Kibler Woodsrunner Assembly Progress

[Flintandsteel]

I took my Kibler,s extra fancy curly maple down to 800 grit before dying and again afterwards to polish the grain. Followed by 5 coats of Truoil. It’s jewelry to me

it’s very difficult to get stain to absorb into a piece of maple that is sanded that fine. Then, how do you sand again after stain? I doubt anyone will know that it was sanded that far down after a few coats of finish. Even fine English guns were not finished this way.
To each his own, but I’ve built well over 100 guns to date, and it’s just not needed.

 

[Tenring]

That new Machine Kibler was talking about does a fantastic job of wow.

 

[Bnewberry]

Playing around with some carving ideas for the underside of the stock. I haven’t ever done stock carving but have looked at a bunch. I am sort of leaning towards a bit of asymmetry in the design On this practice bit of ash. Two different designs here, on the same bit of wood.

 

[Flintandsteel]

Bnewberry,
The quickest way to turn a $2000 rifle into a $300 rifle, is poorly laid out, or executed carving.
Study originals, NOT contemporary pieces. Draw, erase, draw erase, till you get it right. It’s not wrong to copy originals. Thats how you learn.
Better to keep it very simple. Some beaver tails around the lock/side panels, a molding line along the butt stock, and fore stock make a nice addition, without a lot of ways to go wrong.
The original rifle was pretty plain.
Good luck.

 

[Bnewberry]

Bnewberry,
The quickest way to turn a $2000 rifle into a $300 rifle, is poorly laid out, or executed carving.
Study originals, NOT contemporary pieces. Draw, erase, draw erase, till you get it right. It’s not wrong to copy originals. Thats how you learn.
Better to keep it very simple. Some beaver tails around the lock/side panels, a molding line along the butt stock, and fore stock make a nice addition, without a lot of ways to go wrong.
The original rifle was pretty plain.
Good luck.

Definitely good advice!

 

[TDM]

But, worse comes to worse, you can always order another stock. Personally, a couple of years ago, I tried my hand at incise carvings on an old Marlin Glennfied .22 stock of mine. Wasn't very pleased with the results. Definitely something that needs repeated practice. And I carve wood spirits as a hobby too (my avatar is one of my carvings). Even with good carving tools I found it to be a different skill set.

 

[Shadowalker164]

There are some gorgeous examples of Recoco C scrolls and the like. If you want to wet your chops on carving, the sky’s the limit in this classic school

 

[Shadowalker164]

Research gun makers of the 18th century before cutting.

 

[Shadowalker164]

TDM, I have long admired your avatar, am considering stealing it for the butt plate of my Colonial

 

[TDM]

TDM, I have long admired your avatar, am considering stealing it for the butt plate of my Colonial

Thanks, you certainly have my permission!

 

[oreclan]

Playing around with some carving ideas for the underside of the stock. I haven’t ever done stock carving but have looked at a bunch. I am sort of leaning towards a bit of asymmetry in the design On this practice bit of ash. Two different designs here, on the same bit of wood.

Take a look at the original, Jim Kibler's bench copy (I understand there are several others.) and the "feather rifle" for ideas. They are very simple tho' elegant.
I will definitely do some incised molding and beavertails on my cherry stock when it arrives in May.

 

[CuNosecap]

The real keys to carving are:
1. Keep it simple
2. sharp tools
3. Sharp tools
4. Sharp tools

This is especially true in curly maple. The more the curl, the more difficult to carve due to grain complexity. Dull tools make this more difficult.

Having provided these warnings, do carve your stock. If you dont start now, you won’t start next build either. be brave, it is not that hard if you use sharp tools.

 

[TDM]

The real keys to carving are:
1. Keep it simple
2. sharp tools
3. Sharp tools
4. Sharp tools

This is especially true in curly maple. The more the curl, the more difficult to carve due to grain complexity. Dull tools make this more difficult.

Having provided these warnings, do carve your stock. If you dont start now, you won’t start next build either. be brave, it is not that hard if you use sharp tools.

Yes, sharp tools are mandatory.

 

[RayjHindle]

It looks superb! Jim does an awesome job on these kits. I can’t wait to get mine (hopefully in March). I did get mine with a cherry stock, so it’ll be a little different from my others.

 

[Greg_E]

Kiblers sells stock to practice on, the machines are not 100% and the wood is far from 100%. Buy a reject and practice. I think I'm going to do this before trying to checker the one I'm working on.

 

[Redlemur60]

There is absolutely no reason to sand a maple stock finer than 220 or 320.
Especially after it has been sealed. These are guns, not jewelry.

? So,. The expression"we arent making violins?"
I would curtley replie, YOU arent.!

 

[Greg_E]

Just to follow up, here is a link to some of the carving items Practice carving kit for flintlock longrifle by Jim Kibler

? So,. The expression"we arent making violins?"
I would curtley replie, YOU arent.!

One needs to experiment somewhere, a cheap Traditions kit seemed like a good place to start for me. Not even sure I'll show my final result after reading some posts. Going to check the last coat I applied and see if it is glossy enough and without defects. Might get one more light coat if I'm not yet happy.

I should probably step up to a Kibler kit next, would be nice to have the higher quality parts to start with.

 

[Lippy984]

Here is a mistake. I let the drill chuck hit the stock. Fixed it with the scraper.

What is the scraper tool you are using?

 

[Bnewberry]

What is the scraper tool you are using?

Flat steel scrapers of several shapes. Here is one example.

 

[Lippy984]

Flat steel scrapers of several shapes. Here is one example.

I just watched a video Jim Kibler has on scraping. Is this any specific type of steel? Or any thin scrap laying around will do the trick?