CARSON CITY, Nev. — For Terry Tussey, a gun is the perfect marriage of form and function, a carefully crafted machine that can contain an explosion delivering 20,000 pounds of pressure per square inch and drive a bullet through a barrel at 1,000 feet per second.
Every spring, catch, plunger, plug, pin and cap must work for it to fire properly. Dirt, rust and abuse lead to jams, misfires and parts breaking.
This morning, he's holding a .45 semiautomatic, popularly known as a 1911. Built in the '70s with military surplus parts, it has a plastic opalescent grip and a slide engraved with what looks like the tendrils of a climbing rose.
Photos: Guns are who he is
The design's too garish for Tussey, but right now looks don't matter. He drops the magazine, pulls back the slide to make sure there isn't a cartridge in the chamber and soon has the gun in three pieces: barrel, slide and frame.
Like a puzzle cast in three dimensions, a 1911 has close to 50 parts, and each needs to fit together with a tolerance of less than a hair's breadth. Any play leads to the inaccuracy that Tussey found at the range this morning.
The best measure of a pistol's worth, he believes, comes at 20 yards when he tries to group five shots within the space of a nickel. This .45 didn't come close.
Photos: Guns are who he is
He goes to his workbench and grabs a magnifying visor for a closer look.
Tussey, 73, began working with guns more than 50 years ago in Southern California and can restore or repair most any firearm brought to him. He describes himself as a gun mechanic and has a reputation for the 1911s that he builds from scratch.
"This isn't a job," he says. "This is who I am."
He calls his business Tussey Custom, and it sits on the outskirts of Carson City on a road that leads to a brothel known as the Moonlite Bunnyranch and a stone marker that honors the Pony Express route that passed nearby.
Lawmakers in Washington and in state capitals around the country are arguing over gun-control legislation, but at Tussey Custom, there is no debate.
Instead there is an appreciation — aesthetic, mechanical and even constitutional — for these machines that have become such an intrinsic part of American life.
::
A warm afternoon breeze blows through the roll-up door. Dvorak's New World Symphony is playing as a lathe purrs through the inner circumference of a barrel bushing. Workbenches are crowded with tools, parts and yellow plastic trays holding guns in need of repair.
The front door chimes, and Tussey maneuvers his wheelchair to the office. A mountain bike accident eight years ago left him paralyzed from the chest down.
Rodney Ricks, a 56-year-old construction manager, has stopped by to pick up a 1911 that Tussey restored. A few new parts, rust and pitting sanded down, bluing added, and the gun, which dates to World War I, looks almost new.
Tussey specializes in 1911s, named for the year the Army approved the pistol as standard issue. "The best handgun ever made," he says with the conviction car enthusiasts save for their favorite ride.
Just a few weeks ago, he finished building a new 1911 for Ricks, who placed the order last summer.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
For gunsmith, a full-bore interest and a high gauge of expertise
Dengan url
http://sehatgembiralami.blogspot.com/2013/04/for-gunsmith-full-bore-interest-and.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
For gunsmith, a full-bore interest and a high gauge of expertise
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
For gunsmith, a full-bore interest and a high gauge of expertise
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar