA

cool

Mark Serbu's excellent video did not clearly show HOW he rifled the barrel on his prototype.

Anyone know?

And what about the plans for the "closed bolt model" ?? ETA?

Mark is in it to make money.  Because he is, he has all the licensing and business side to protect.  He wants to produce these, but all that takes ATF approvals.  And that takes time.   $12 a piece for plans is one thing, but $100 kits on an exponential scale is where he'll make coin with this design.  

The 9mm build I'm working on (back-burnered) will be closed bolt.  Even if I finish it before Mark releases his kits, I'll still buy one if it comes in at or under $100.  

I'm no engineer, but I can re-engineer everything!

Here's a review from the SHOT show:

http://www.tacticalfanboy.com/2017/01/21/shot-show-17-serbu-firearms-gb-22/

Anyone know if the plans for the "closed bolt" version are available yet?

Need to 3D print an 80% version.

Hydro jet or laser cut would be good.  Jack Squat could certainly laser cut a weld together version.

If you have a dud we have a buy back coming up

make some fruity ghost lowers!!!!

Finally did some cold bluing.  I didn't bother with the slide serrations, yet.  

That is beautiful work and true to Mark's original design.

Q. Do you think the design could be adapted to making the barrel and "bolt" out of regular Rebar or reinforcing bar used to reinforce concrete?

I love this stuff

Another rifling video: super simple and do-able with tools you already own:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D43ZeYu9dnM

@backbencher. Thanks for embedding this video for me!!

I appreciate it.

Quite welcome.  Gotta do something useful when someone gifts me a membership.

Damn photobucket.  

Yeah Ive abandoned my account there.   The ad bullshit was the last straw. 

I pay for an account and I still get "Pay for an account to remove ads" ad. I'm trying to find an alternative that I like, but at the same time I have almost 4,000 pics already on there, so it's even harder to switch.

Holy cow, I had no idea this could be done at home.

Thanks

Txl

Can it be done at home?  Yes.  Can it be done well enough to yield accuracy comparable to commercially available products? Probably not.  But in respect to the topic at hand, there are plenty of techniques for boring and rifling your own barrel.  With a little patience and effort, you can certainly make a 3-4" 9mm barrel that won't keyhole 90% of the time.  

I drew up some plans for a sine bar style rifling jig.  But with a pile of other projects, one with very little payoff doesnt make the top of the list.  Watch ebay and numrich for barrel blanks or cut offs.  $10 or less you can score enough to make 2 or 3 pistols.

An excellent point!

Also - I checked out Brownells for "22 LR Barrel liner"

they suggest "glueing" it in with their "Accra-glass" bedding compound (it's really just fiberglass resin).   You could use epoxy or simply "JB Weld."

It cost just $30 or so for about 3 feet of it.

That is exactly what I used in this.  Redman liner.  I usually accraglas them in, but this one I soldered.

Sorry I should have acknowledged that.  Good solution to the rifling issue.

Finally starting to fix some links.  GD photobucket.