Ok this is NOT a knock on Kibler kits. I'm curious what the kit builders have learned while making there kit ? Does it make you want to do a more complex kit ? What did you learn ? Curious?
Nice Hatchet Jack.It taught me how to drill and pin (mine was an older kit when you still needed to drill your own), metal finishing, how to use Tannic Acid and Iron Nitrate, how to drill and tap lock and tang bolts, center to center drilling, how to disassemble and finish a lock and reassemble. One of the biggest things it taught me was what a fine flintlock should really look like versus all the other kits I had built since I was a kid. It definitely led to building more complex kits which led to building from a plank.
Well said, I like your post.I have done a Woodsrunner and a fowler. On the Woodsunner I learned that carving is scary but doable at a certain (not professional) level. On the Fowler (in walnut) I learned that mistakes can happen even on a well designed kit, especially if you get impatient. I also learned about fixing mistakes!
I am still working on a non-kit build and doing these two Kiblers has taught me things that help.
Good advice, and encouragingI have done a Colonial and SMR. Practice new skills on something else...it is easy to come by an old gun stock (or kibler sells practice stocks for just that). Look at other similar rifles. Make it what YOU want, not what the group wants. Remember, darn little on them can be screwed up that you cant fix, and if you are tired, impatient....stop.