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Interesting. Is this something you wish to replicate? Stick to it!

The Kibler videos will help you with everything you need to know for the proper assembly of his kit. They are very kit specific.

If you want it to look like a lock from the period, you should file, then sand, all exterior surfaces, except the face of the frizzen. Original locks did not have cast surfaces and casting seams. Those will not disappear with sanding alone, but should be filed. After filing all surfaces, then...

I wipe the face of the frizzen, and the pan, with my thumb and finger. Then I wipe my hand on my pants. Works every time! Or you can just add some more junk to your shooting bag.

Not an expert at all; but wondering what parts of the lock the House brothers made? The plate and cock look like they are cast, as well as the mainspring. And the bolster looks machined. ???

I use plans for the general shape of the gun, from the lock panels on back. My main set of plans is the layout on the blank itself. I find my inspiration from: The work of others, past and present My ancestors, who used flintlock arms out of necessity The work I've been able to achieve

As was pointed out, many old makers inletted for a good wood to metal fit on the side flats; and simply rounded out the remainder of the barrel channel. The contact points in the inlet being the corners of the unexposed flats. Some modern smiths and builders do it also. I dont. I like my...

I wrap the handles of my Callahan mold with wool. Not pretty, but effective against the heat.

I cast because I enjoy it; and have for over 45 years. It's part of the whole deal for me. I cast mostly from my Lee double cavity mold. I also have a Callahan bag mold, that casts balls that shoot just as accurately as those from the Lee mold.

Locks were originally forged; so they didn't have casting seams, or cast surfaces (like the modern locks). Surfaces were filed. I take the files to every external part of the lock. I clean up the bevels, and give everything a little better definition. Here is an early Ketland on a nice plain...

So... I'm going to ask. Why? I've been shooting, and hunting with, muzzle-loaders for 48 years; and I've never felt the desire to have a bunch of rounds ready for rapid reloading. In my mind they're single shot guns. Right? A good load, and practice, ensures that your one shot will do it's...

Fess Parker as Daniel Boone. I was absolutely enamored with "Tick Liker". I bought a TC Hawken when I was seventeen. Sold it to my brother a couple of years later. He's taken a few deer with it. So then I bought a CVA Mountain Rifle kit; and did a nice job of finishing it. It was .50...

Assembled three kits many years ago. After that, two from a pre-carve; the second being re-do of the first. More recently, eleven from a blank. All flintlocks; and I do all the work. Most now are iron mounted Southern Mountain rifles. I make all of the iron furniture, and my own double set...

I think simple, well executed incise lines add a slenderizing effect to the piece. They aren't meant to be fancy or dressy, but accentuate the architecture of the gun. The toe is slightly curved, so I like a line that is higher up on the toe at the butt, and gets closer as it moves up the toe...

I'm also a big fan of the .58, and have taken three deer with one I recently lost. I also recently finished one that I'll probably end up keeping now. The colonial in a .58 would be a goooood rifle gun! With moderate loads recoil isn't bad at all, and it's a thumper on game.

Fur trade? Western fur trade rendezvous period (1825 - 1840)? Western fur trade prior to 1825? Eastern fur trade prior to that? I know some guys who still bring in a little money trapping, and generally carry a modern gun when making their rounds. I'm a reenactor of the western fur trade...

My personal preference is a longer toe plate. Given that the butt plate has a deep crescent, and a longer run on top, I think a longer toe plate just gives the gun better symmetry in that area. That toe can be pretty fragile, so I like to keep the rear most screw a little forward. The...

Not a Kibler; but my own, from a blank. The wood is Red Maple, which I believe is what Jim Kibler uses... for the Maple stocks of course. This stock is scraped and burnished; not sanded. I used two good coats of aquafortis; blushing only after the second coat. I rubbed it back with purple...

Hunting deer and killing tin cans.

Yup, definately a keeper. So is your wife!