first flinter

[bajabuc]

I built my own. Cut down a maple...axe and crosscut. Got an axle out of a 1948 ford 3/4 ton pickup rearend, reamed it, built a rifling bench, rifled it 4 groves 1:66. filed on the flats 3/4 octagon, the rest round with 2 wedding rings, Built a bowlathe and turned some hickory ram rods. Cut up a piece of 6"x4"x2" steel with a hacksaw and a file and made a flint lock. tempered the frizzen with a forge I built from an old cast iron furnace. Built a wood bench vise and made my ramrod farels and pinned them to the stock I carved from the tree I cut down. I cheated inletting the barrel and the ramrod hole...used a Delta Table Saw in the school shop to do the barrel and a 3/8 drill to drill the ramrod hole . Bought some sheet steel and made the self hinged patchbox and a couple of fancys for the cheekpiece. used a bunch of wheelweights to pour the nosecap. Took me 4 years...never made another. I've bought kits ever since.

 

[mazo kid]

Hairy, I applaud your efforts.....but....MY GAWD MAN!!!. Four years; is your time not worth anything? But, I'll bet you are right proud of that rifle; I know I would be. Emery

 

[Trench]

You have GOT to post pictures of that rifle. :grin:

 

[freeonthree]

we got to have pictures.
sounds like ya had lots of fun building it and gained a wealth of knowledge builing the rifle.
And how does it shot.

freeonthree

 

[Charles D. Prokopp]

Truly an admirable level of determination and commitment.
Now that you've made the tools to make the rifle, the next scratch-build should only take you...oh..two years!
Bravo, and ditto on the requests for pictures.

 

[Osprey]

The term 'one bad Mo-fo' does come to mind!! :bow:

 

[Goldhunter]

:shocked2: Holy @#$#@ man! That's determination! we must have pictures! :grin:

 

[bajabuc]

I started it when I was 18...I'm 66 now. egad!! nearly 50 years. How time does fly. It was sold almost as soon as I finished it...$850... if I remember...Earl Anderson bought it. I used some old book from the library for the basics and ideaed up the rest. I was told time and time again that I'd never finish it...and then, as I got close...that it'd never work. Oh...I soldered the trigerguard out of a couple of pieces of that sheet steel and made the sights and the under barrel lugs from some 3/8" square stock. I actually think I bought the tang...but I had to thread it myself. I never photographed it. And I'm thinking that was a mistake. I wonder if I have time to do it again?

 

[bajabuc]

I do still have the fullstock I built for my daughter...well...most of it..I used the second barrel for a lefthand rifle I made for my youngest son and the lock for a pistol I built for my father-in-law. The triggerguard is around someplace. The stock is two or three pieces of 90% maple glued together. I bought a GM .50 barrel 7/8 this go around. But the first barrel was a 1895 7mm 3 step Mauser barrel I drilled out to 3/8" and reamed it, rifled it, and round tapered from the big ring to the muzzle and from the big ring to the breach I filed on tapered octagon flats and two wedding rings. Don't have the barrel any longer but I've got the stock, trigger, ramrod ferruls and nosecap. She was tiny so the gun is too. I don't think it's a yard long. I'll take a pic of it and post it if I remember. I've been thinking about rebarreling it and sending it to my 9 year old granddaughter, but she's already taller than her mom and I don't think it'll fit.

 

[bajabuc]

I posted pics of the daughters gun. on the photo page...hey...I'm new.