Looking to see if anyone here would be interested in some one-off upgrades for the FX Maverick. The other day, someone messaged me and asked if I could make them a new custom metal lever handle for their FX Impact, and after some back and forth I finally had the idea that I had been looking for to upgrade my FX Maverick's lever handle using titanium.
I've had good results in the past with heat anodizing titanium parts (which can always be polished out with something like a green Scotchbrite pad). So I made a little test handle using my very last little scrap piece of titanium, and that gave me some other ideas that I'm anxious to make:
1. Carbon fiber shrouds with heat anodized threaded titanium endcaps - I think these would look bad ass!!! I already have some great ideas for the design.
2. Full titanium shroud with titanium endcaps - these could be pretty awesome with some heat coloring! Definitely lots of room for creativity and I could tailor them however desired.
3. Lever handles - I find that I like the deep grooved handles the best (you can always slap some o-rings around them for added grip if need be), but I can also knurl them.
Personal note, the additional length of my new handle totally changes the cycling action. I've used this rifle in the past 5 NRL22 matches, and I already had a solid picture of the geometry that I wanted for a new lever.
4. Titanium cocking rod and rod guide - would be a cool / subtle accent with some of the other upgrades. I broke my factory cocking rod guide one day at the range, so this IMO is a worthy functional / durability upgrade as well!
5. Titanium pellet / slug probes - I made a slug probe from titanium last ~spring in .30cal (incredible performance upgrade!), but I can make them in any caliber.
6. Replacement extension rods for the K&L stocks - would be another cool and subtle aesthetic (I'm planning to replace mine with heat anodized titanium)
It's tough taking photos today (dark and rainy day here in the PNW), but here's some examples of the burnt / oxidized color spectrums that appear in the surface with some heat. My lever handle is just a rough scrap that I grooved, so the bumper case is a better representation of what a machined finish looks like (I dig that lighter straw greyish tone personally):
Again, the coolest aspect of doing this with Ti vs. other metals is being able to "wipe the slate clean" with a green scrub pad and reapplying heat to change the appearance.
Costs - no idea yet, but it won't be economical lol! The materials and carbide tooling are expensive right now and these take some time to machine. I'll have a better idea of cost once I know how many parts to make.
Timing - looking to get the ball rolling immediately, My time is going to be VERY limited once I go back to work later next month, so I'm only going to do this now. Ping me if you want in and let me know what you're interested in.
Merry Xmas to all!
