10m home range project.

[MrChipShoulder]

Now got the under carriage rolling on it's wheels in it's rail (u channel).
It runs incredibly smooth and the compensation works exactly as it should so the wheels are in contact with the rail at all times.
I took an extra pic to show the rear frame is not just welded with the triangular gussets. The gussets are an extra to give a little more strength.

https://ibb.co/p0w3S5z
https://ibb.co/Tv4Jf9M
https://ibb.co/WkWF6Tm
https://ibb.co/T8DsqqR

The next step is to gut the range and get the rails screwed into place.
Once that is done, I can get the undercarriage in and build up the rest of it.
More pics to come.

[MrChipShoulder]

I finished welding up the target platform today.
Quick splash of red oxide primer just now and black paint tomorrow.

https://ibb.co/Ttk5Jqn

[nacnonna]

What an absolutely stunning job!

[MrChipShoulder]

Bit more work on the backstop.
Lights fitted,
Pellet catchers fitted,
Wheels fitted,
Floor panel fitted.

https://ibb.co/LQqbhmm
https://ibb.co/Sn461wG
https://ibb.co/ZSsygty

[MrChipShoulder]

Time to work on the range has been hard to come by recently for a few reasons, but I've finally managed to get the target sled in the tunnel and working well. To move the sled, all you do is press the cord release button and pull on the cord. Once the sled is in place, just release the button and it locks the cord. There will be a pointer added to the sled and markings on the tunnel wall for sled position (6yd, 7yd, 10m). The only slight hassle to move the sled now is that somebody has to pull the slack on the lighting cable as the sled is being pulled back up the tunnel. The cable is simply left coiled in the back of the tunnel or laid on the floor at the shorter ranges.

All that's left to do tomorrow (hopefully) is to make the front and rear back board panels. The rear one will be 9mm MDF and the front one will be 3mm hard board covered in white Terry Towel.

https://ibb.co/7G01ZCJ
https://ibb.co/LYbdJx1
https://ibb.co/7Wrg3fx
https://ibb.co/bP4LZmD
https://ibb.co/YLyR5kY
https://ibb.co/3FHXRmL
https://ibb.co/WshJPkz
https://ibb.co/02Lrdxw
https://ibb.co/ZN6Tq9Y
https://ibb.co/YPZzm3L

[MrChipShoulder]

More progress today, I got the first backstop made and fitted.
It is made from 3mm hardboard covered in terry towel stuck down with spray glue.
There are five hooks made from ply that twist and hook over the metal frame.
The pellet will go straight through this thin backstop and hit the rear MDF board.
If it rebounds, it will not have enough energy to come back through the front backstop and be retained in the backstop cavity.
The terry towel gives a very good flat white background for diopter sights.
Only the rear MDF backstop to be made now.

https://ibb.co/x2KPdW9
https://ibb.co/W5h815F
https://ibb.co/sq14H0W
https://ibb.co/8N0qHx9

[MrChipShoulder]

Well thats it, finished!

Having used the range for a few months and finding out little things about it as you go, I have made some small adjustments. One is the ability to easily and quickly remove the safety rail as it can get in the way when using side leaver rifles. All I did was to weld on large wings on top to the bolts and weld up some captive nuts on the inside of the floor. The other little thing is kinda obvious now its done, and that is a switch to turn off the target lights! Although 99% of the time you are shooting in there, sometimes you're just talking or scoring cards, so the lights may was well be off. Like I say, it's the little things that make the difference.

The 9mm backstop is now cut and fitted and this will give more than adequate stopping power to any pellet that finds it's way through the front backboard. The range is strictly sub 6fp anyway, so no need to go over board!

Another picture shows my working but unfinished bell target placed on the sled base. This is why the sled has a large base, to catch the odd rebounding pellet and for putting other target types on.

One other thing I noticed when I made the original wooden movable backstop that was simply shoved in the tunnel and pushed down with a long pole, was the sagging target cord. Once the target holders are set-up at say 10m, all other distances have the targets placed too low because of the sag in the cord! So because the range now has a fully adjustable sled backstop, I will be running into this problem a lot! The issue was solved by soldering on a brass bar with a hole drilled down it's back and a small thumb screw. Now once the range distance has been set, you simply send the target frame down range with no card in it, use the spotting scope to see how low the frame is, bring it back and adjust accordingly with just the turn of the thumb screw. It's a two second job to adjust the height of the frame now.

The rolling target sled works very well indeed and I have also worked out how to send it back down the range without getting caught up on the cable, so it is now very much a one man job to set any distance in a few seconds. The only job I do still have left to do that I will not show here is screwing on a little pointer onto the sled and little coloured dots on the tube at measured distances (6yd 7yd 10m). I don't think anybody needs to see that, it's self-explanatory.

https://ibb.co/NtCBt1c
https://ibb.co/fQpR5hc
https://ibb.co/p1VMchj
https://ibb.co/M2BJG8C
https://ibb.co/jfgxtYp
https://ibb.co/yY4m3df
https://ibb.co/48VX2ZP
https://ibb.co/ZHD7xsF
https://ibb.co/Y0Dd0zL

Well that's it from me, construction finished and now 'second thought' tweaks now all finished.
Hopefully this thread will inspire somebody one day and spark a thought or two.
Or maybe not!

Anyhoo, I'm done.

See ya.
Rob.

[frankcatsdad]

Fantastic work, have you ever considered contacting NASA as a consultant