Chambers Kits

[Snakebite]

Am contemplating a Chamber's Lancaster and would welcome any constructive opinions on the difficulty/ease of them. Fairly novice wood worker but have tried a couple projects in the past with varying degrees of success.

Thanks

 

[LRB]

You will find them to be the best kits on the market. There may be a few others that might equal, but I don't believe any others will surpass.

 

[Vaino]

Having built 3 Chambers' early Lancaster "kits", I found them fairly easy to "assemble"...this might not be the correct description seeing these sets of components parts require some skill and knowledge. Have rec'd other "kits" and promptly returned them because of quality issues...but never a Chambers.

Although the stock architecture is "roughed in", wood removal is necessary to make it look like an "early Lancaster". All the partial inlets locate the hardware but do require some further work. The bbl has to be set back for alignment of the TH location centered w/ the lock pan.

The bbl is breeched and the 4 bbl lug and front sight dovetails are cut. The tang has to be shaped to the wrist contour and inletted.

All the holes for securing the lock, tang, bbl and some components have to be drilled...and some tapped.

The brass parts for this LR require very little work as opposed to sand castings of other "kits".

Pictured below is the 2nd Chamber's "kit"... the present owner is well pleased....Fred

 

[wattlebuster]

They come no better than Chambers kits. I've built 4 of them. You can do it too just get some build books and a dvd or two then study them and then the biggest thing is take your time. Patience patience and then get you some patience. I really like the 3 dvd set of Ron Ehlert. :hatsoff:

 

[agill]

I recommend Ron Ehlert's video also and you can rent them from SmartFlix or purchase them from Jim Chambers or others.

 

[Lock Nut]

Got my eye on the Lancaster kit for sure, also the Kentucky pistol but that one is way too much on cost for a pistol. Nice job by the way. What finish did you use on the Lancaster?

 

[Vaino]

Thanks. The staining uses all Dangler's stains purchased fron Jim Klein. First 2 coats of the orange toner, then a liberal coat or 2 light coats of the reddish brown followed by the same w/ the dark brown. A complete dry between all coats. A brisk rubdown w/ 0000 steel wool to remove the unabsorbed stain and also to lighten the wear areas. An alcohol saturated cloth further lightens the stock.... especially in the high wear areas such as the wrist and forend.

The finish is 3 wipe on/wipe off coats of LMF sealer w/ a complete dry between coats. The sealer is left on for 10-15 mins and then wiped off. When the 3rd coat is completely dry, a finger rubbed on coat of Wahkon Bay Trucoat and then 2 addt'l coats are applied w/ the finger w/ a complete dry between coats. This yields a low sheen finish which takes some rubbing w/ a fluffy towel to bring out a gloss. It's as water resistant as any other finish....Fred

 

[Col. Batguano]

I too have gone through the multiple steps' process when doing stains and dyes. The problem with them is, that, unless you save the exact formula and mixture, if you ever need to go back and re-do an area, it's almost impossible to blend it in correctly. If you go with a single-step process, (like aqua fortis and heat) your blending job will be much easier.

 

[Vaino]

Your point is well taken, although all my LRs are sold and restaining isn't an issue....Fred