3-volume Chambers/Ehlert videos

[jweston]

Hello, I wanted to recommend the Chambers/Ehlert video series to prospective kit builders. I got it directly from Chambers and it ran $60. I had gotten the Turpin video, but it does not go as deep into the inletting proceedure as Elbert does. I am more intimidated at the building process, as I know in depth the details that are necessary, but with the proper tools and Alexander's book I feel that I could produce a fair rifle.

One thing that I'd like to try to do is to get a block of wood and see if I can do the inletting of the lock, lock plate and trigger. If I can accomplish that with out screwing up. I am confident that I'd be able to do the build. I'd just need to scrape together the $ -- and the kits are not cheap.

On another note, I went to a Civil War reinactment yesterday (have a cousin who is a reinactor), besides giving my three-year old post-traumatic shock from the cannons, I got a chance to shoulder a 3-band Springfield. It is so light and well balanced. I still think that it has too short a pull, but it was a nice gun. That being said, I don't thing that those new fangled things are ever going to replace flintlocks.

Regards,
Blacksburg

 

[ian45662]

Does the video start from a stock blank? Or do they start the project as you would recieve it form Chambers?

 

[jweston]

It starts with a pre-inletted stock, but all of the pieces needed to be finished (filed to remove sprues) and the inletted areas needed to be expanded. The inletting stocks will err on the side of too small than too large. I had been concerned with the degree of metal working, but the only major metal working that was involved, beyond dressing the lug and forward sight mortices, was to cut the rear sight mortice. The reason for this (the eye-to-sight distance depends on the vision of the shooter) was explained.

There were also things that the Turpin video, for the sake of brevity, i guess, did not cover. Ehlert covered the diassembly and reassembly of the lock for inletting.

 

[Bubba45]

I rented the Hershal House series from[url] www.smartflix.com[/url] ,they were pretty good and start with a blank.
The blacksmithing one by Hershal was also good.