Cost of build components

[Vaino]

Am accumulating the components for my last build and am amazed at the costs...including the much higher shipping costs which are, sorry to say, getting to be a major cost factor.

Have the Rice bbl at $315 plus shipping and just rec'd the brass TG at $35 plus shipping. Ordered a Chambers Golden Age flintlock and this lock seems to be a bargain at $145 plus shipping. Already have the buttplate and most of the other components will be made.

Next thing to be ordered is the red maple blank from Dunlaps....will have to talk w/ Wayne Dunlap as to the wood grade. Some of his lower grades are really nice.....not too much concerned w/ the curl. Pictured below is the latest BC....the wood from Dunlaps was a grade 4 very hard red maple blank. This next to last LR isn't quite finished....engraving, some brass polishing and a slight antique finish for the brass parts and she'll be done.

The color is more brown than pictured...camera sometimes sees things differently.....Fred

 

[stuartg]

Fred, simply incredible! I hate to hear you're planning your last build - I enjoy your work!

On the costs, I'm with you. Shipping eats me alive on most of this stuff. I've tried to battle it by planning my purchases in fewer, larger lots.

 

[MSW]

+1

a shame that you won't do 'just one more' ... your work is an inspiration, and your advice is always well thought out.

as always, make good smoke!

 

[Pete G]

The shipping costs are the results of people in charge who think that fossil fuels need to be phased out and the only way to do that is to make them prohibitively expensive.

The suppliers get hit from two directions at once, 1st with the cost of energy to produce the product and 2nd with the delivery costs.

 

[rich pierce]

Suppliers have never gotten wealthy and many make a good deal less than you or I would be pleased to make. I stocked up on parts when I had the money and am glad I did, now. I have parts for about 7 guns on hand. Now I just need time.

 

[Vaino]

I wish I was that smart.....but not knowing when I would quit building was a deterrent to "stock piling".
If'n I was a younger builder, what you did is the prudent path to beating ever increasing price of goods and also the out of control shipping charges.

You'll be all set when you retire if you have the time. It's surprising to realize after 20 yrs of my retirement, that you really don't have all that much time for your hobbies.......Fred

 

[Billnpatti]

I envy your skills, Fred. You do beautiful work. I know what you mean about rising costs. It's getting to where it is almost too expensive to even think about building a decent rifle. Although I didn't intend for my last build to actually be my last but I just can't afford to build another.

 

[Col. Batguano]

Builders just don't buy parts in the volume that factory makers do to get that kind of pricing. Each order be it for 1 part or 1000 takes about the same amount of time to process, and set up for a small run of a part takes about the same too. So, by that measure, if we (as a community) could recruit more folks to be builders, we could help bring demand for parts up, and our costs down.

 

[longcruise]

On shipping, it helps to buy as much as possible from one source. But, I notice that the more experienced and discerning builders tend to be more diverse in their suppliers. The crazy metal prices the past few years have had an impact too.

 

[Lock Nut]

Beautiful work as always Fred! :thumbsup:

 

[Vaino]

Thanks to all for the kind words. This BC LR was shown to sorta give credit to Dunlaps blanks....this is the 3rd blank {#4} of a 3 blank buy and the other 2 were a #7 and a #5. All were red maple and all were very hard as per Wayne Dunlap.

I formerly bought quarter sawn blanks which ranged in price from $250 years ago to $450 a couple of years ago and these 3 Dunlap blanks cost under $250 w/ a 25 % discount for buying 3.

I'm about to order another blank from Dunlaps and it'll probably be a #4 or #5 in hard red maple. The blank will have to accommodate a 46" bbl but Dunlaps standard blanks are long enough.....Fred

 

[kaintuck]

Great rifle, and yes, great piece of wood.....dunlaps is THE place to go......I just wish I could got that tiger striped piece they had at the Lexington show...... :shocked2:

I have 3 to go, then I may plan my last......the $ is getting much, and is my interests in the hobby......

Marc ntomtom

 

[user 922]

That's just nice work. The carving is unique and really works.

 

[Vaino]

Hi Eric....thanks for the kind words. Coming from you they mean much to me.

To all who have given kind words for this LR, let me explain....I find the embellishments very difficult to do, while the stock architecture doesn't seem to be very complicated. Tip off? Maybe plain LRs are my forte?

Didn't post the pics to engender compliments....just that I finally completed a LR that I didn't think I could do.....Fred

 

[Rick Boylan]

Anytime you "don't think you can do a rifle" like that, you can throw it away in my garbage can.

That's a beautiful rifle. I'd be proud and happy to own such a gun.

I currently own a Pedersoli Kentucky in .45 and am happy with it, but a gun like you made would be a treasure to keep and enjoy for a few lifetimes. :grin: :bow: :applause:

 

[Col. Batguano]

90% of the execution of good embellishments is in the design. The rest is in having the patience to see it through as it needs to be executed, and balanced with the wood and rest of the LR school and architecture. This is a wonderful tastefully executed example of a LR, as demonstrated by a true master.

Would you call this more of a historical LR, or a contemporary one?

 

[Vaino]

Historical LR or contemporary? This LR has all the features of a Bucks County LR but the carving and moldings are my ideas. Don't exactly know what the above first sentence means.....but, I imagine it would be contemporary.

Bucks County LRs are very "petite" compared to many styles of LRs and this "slimness" is only possible w/ very thin webs, smaller breech bbls and removing wood until you can't find anymore wood to take off anywhere.

Lehigh LRs are also "petite", but of a different architecture that to me is much more difficult "to get right". There is some relationship between these 2 "schools" of LR building......Fred

 

[Col. Batguano]

As I understand the difference between a historical build and a contemporary one is that the difference lies chiefly in the execution and amount of the decorative aspects. The amount of shading within engraving would be an example. The historical stuff doesn't seem to have as much of it as more contemporary pieces. Contemporary guns seem to have more and better execution of those details than the historical ones. There were some very well done pieces from back in the day, but by and large, American long rifle carving and engraving didn't seem to rise to the level of European pieces, and certainly not in the intricacy of the designs. I view a historical build to mimic a more simple set of embellishment designs than contemporary....Basically, historical guns are more of a bench copy than an original piece of art.

At least that's the way I understand the difference. Others may correct me, and I welcome being corrected however.

Aren't Lehighs, Berks, and Bucks guns often incorporated under the broader category of the Bethlehem School? Certainly the comb lines and belly lines seem to have a lot of similarities. But it also seems that the individual makers diverged greatly on many of those aspects too. A Peter Neidhart gun is a much different looking gun than a Jacob Kuntz, though both are considered Lehighs. I haven't studied Bucks guns to the extent that you have, but suspect there are great differences within them too, (from maker to maker, and in different points throughout their careers) similar to Lehighs.

 

[Vaino]

Presently build only 2 "schools" or styles of LRs...Bucks County and Lancasters. When they're completed and whichever style they're supposed to be, hopefully they look like that style....and they do.

Lehigh, Berks and Bucks County LR styles or schools are to me separate and distinct, but w/in each there are variations which are sometimes very disparate. But due to some characteristic features, are recognizable as belonging to one of the above "schools" or styles.

Some commonality is present on some LRs of Lehigh and Bucks County, but when viewed in totality, each style is readily recognized.

I just build them and each style I build is recognized as such......Fred

 

[Col. Batguano]

I think the whole "School" concept is an effort by modern day students of LR's to apply a scientific classification to them as in Linnean taxonomic classification in biology, ergo; life, domain, kingdom, phylum, order, family, genus, species.

As I understand the vernacular for the term "schools", they were made in a roughly contiguous geographic region, and had one or usually several features somewhat related to one another, such as comb line, belly line, wrist shape etc, similar to to the "genus" or "family" classification in the above.

The makers of the day didn't go to "Lancaster School" to make and sell their specific style / type of rifles any more than a dog makes the decision to go to canine college to get a pet degree.