The Down Range Forum

Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: Big Frank on May 15, 2022, 12:55:18 AM

Title: Milspin Custom U.S. ARMY Stainless Steel Bar Key
Post by: Big Frank on May 15, 2022, 12:55:18 AM
Here are pics of the custom bar key I got from Milspin a few months ago and keep forgetting to post pictures of. I sent the pics to Sarge, my army roommate from 40 years ago to see if he had any questions or comments about it. He wrote back, If we can't fix it "modify it." The guy we called Joe Schmuck The Ragbag used to say, If it ain't broke we can't fix it. Sometimes there was nothing wrong with a weapon that came into the shop other than an operator malfunction so he came up with that saying. I told Sarge I didn't know who started that Never Again thing but it stuck with me ever since. He said was on the jacket he had made. A lot of guys I saw who were stationed in Korea had jackets with a Korean flag, the unit they were in, and the dates embroidered on the back. I remember the black jacket Sarge had but not what the picture was or the details of the writing. Sarge said our ******** CO didn't like it much, which made him like it that much more. :) Neither one of us liked Capt. Rat-Face Ray very much.

Another Sgt. we worked with was the one that said if you can't fix it modify it, but since I worked for Joe Schmuck I mostly remember what he said. 1979-1985 were the years I was on active duty. I also had some reserve time in 1979 in the Delayed Entry Program. They waited until I was 18 then put me on active duty and sent me to basic training in December.

The "Old Ironsides" insignia is the 1st Armored Division, which was where I spent over 2 years in Germany. The diamond is the symbol of the 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized) where I was stationed at Fort Polk before heading overseas. The 5th Infantry was the only division in the army other than the 101st Airborne that had colored shoulder patches on their fatigues instead of subdued like everyone else. But when the army switched from green fatigues to woodland camo BDUs, that was the end of all non-subdued insignia on combat uniforms. The Army Ordnance Branch Insignia, besides representing the Ordnance Corps, to me personally represents Aberdeen Proving Ground where I took my Advanced Individual Training. That's where I learned to repair small arms up to the 4.2" mortar, which fired a larger caliber projectile than the M60A1, M60A3, and M1 tanks in service back then.

If you order from Milspin through this affiliate link I get a kickback.  https://milspin.com/?rfsn=6113145.751722  If you order from Milspin, but not through that link, you're still doing business with a veteran-owned business started by two Recon Marine brothers running a small metal fab shop in Columbus, Ohio.  https://milspin.com/  They and other veterans they hired are making high end CNC milled products for people who are tired of mass produced low quality crap shipped here from overseas. I'll post pics of some of the other stuff I bought from them later. If I earn chump change as an affiliate I'll spend it on alcohol, or give it to the guys to spend on alcohol. They accept contributions to the Milspin beer fund. But if manage to get more than chump change I'm open to suggestions on where to donate it and will keep you informed when I do.

I think I mentioned before the 4.2" mortar was 107mm and the 105mm tank guns were only 4.1-something inch. I don't have it memorized down to the thousandth of an inch like Sarge does. But I remember they were M68 guns. I saw the barrel for one in a wooden crate once and I think it said the weight was 1,360 pounds. When the barrel needs to be replaced you take out a key that's held in by one or two socket head cap screws, give the barrel 1/4 turn with a big wrench, then pull it straight out. You have to take the bore evacuator off the barrel first so you can put it on the new barrel after you install it. The guys used an overhead crane in the old Luftwaffe hanger to pull barrels at the rear. But in the field they had to use a wrecker instead, like what I watched from on the tank once at Fort Polk. I still remember the time I hung from my belt on the crane and flew around until my belt buckle broke in half. :( Like Icarus, I dared fly too close to the sun. :-[
Title: Re: Milspin Custom U.S. ARMY Stainless Steel Bar Key
Post by: Big Frank on May 17, 2022, 07:56:29 PM
In honor of police week, 35% off sitewide with discount code FSEAN all week. Don't say I never did anything for you. ;)
Title: Re: Milspin Custom U.S. ARMY Stainless Steel Bar Key
Post by: Big Frank on September 11, 2022, 12:59:18 PM
Here's a still I grabbed from a video on Milspin's Instagram page. They just pulled a new Glock slide backplate out of the mill. Too soon?
Title: Re: Milspin Custom U.S. ARMY Stainless Steel Bar Key
Post by: Big Frank on September 11, 2022, 01:43:20 PM
I forgot to post pics of my Milspin FJB Edition metal car badges, so here they are. First a pic of my ride, then a close-up of the driver side and passenger side doors. I took off my Denali baseball cap and snapped a pic of it too, just for the heck of it. It has a mesh back, but the mesh is also overlaid on the front of the cap and the top of the bill. I've never seen a cap like that before, and when I showed my friends, it was a first for them too. The south-facing driver-side door pic came out REALLY well IMO. Getting direct sun all day makes a big difference.

The metal car badges had 3M double-sided foam tape already installed, so all I had to do was peel, stick, and press down firmly to make sure they're permanently adhered. I didn't take any measurements at all. I just held the badges with my thumbs and forefingers, rested the back of my thumbs on the trim and said, yeah, that looks good enough, and slapped them on. I was having a hard time getting a good angle on the passenger side to take the picture, so I sat on the floorboard of my ATV. You can see part of the wheel lock on the front wheel in the reflection. There's another "Denver boot" type of wheel clamp on the other front wheel too.
Title: Re: Milspin Custom U.S. ARMY Stainless Steel Bar Key
Post by: Big Frank on February 16, 2023, 04:41:06 PM
It's been awhile since I posted in this thread, but I have a special code for you today.

Today Only! Use discount code: "FLAWLESS" at checkout for 40% OFF your ENTIRE ORDER.
Title: Re: Milspin Custom U.S. ARMY Stainless Steel Bar Key
Post by: Big Frank on April 14, 2023, 10:15:37 PM
This post is a day late for the sale but I wanted to post about what happened at Milspin. And about what they're making. I managed to pull some individual frames from a GIF in the email they sent me. I've seen a couple of different industrial lasers operate up close, one cutting the hole for an early '80s Cadillac Seville tail light out of the deck lid, and the other laser stitch welding the tail light bracket to the inside of the thin sheet metal. I don't know much about these lasers, but I know they shouldn't look like this. ;D We used infrared lasers at Grand Blanc. They were robot operated and locked out until the garage door was closed on the booth each one was housed in. You really don't want stray lasers shooting around the place, especially when no one can see them.
Title: Re: Milspin Custom U.S. ARMY Stainless Steel Bar Key
Post by: Big Frank on April 14, 2023, 10:24:15 PM
They sold out of the back plates fast. As far as I know no one else is making anything like these 3D models
Title: Re: Milspin Custom U.S. ARMY Stainless Steel Bar Key
Post by: Big Frank on April 14, 2023, 10:27:20 PM
Here are some individual pictures.
Title: Re: Milspin Custom U.S. ARMY Stainless Steel Bar Key
Post by: crusader rabbit on April 15, 2023, 07:12:49 AM
Those are such good looking plates they ALMOST make we want to buy a Glock. 
Title: Re: Milspin Custom U.S. ARMY Stainless Steel Bar Key
Post by: alfsauve on April 16, 2023, 05:55:26 AM
I love the look of a number of back plate designs, BUT, when I shoot I want nothing, particularly in that location to distract my attention.

Title: Re: Milspin Custom U.S. ARMY Stainless Steel Bar Key
Post by: Big Frank on April 18, 2023, 04:29:28 AM
That's probably why they make subdued versions of some backplates like the American flag, and their X-Carve come in Blackout cerakote finish, too. Not everyone likes the flash of Solid 18 Karat Gold or hand-forged MokuTi Titanium Damascus either for the same reason, but will instead buy the regular engraved backplates. By the way, when you buy a MokuTi backplate you get the exact same one shown in the pictures. They aren't just example pictures of typical MokuTi backplates. The majority of them are in the X-Carve design, but they have a few plain ones left.
Title: Re: Milspin Custom U.S. ARMY Stainless Steel Bar Key
Post by: Big Frank on April 18, 2023, 10:56:41 AM
My CNC machined brass Milspin Cassette Tape Paperweight and some other things left Toledo a couple hours ago and should be here tomorrow. Does not fit in your standard cassette player. Dimensions: 2.25" x 1.75" x 3/8". $39.99 before 40% off discount. 100 hours of heavy machinery sounds sold separately.

https://milspin.com/products/milspin-cassette-paperweight?_pos=1&_sid=ec2adf201&_ss=r
Title: Re: Milspin Custom U.S. ARMY Stainless Steel Bar Key
Post by: Big Frank on April 18, 2023, 12:39:37 PM
Here are the two 3/4 pound Solid Brass Paperweights I bought from Milspin. I have so many papers on my desk, I took the pictures on my other desk. Seriously. It's in another room in a different part of the house. The third picture is the flamed titanium minimalist bottle opener, which they no longer make, and a stainless steel pry bar. I think they're having a hard time getting titanium. Everyone probably is if Russia is still the main source for titanium, like when the SR-71 Blackbird was built and a couple decades afterward. The CIA worked through dummy corporations to buy tons of titanium from Russia, to build sophisticated reconnaissance planes to spy on Russia! ;D ;D ;D Don't you just love it? I can't help smiling whenever I think about. The next pic is the stainless pry bar, with the LIOE Design Delta 7 titanium edc multi-tool that I actually carry every day. The last 2 pics are the Delta 7 with my LIOE Design XF1 Folding Knife (Titanium + VG10). I never really noticed how similar the profiles were until I flipped them around for the last picture. The handle of the XF1 and the Delta 7 are so similar in shape, I can't believe I didn't see it before. Maybe I never had them facing the right way, side by side? ???
Title: Re: Milspin Custom U.S. ARMY Stainless Steel Bar Key
Post by: Big Frank on April 18, 2023, 12:53:43 PM
One day I read this at Mispin concerning their Titan finish. Titan (Stainless Steel only): After weeks of trial and error with our industrial heat-treating oven, we have perfected a heating and quenching cycle to achieve the ultimate thermally tinted finish. It took us hundreds of attempts to zero in on the perfect cycle time, optimal temperature, and necessary quenching medium to attain the golden glow that you see pictured here. The Titan Finish is a premium feature that requires special care and attention to bring out. I think that's the finish applied to all the bar keys that aren't cerakoted, which they started doing some of in Thin Blue Line and Thin Red Line designs.
Title: Re: Milspin Custom U.S. ARMY Stainless Steel Bar Key
Post by: Big Frank on April 18, 2023, 07:18:01 PM
Milspin Blacked Out Patterns Slide Back Plates from Argyle to Zebra. I just saw these for the first time, and they're all sold out. When I checked the date on the email, it was April Fool's Day, but it looks legit.

https://milspin.com/products/copy-of-milspin-arizona-flag-slide-back-plate?variant=40450005860394
Title: Re: Milspin Custom U.S. ARMY Stainless Steel Bar Key
Post by: Big Frank on April 20, 2023, 08:56:19 AM
Somebody in the packing department messed up. I got a package from Milspin yesterday and my Milspin AR 15 Metal Morale Patch, with the option of being CURVED (For Use On A Hat) was straight. I didn't talk to them about it yet but I know they won't want me to ship it back. It will be a freebie and go on one of my gun cases, maybe one with an AR-15 in it.
Title: Re: Milspin Custom U.S. ARMY Stainless Steel Bar Key
Post by: Big Frank on June 15, 2023, 04:46:43 PM
It's been a long two months, but they've got a fresh new laser after they accidentally burned the last one down and they are pumping these 3D back plates out at the cyclic rate. Today Only! Use discount code: "SHARKSWITHLASERBEAMS" at checkout for 35% OFF your ENTIRE ORDER.
Title: Re: Milspin Custom U.S. ARMY Stainless Steel Bar Key
Post by: Big Frank on November 29, 2023, 12:17:00 AM
I got another hat and a few more morale patches from Milspin. I got a Bullet With Custom Text Patch and put it on the new camo hat. And put the Grimp Reaper Patch on the black hat. I gotta be all color-coordinated when I can, ya know. And the 3rd pic is what the "bullet" patch should look like, if they're even going to put vertical lines at the base of it at all. You'd think a couple of Recon Marines would have a better idea what cartridges actually look like. At Christmas, I think I'll talk to my friend about sandblasting away the red stripe that should have been laser engraved away. It may totally screw up the brass, but not as bad as it would if I scratched the Cerakote off with a knife.

P.S. If you think .45 caliber is only 11.3mm, this is what the calculator on Widows 11 says, 11.5mm = 0.452756". The last time I checked, .45 ACP bullets were listed as 0.452", so drop the last 3 decimal places and there you have it, 11.5mm.
Title: Re: Milspin Custom U.S. ARMY Stainless Steel Bar Key
Post by: Big Frank on November 30, 2023, 02:27:35 AM
Milspin has Glock slide backplates with quotes from Psalms and such on them. They make Smith and Wesson backplates now, too. It looks like they screwed up one of them, but I'm not sure which, the 2nd or 3rd.
Title: Re: Milspin Custom U.S. ARMY Stainless Steel Bar Key
Post by: Big Frank on November 30, 2023, 02:29:15 AM
And last but not least, Book of Revelation.
Title: Re: Milspin Custom U.S. ARMY Stainless Steel Bar Key
Post by: alfsauve on November 30, 2023, 10:02:06 AM
The Luke 11:21 is a nice sentiment, but out of context.

Most scholars believe that this verse refers to Satan and the next verse:

Quote
11:22
But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.

Refers to Jesus.   I'm not ready to hang my hat on 11:21

But I think 2 Samuel 22:38: I have pursued mine enemies, and destroyed them; and turned not again until I had consumed them should be Israel's motto right now.
Title: Re: Milspin Custom U.S. ARMY Stainless Steel Bar Key
Post by: Rastus on November 30, 2023, 11:47:19 AM
Context is everything. 
Title: Re: Milspin Custom U.S. ARMY Stainless Steel Bar Key
Post by: MikeBjerum on December 01, 2023, 05:35:48 PM
Context is everything.
Context and understanding the speech pattern and tendencies of Jesus. Oh, and let's not forget the sticky difficulties in translation. Power and meaning is still there, but the parables go much deeper than the simple literal reading.