Getting Closer...

[nymtber]

Well, a year ago I bought a Lyman GPR kit and thought "By spring, I will have a working blackpowder rifle!"

I was wrong. I worked on it some, roughed out the stock, sanded down half the metal work then just gave in. It was a LOT of work, and I don't know what happened. I took 2 weeks off (Christmas and New Years weeks) for the holidays and decided it was time to get it going again. And that I did!

I finished sanding the stock, got it close enough but could have done better on the butt plate area. Oh well. I Finished the stock in Minwax Antique Oil Finish, its not perfect but its OK for now. Ive had a LOT better finishes using that, but this is not terrible. I blued the endcap, ramrod insert in stock, buttplate, toeplate, and tang using Birchwood Casey perma-blue, while not the best bluing, I think it fits the look I was going for! I need to blue the trigger guard, barrel rib, and still have to draw-file and smooth the barrel, fit the sights, and blue it as well. I ran out of Bluing liquid, the bottle I had was about 8 years old, so I must buy more.

Is it going to be perfect? Nope. But it will be something I finished and I can always re-do it later on down the road when I have my own house and my own work area in the basement

I also have to get a few more things to shoot it. Pillow ticking, ball starter, patch jag, powder measure, cleaning patches... But I should have those by the end of the weekend.

I sure can't wait to make smoke! I'll take some pictures of my progress so far one of these days! Best of all, I did not break any escutcheon screws! And I have about 8 extras :idunno:

 

[necchi]

Don't forget to clean all the packing grease out of the barrel and flash channel before shooting it.

 

[MSW]

good deal ! keep 'chipping away' at it you'll end up with a pretty good rifle which will serve you faithfully for many (for that read 'all') of your years.

(psst - should we tell him that this is the first of many builds? that he's already hooked? that there is no magic twelve step program for this addiction? nah - he's already turned to the dark side ...)

bwahahaha!

make good smoke!

 

[nymtber]

Oh, the barrel will be cleaned well. Probably before I blue it since BC Perma blue is not the best stuff in the world. I have Barricade so Rust is no issue.

I'd love to build a flintlock someday, however I plan on buying a house this spring and since I'm single as can be, I won't have that kind of spare money, unfortunately. Unless I can get myself a nice raise this spring...

 

[Tumblernotch]

Better do it while you're single. Once you're married there is no spare money.

 

[nymtber]

Better do it while you're single. Once you're married there is no spare money.

Or just find a lucky gal that is into shooting as well...

Married? Once I have my own house I won't have money, marriage is really of no concern, since that would mean I would have MORE money! :grin:

 

[necchi]

marriage is really of no concern, since that would mean I would have MORE money! :grin:

:shocked2:
:surrender:

 

[nymtber]

Well, I got more blueing stuff. I got some Birchwood Casey Perma Blue Paste...

Don't waste your money. JUNK! It hardly blues evenly at all, and it leaves some sort of iridescent blue color! Almost like charcoal blue... I got the trigger guard to look OK, but doesn't match the bluing job from the Birchwood Casey Perma Blue liquid. I tossed the Paste, and will pick up some liquid next time I'm out. Not sure if I got a bad tube or what, but Ive used G96 paste before and it did really well in comparison!

All the reviews everywhere say how great of finish it gave. Not for me, it looks TERRIBLE, and I followed the same process as the liquid (which doesn't look great, but looks ok) I knew I should have just got the liquid! hmm!

next up: Getting barrel draw-filed, sanded and blued. Then I just gotta slap it together and get to the range!

 

[Zonie]

For Birchwood Casey Perma Blue to work the surface must be totally oil and wax free. This includes removing the oils that your skin can leave on any surface that's touched with bare skin.

If the surface was totally degreased, I've never had a problem with it.

 

[nymtber]

For Birchwood Casey Perma Blue to work the surface must be totally oil and wax free. This includes removing the oils that your skin can leave on any surface that's touched with bare skin.

If the surface was totally degreased, I've never had a problem with it.

I've never had a problem with the liquid. After denatured alcohol, hot water, and brake cleaner with me wearing gloves, I would think oils and waxes should be gone! As mentioned I'll get the liquid again and do this over. I don't like the gel-like nature of the "paste" its impossible to get a good coat on the part.

I think tonight is going to be starting the draw-file process on the barrel. I'm not going to work past 220 wet-dry though, I don't think I want a fine finish.

 

[excess650]

Browning the barrel would be far more durable than a cold blue. IMO, if you want it durable, get it hot blued or rust blued.

I have used Oxpho Blue from Brownells. It seemed to make color well enough, but has since faded, or burned off considerably around my lock (flint).

 

[gland]

Married? Once I have my own house I won't have money, marriage is really of no concern, since that would mean I would have MORE money! :grin:
[/quote]

Yer showin yer age here!! :haha: Good luck with the build. Look forward to seein it!!

sweed :thumbsup:

 

[BrownBear]

...marriage is really of no concern, since that would mean I would have MORE money!

Clearly no one has told you about the Man's Pledge. The husband signs it just before the marriage ceremony.

Here 'tis:

What's yours is yours, and what mine is ours. :wink:

 

[nymtber]

Alright, enough with the Marriage comments. This is about gun building, not marriage.

I got two flats of the barrel draw filed tonight. Easy, but tedious. I plan on only going to 220 grit wet/dry for the finish, I don't want it bright at all. If I had a finish file, I would use that, but I'm not spending any more money except on cold blue and a nipple wrench.

I've thought about the browning solution. Maybe I will do that at some point. Right now, its too much work. Once I get my own house, maybe!

I hope to have the barrel ready for blue by the weekend, and I will go visit my dad/pick up the blueing solution at the store.

Should I clean the bore BEFORE bluing? Its got some nasty nasty looking stuff in there. Brake cleaner?

 

[bpd303]

I have had excellent results with Perma Blue. One thing I do is to wipe the metal with white vinegar
prior to applying the Perma Blue.

 

[frogwalking]

Building and shooting guns is pretty cheap entertainment if you take a year or even six months to build one. It is a lot cheaper than playing golf, or sailing for instance.

 

[nymtber]

I have had excellent results with Perma Blue. One thing I do is to wipe the metal with white vinegar
prior to applying the Perma Blue.

hmm...what does the vinegar do? I have half a gallon of it!

And yes, building a $400 kit over a years time is much cheaper than a LOT of hobbies. And I quite enjoy both wood and metal working

 

[bpd303]

White vinegar is a mild acid. It cleans the bare metal of any residual oils and lightly etches the metal to allow the Perma Blue to bond better. I just rinse and dry the metal prior to applying the blue then rinse and oil well after it looks even.

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

White vinegar is a mild acid. It cleans the bare metal of any residual oils and lightly etches the metal to allow the Perma Blue to bond better. I just rinse and dry the metal prior to applying the blue then rinse and oil well after it looks even.

Hmmmm, I always cleaned the metal with naptha, wearing gloves of course, before cold blue applications.

I'll have to try the vinegar trick!

 

[nymtber]

I'm trying the vinegar before doing the barrel! I have some Heinz 6% "cleaning" vinegar (still food safe, just 1% more acidic) so that should work. It does make sense...

Its COLD here, so off to my warm basement to draw file