Finished GPR !!!

[barebackjack]

Well I finally finished her.

First off, Id like to thank everybody that helped with the plethera of questions I had.

All in all I think it turned out ok for my first build.
I wasnt thrilled with some of the machine inletting they left for me, there would be alot of extra of wood in most places, except where I would have liked some extra wood, like the wrist area, they didnt leave much extra at all there. There were also some chips in the stock (from the factory) that I was unable to sand out, one towards the front of the lock plate edge, and another on the end of the toeplate. But for $275 I wont complain to much.
As for my work on it, only once did I sit down and think theres no way im gonna be able to do this well. That was the night I sat down to inlet in the cheekpiece inlay. It turned out fairly decent, im happy with it.
I really liked how the inlet carving turned out. I think that project probably was the most time consuming for me.
I browned it twice, the first time was a mess, the second time was much better, there is only one streaky area, and its on the bottom flat inbetween the barrel lugs, so no big deal in my opinion.
The wood turned out much better than I originally thought. Two coats LMF american walnut stain, two coats sealer, three coats linseed oil, and two coats wax. Water is very afraid of it.

Here are some pics of it, let me know what you think.

Thanks again everybody for the help.

Boone

 

[lakota]

:thumbsup: Nice work! I hope my first build will turn out as nice.

 

[NORD]

Nice job!

Looks like you have some stripes in the wood grain! Lyman sure does a good job with their stocks for the money...I think. Your inletting looks great...kind of fun isnt it?
How did you do your carving in the stock?...looks great!

Should be a great gun to treasure I bet it shoots well too.

Take care and congraulations!

 

[shmrck1]

Boone,
VERY NICE!!!!!Stock really turned
out well......
snake-eyes :bow: :applause: :hatsoff:

 

[barebackjack]

The carving was all done with an x-acto knife and about half a dozen blades. I scribed successively deeper lines only doing about 2-4 inches at a time. When I had a good starting line I went back over it with the blade at a slight angle to cut out a small sliver of wood. Not extremely accurate and it did make for some uneven areas in the cut, but it seemed the easiest method for the tools I had.
Ive only put a dozen shots through it, havent touched a file to the sight yet, may not have to. Inch high at 50 yards, 4-6 inch groups. There are some rough spots in the bore that are cutting my patches, so Im hoping it will tighten up dramaticaly when its cleaned out.

And your right, fun....addicting, Im already putting together a parts list to get from track. Im thinking an A. Verner bucks county longrifle. I love those lehigh lines.

Boone

 

[fw707]

Very nice job!
The carving and inlay really add to it. :hatsoff:

 

[john4645]

I like the parts left in the white, but why did you leave the entry pipe that way as opposed to browning it with the under rib? contrast? to match the nose cap?
thanks, and nice job

 

[54JNoll]

Very nice. Clean carving too.

 

[Zonie]

Hee hee hee! :grin:

I'm a bettin, way down deep in your mind your thinking something like
"I sure am happy with my rifle but, if I just save up a little each week before too long I'll have enough to make something else. Maybe one of those Track of the Wolf or Pecatonica River guns. Wouldn't that be something? My own custom made rifle, made by ME."

Your rifle looks great!

Be warned though, this hobby is addictive. :grin:

zonie

 

[renovato]

That gun came out beautiful! I especially like the inlay and carving. They're a nice touch.

 

[renovato]

Zonie, you're SO right about the addiction! LOL
I've built a few factory kits and now I'm working on learning carving and engraving skills, hoping some day to build one of those awesome kits and makin' it all fancy like. I still haven't figured out wire inlays yet, and about a zillion other things.

 

[Old40Rod]

Great looking rifle... the outdoor lighting really shows the stock :hatsoff:

 

[bwhoffman]

Bareback,
I've heard tell that you never get rid of your first build! I know I willbe keeping mine.
Youdid a great job :thumbsup:

Brett

 

Bravo! Nicely Done! Definitely a kit turned gun whose value is greater than the sum of its parts.

Nuff Said.
CP

 

[barebackjack]

I dont think Ill be getting rid of it. If anything to see how far ive come at building rifles maybe 20 years from now.

I decided to leave the entry pipe in the white for two reasons:
1. Adds a nice contrast I think to the underrib.
2. I was sick of browning.

Thanks for all help again with this project guys, and thanks much for the comments.

Boone

 

[renovato]

Hey Boone, I have a quick question for ya. I'm assuming you did your carving before applying the finish. How'd ya keep the finish from building up in the carving?

 

[barebackjack]

Two coats of stain, two coats of LMF sealer, three coats of birchwood casey tru-oil, and three coats of BC wax, I didnt do anything, it just never filled in. The grain filled in very nicely, I think the carving lines are just to deep. I did get some white flakes in there while buffing down the wax, just picked these out with a toothpick.

Thanks

Boone

 

[shortjack]

Nice job. When you do your next one and I am sure you will do another one, if you find little chips in the wood take a wetted down piece of cotton wet down down the wood that is chipped and place the wet cotton rag over the top of the chip and put a hot iron that you use to iron clothes with on the wet rag. This will make the wood fibres swell, you might have to do this several times to get the wood to swell up even with the surrounding wood on the stock. Wait for the wood to dry and then sand it. That way you wont have little dips in the wood from just trying to sand it out.

 

[spitfire]

Nice job,I am sure you learned many things in building this rifle.Just remember skill comes from experience gained with patience. :winking: