Getting started

[PEARL DRUMS]

I’m ready to start building a rifle and have zero chisels or gouges. That being said. What do I truly need as for size and shape? I plan on buying a stock with a barrel channel cut in and RR hole drilled. I appreciate the help.

 

[reddogge]

I've used 1/2",1/4", and 1/8" flat chisels. The 1/8" I ground down from a 1/4" chisel. They are basic Stanley chisels. I have a variety of gouges 3/4" down to 1/8" with Swiss Pfeil being the best quality.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

TOW offers an 8 piece set that should get you started but I find there is always something different that I wish I had. Woodcraft.com has good quality but they are pricey.

https://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/1030/3/chisel-set-8

 

[billraby]

Don't go cheap on chisels. If you are going to make a habit of building guns, get the Pfeil chisels. They are expensive and worth every penny.

 

[Phil Coffins]

Make them yourself, if you can’t make a chisel then you are in over your head.
IMG_0250 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

 

[akroguy]

A Japanese Shinto rasp is an amazing tool for removing large amounts of wood during rough shaping tasks.

9 Shinto Saw Rasp by Shinto​

 

[PEARL DRUMS]

I have a few Shinto’s. Can’t live without them. I build a lot of bows and archery related items. Pretty much everything I need to bow hunt.

What grade steel are those tools from, Mr coffins?

 

[Phil Coffins]

Mostly O1

 

[rp77469]

IMO, learning to sharpen is more important than the quality of the tools themselves. You need to sharpen more often and do so as soon as you notice dullind. Having said that, still buy the best you can afford and only cry once.

A long time ago I made some decent, small inletting chisels from USA concrete nails and a propane torch. Buy some O-1 stock as they are all chinesium metallurgy today and will not harden for me.

 

[rp77469]

Here is an excellent discussion of gun building tools. You don't need all these to get started. My first build used a bench top mini Workmate as a vise, a couple Stanley bench chisels and an Xacto knife.

 

[rchas]

1/8, 1/4, 1 inch chisels. A small v and u gouge. An exacto or other good whittling knife. I prefer a spoke shave and a 35 mm wide #8 or #9 gouge instead of rasps to rough out a stock. You will need a way to sharpen the tools.

 

[PEARL DRUMS]

Thanks guy’s. This is enough to get me moving. Sharpening is no problem. My shop is set up for bows, but it seems a lot of my tools and holding devices will cross over.

 

[Capnball]

I’m ready to start building a rifle and have zero chisels or gouges. That being said. What do I truly need as for size and shape? I plan on buying a stock with a barrel channel cut in and RR hole drilled. I appreciate the help.

Are you building from scratch? Or a kit? I would highly recommend an inexpensive kit as your first build. They don't require a lot of tools, you can buy them as you need them and if you think this is something you'd like to get involved in further, you can buy good tools. I've seen some beautiful kit builds both inexpensive and top shelf. Kibler? What can you say about that rifle that hasn't already been said. Attention to detail, fit and finish are everything! Have a blast. Listen I restored an antique. Look for it here. It's called , "Bridesberg Resurrection" you can probably get an idea what it's going to take.

 

[PEARL DRUMS]

From scratch. I put a Kibler together and enjoyed it very much, especially the end product for the $1200 I spent on it. But, it wasn't nearly enough for my hands to stay interested. A cheap kit from Traditions doesn't even start to interest me. I need much more detail and critical thinking to keep my interest piqued. I can handle a mostly scratch build. Hopefully I don't come across as arrogant. I'm not. I'm just very confident in my hands and mind.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I have only built 5 guns, the first two were blanks with barrel inletted and the ram rod hole drilled, two were pre-carves, one was a Kibler SMR, simple, but used the same tools.

My advice is not to buy a set of chisels or gouges, you will never use part of the set. The tools you use for shaping a bow are all you need for shaping a stock, I use a #49 Nicholson and transition to a half round Nicholson and sandpaper on a Sand Devil block for the finish shaping.

When I am inletting, I outline with an Exacto knife and use a 1/8" or 1/4" flat chisel for the straight lines and gouges for the rounder parts. I don't get in a hurry, I do my final fitting with a fine riffler file.

I second the making your own tools if you find you need something special that you don't have. I use concrete nails, beware, making these things is addictive, before long you will have a handful of them. Most of these are for scraping tight spots in inlets. I heat the nail, pound it out to shape, heat it and quench it in oil. I don't temper the tool after I make it, I have never had one break because the metal was brittle.

Here is an example; I have trouble getting a perfect inlet for the nose of a Late Ketland lock, I have used several of them. I got out a concrete nail and made a perfect gouge to cut this inlet. It might have taken me 15 minutes to make this tool.

 

[PEARL DRUMS]

Nice handful of tools, Eric. Thanks for the tips. I do believe you and I think very much alike. I have seen it many times over the years in our bow building and now rifles.

 

[Capnball]

From scratch. I put a Kibler together and enjoyed it very much, especially the end product for the $1200 I spent on it. But, it wasn't nearly enough for my hands to stay interested. A cheap kit from Traditions doesn't even start to interest me. I need much more detail and critical thinking to keep my interest piqued. I can handle a mostly scratch build. Hopefully I don't come across as arrogant. I'm not. I'm just very confident in my hands and mind.

You didn't come across arrogant at all. I was going by your first post. I thought you were a new guy. But please post your progress, plenty of guys way smarter then me will lend some solid advice. We like pictures to! Lol