Dont worry to all. I can take criticism but i may have been a little sarcastic with at least one of my replies
Cmillard,
First off, keep your head up. Regardless of what some will tell you, everyone starts out somewhere and everyone has screwed something up at least once in their life.
I'll throw in a few of my opinions for the record too. Sorry for long reply...
This site has historically been about true precision and to some of us we take the true part as gospel. You walked into the wrong forum and asked the wrong questions; you implied cheap quick work, done by hand, had a buddy helping you..... Thats like walking into a 70's biker bar and asking out loud for a mocha latte frapicino with stevia. While it's a refreshing drink, you don't ask for it there. Lol.
For an action to be "true" and "pure" it has to be perfect. This involves precise, rigid setups with precise measuring tools and very careful attention to detail.
While the Mansion equipment is sound in its theory, it would be near impossible to truly "true" an action by hand. I would never say totally impossible because we've all seen masterpieces built by true craftsmen of old.
I am guilty of looking at the Manson gear and daydreaming of a quick and cheap way to truing an action. Perhaps the term "improved" action should be used with those tools. At the end of the day I still think lathe work is best. Also, some guys are immediately put off by the use of a tap (I generally am too) but most do not know that there is a whole classification system for taps and taps can be made to cut very accurate pitch diameters if they are held correctly, supported rigidly and operated in precision equipment. Not by hand. I really like Dave Manson reamers and tools and I'm confident he can make some outstanding taps and cutters, just not by hand.
Guide bushings only help so much. The fact that they are bushings mean there must be tolerances that, once stacked, add up to "not true" runout. If you put dial indicators on the hand tools and watched the amount of flex/push/pull you can apply to the tool while operating it, you would be amazed.
I'm under the faith that "Trued" means trued. Period. .0005"max tolerances if your gonna put that label on it. And that's not easy.
I doubt most hack gunsmiths even have the ability to accurately measure an action to gage their work.
I, like a lot of precision metal smiths, get upset with all the hillbilly hack gunsmiths that post videos of their work on YouTube representing us all. Some put out crap work like their grand pappy Billy Bob and their uncle Bob Billy taught em to. They are giving some gunsmiths bad names and we get defensive over it.
I'm a believer in hands on training and on the job training under a qualified person. As long as you're being safe, improving and moving forward, great! I'm also not opposed to self taught gunsmiths with a passion for the industry.
I taught myself to thread bolts on a shop lathe years ago without one single bit of help from anyone. As I evolved, I wanted to know more and get better. I physically read the Machinery Handbook(1968 edition, my new one isn't gonna get read in my lifetime). For those of you that don't know what that book is, get off the friggin Internet and get a copy. In my area, you say pitch diameter and you'll get a blank stare. I'd wager to say I'm the only guy threading true ClassIII threads as a standard. I've raised the bar for some other locals. I know most of them and I'm the only one with thread micrometers, only guy with thread measuring wires that knows how to use them, only guy with go-no-go gages for all the popular gun barrel threads. I'm self taught, so piss off naysayers. I'm not meaning to toot my horn that much. Just saying a lot of guys buy an old junk lathe and call themselves gunsmiths.
I have more invested in tooling and specialty measuring equipment than most hacks have into their last two Harley's. Don't tell my wife.
But none of that tooling or any bias schooling will help you one bit if you do not have a passion to accel at what you do with them. Asking around here and other sites, reading and filtering what you read, looking at other's work, listening to customers wants and needs are great ways to gain some knowledge. If you think you want to make a go of improving actions for $50, go for it. Just learn your market and only advertise want you truly can deliver. Whether it's a Trued action or a slightly improved action. Some of us purists have different definitions of a Trued action on this site. Chances are they'll both shoot great.