Customer Reviews

The .50-caliber Rifle Construction Manual: With Easy-to-Follow Full-Scale Drawings

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

As a gunsmith and machinist, I found Mr. Holmes' work rudimentary at best. His "drawings" are just that. They are poorly dimensioned and lack any reference to tolerances. Some of his dimensions are simply incorrect. His bolt design is overly complex as well as being, in my opinion, the weakest part of the rifle in terms of safety. As one who is actually building this rifle, or should I say building/re-designing this rifle, I believe most who attempt this project will quit long before completion. I have over 60 hours of machine time and re-design time in the barrel, barrel nut, barrel extension, taper sleeve and muzzle brake alone. It has required not only the use of a large metal lathe and milling machine, but also rather expensive fixtures such as a dividing head and rotary table. This is not the type project a beginner can complete at home or in the average garage shop.

Just got the book this morning and let me tell you that it's going back where it came from.
From a mechanical engineering designer's line of sight, the hand drawn doodles that the author dares to call drawings are terrible in quality and far from being up to ISO or ANSI standards (ever hear of CAD?). The poor dimensioning and complete lack of tolerances is highly concerning. The bolt and muzzle brake designs are equaled only by his drawing ability. I'm truly surprised it even got published and that the actual gun didn't blow up in his face.
Overall review: even if you see it at a garage sale, RUN LIKE NO TOMORROW!!!

This book is incredibly rudimentary. Important information, e.g. the design requirements for the trigger/sear, are sadly lacking. The most disappointing section for me was the section regarding the barrel. The section begins "The barrel can be turned from a commercial blank or made from a surplus military barrel." Perhaps I was expecting too much when I thought that the book would cover the making of the barrel too. Even so, there is no discussion on crowning angle, or even advice on reaming the chamber and achieving the correct headspace. There is better information available on the 'net - take a look at Lilja Precision Rifle Barrels for instance and what Daniel Lilja has written on the subject. How a rifle works can be considered to be pretty simple - and if this book offers anything then it at least offers moral support that building your own rifle is very possible. If you own a lathe and a milling machine, and have a good idea of what is involved in safe mechanical design, then you can probably design and build a decent rifle from information already available for free. Looking at the "Search Inside" pages of Bill Holmes' "Master Gunmaker's Guide to Building Bolt-Action Rifles " I think that this would be a much better buy.

I agree with the other two machinists/gunsmiths. The drawings were terrible and sometimes the tolerances didn't add up. This manual is good for a general idea on a design and nothing else. I completed mine and it shoots great but not before I redesigned about 30% of it. Don't listen to the one guy. It's obvious he's never cut a chip in his life.

Speaking as someone trained in drafting, I agree with other reviwers that the drawings are pretty poor. Above all, they don't follow normal drafting practice and are confusing even to me. Given enough time, of course, someone familiar with drafting and machine work can figure it out. This is definitely not a book for a novice. In any case, for a general idea on how to build a 50 BMG, the book will at least get one headed in the right direction.

I won't hammer the author's effort too much, since he makes it clear in the intro that he is up in years, almost blind, and has Parkinson's Disease.

This particular Bill Holmes' book could use a lot of work but is a reasonable starting point for those inclined to build such a rifle. Not too much has been written on these firearms, so it is great that this book has helped fill a gap. As Holmes also states in the introduction to his book, I too would recommend acquiring the video regarding this rifle as a companion to this book, but neither should be considered your primary sources on the subject. A person really needs a strong competence in gunsmithing, the ability to read and work with blueprints and drawings of questionable quality, machining experience, and further research before even contemplating the build. Regardless of the lacking text and mediocre drawings, the book is inexpensive and enjoyable to read.

I found there is to much missing data, very important data.It is interesting reading material.

Being a tool maker and avid gun nut this sounded like a fun project, however after I opened the book the the first "attempted" blueprint I was greatly disappointed. The prints are horrible and not even close to scale as the book states. Furthermore, the lines on the drawings are not even connected or straight where they state they are. Radiuses and hole locations are not called out, and many parts looke like something that was made to work but not made right. All of the "blueprints" look like they were drawn in Microsoft ® paint. The ideas are all there and I am sure the owner built the gun but there is no way someone as capible as himself of building this gun could have drawn such bad prints. There is mo doubt in my mind He purposely did this to save himself from lawsuits. Everything is left to the "builder" to figure out so when the gun explodes he is not liable. Personally I think he should be sued for false advertising/lying on the cover of the book. It was just his way of making a buck. As far as educational purposes go there is a lot of good info and a basic understanding of how the mechanics work. The book was a good reading book for gun guys and gals to read so if you are just looking for more info its great, but if you plan on buying this book to build your own 50 bmg save your money. On another note in my own design I have found that using an ar-10 trigger assembly will save you a lot of time.

Ok I purchased this i guess maybe with the wrong intent , the book shows you how to build a p.o.s 50 cal. rifle and yes it even has cutouts ,as if to use to cut out material. All in all if you dont own a browning 50 calibre rifle from world war 2 and you dont have a lathe .....dont buy the book ... waste of money ...or if you waant to buy one i 'll sell you mine on craigslist

First, at the obvious level, here is a set of plans and a bit of discussion about those plans that will enable you to build a high powered rifle. It shoots the .50 Browning MG round, and is really designed for long range target shooting, say something a mile or so away.

Second, and perhaps even more interesting this gun is really a simple device. Virtually any machine shop can build it if they have even the most rudimentary equipment such as a screw cutting lathe and a milling machine. What this illustrates is just how simple it is to build weapons. Here you have detailed instructions on how to build a weapon that is powerful and accurate enough to seriously hurt an armored car.

Third, this is the kind of gun that the politicians will rant about, even though there has never been any evidence that one has ever been used in a crime. I believe this gun would be illegal in California, and perhaps in other states, just because they are convenient targets for politicians who really don't want guns in anybody's hands.

Thanks to Paladin Press for putting this one out.