Musket kits, degree of difficulty?

[Brewer]

Hi Folks,
This is my first post over here, and boy am I glad to have found you guys!

I'm a newbie to flintlocks (tho not new to firearms) and am considering building a musket from a kit. I have a French 1777 repro from Middlesex Village Trading Co., which has been a great introduction to firelocks.

I'm now considering building either a Tulle De Chasse or English Fowler from a TOTW kit, or buying the Pedersoli 2nd model Brown Bess "kit" from Dixie Gun Works. The Pedersoli, as I understand it, would involve not much more than finishing the stock and assembling the components. The TOTW kits would likely be of better quality but may require skills in wood and metal work that I don't have.

Sooo, here are the questions:
How high quality are the Pedersoli Brown Bess replicas? Are the kits as easy to put together as they seem?

Conversely, how hard are the TOTW kits to put together? Do they involve lots of drilling/tapping, and fine inletting work? Could a ham-fisted novice put one together with a high likelihood of success?

Thanks so much for your feedback!
Brewer

 

Well mmmmm
First off I like TOW they have always been good with my orders or problems.
Now that being said I have built a few of their upper end guns for people who bought them as a kit and then went OHHHHHHHHH!!!! Here is why
These are not kit in the since of buying say a traditions or CVA, they are what I call builders kits.
for an extra fee they will do the drilling and maybe "FULL" notice I said "FULL don

 

[Stumpkiller]

Last I knew TOTW would do as much 'gunsmithing' as you were willing to pay for. That's the way I'd go. Have them do the tricky bits that require stuff like drill presses & mortise inletting/channel routing and do the final finishing myself.

 

[cayugad]

Captchee
That is the reason I have not yet tried to put together a kit or build a rifle. My fear is I would get into it and then find it more then I wanted to handle and end up with a box of parts around the house for a long time.

I looked at a Lyman Great Plains Rifle flintlock kit and thought about getting that, then a person on this board sent me an email and warned me the locks were no good in their opinion and they did not go together very easy. Again, scared off the project.

Have you ever put a Lyman together? If so was it complicated to do?

thanks..

 

[tg]

I put together a LGP caplock kit several years ago and found it to be pretty simple, I have heard both ways on their flintlocks....good and bad. you may want to look at some suppliers that offer "in the white" guns, all you do is take tem apart and finish up the detail and finish. they usually run a hundred bucks or so less than a finished gun and are a good way to get the feel of building a gun minus all the hard stuff...

 

The only ones I have seen where all that needs done is stain the stock and brown or polish are gun that are sold as described above "in the white"
Building from a partially inlet stock is not hard and I have seen pretty descent jobs done with minimal tools, especially if you have everything pre drilled.
If you where to pay TOW to breach the barrel do all the soldering of the barrel lugs and sites, inlet the barrel and lock, drill & tap the lock, trigger and tang, the rest would still rest with how well a person could do all the finish work. Its not hard guys just takes time and its one of those things that you get what you put into it, if you rush it will look rushed, if you get stuck ask someone, there is allot of good builders here to get info from.

Now as to the production kits.
IMO there is not a production gun made on the market that has a good lock when it comes to a flintier; this includes TC, traditions, Lyman and Pedersoli not in any given order. Sure they will fire and you may say

 

[cayugad]

Thanks for the information tg and Captchee. That's about what I thought. I think I will just get one that is already put together. I also think instead of a production rifle I might wait a little longer and get a custom made rifle from a reputable gun maker....

 

Brewer,

I am not a gunmaker but pretty handy with tools and have a reasonably well-outfitted shop. I ordered a TOTW "Poor Boy" percussion kit and built it in about 20 hours. I did no carving or extra work but I did make my own nosecap, triggerguard, buttplate and sights. It is a very plain rifle but shoots well and it gave me a taste of how much work is involved. There are some great makers on this site and their photos really give me inspiration for my next gun.

Anvil

 

[riarcher]

You may find this of interest.
This is a follow along on a rifle that a local (and member of this site) is doing. I think this is a great documentation (with pix) on the building process representing of most MLs.
I'm surprised the old swamper hasn't mentioned it himself (perhaps he's not into tooting his own horn? :winking
My take; TOW's are not kit guns as such, more of a componant package. I don't consider TOW's as a "entry level" package. However, If you've got patience, know "How to eat an elephant (one bite at a time)", and can figure out what comes before what, you may really enjoy the experience. Nice thing about TOW, if you "blotch" a step it's easy to order replacement componants and start over with the newly learned skills,,,,, and it couldbe a year or two down the road when it really bothers you (if at all). And the added benefit of buying componants as you go (and $ becomes available) is always a nice option,,, at least to me (helps induce patience).
My experiences with TOW has been outstanding thus far.

 

[Brewer]

Thanks so much for your help! I think I'm going to go for the TOTW Fusil de Chasse kit, and have them do some extra work for me. It was going to be my winter project, but now I can't wait. Now where's that Visa card?...

Thanks again,

Brewer

 

[Donny]

When you order from TOW, ask if all the parts are in stock. When I ordered a fusil kit, the lock came about 4 months later, then the stock came 7 months or so later. They usually do not volunteer to mention which items are on backorder. Also, take a good look at the finals on the triggerguard and buttplate, they not necessarily fit. I had much metal bending and difficulty, I could have started from scratch and had an easier time of it. Don :cry:

 

Thanks so much for your help! I think I'm going to go for the TOTW Fusil de Chasse kit, and have them do some extra work for me. It was going to be my winter project, but now I can't wait. Now where's that Visa card?...

Thanks again,

Brewer

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you wont be sorry .
Lay out all you want before you order. If you

 

[Brewer]

Nope, not me. I am a real Brewer, though!

Thanks Again!

 

[Zonie]

...If anyone want to see what a TOW kit looks like with a inlet stock .I have a fusil here that I am about to start for a fellow, its still in the box , with the parts in the ruff. I would be more the happy to take a few photos of any part or the fit of parts for anyone who is interested ,or has a concern, it will be about 2 weeks before I start this gun so it wouldnt be a problem.

Captchee: Any pictures and descriptions you could post would be greatly appreciated!
I only have one request. When you get around to posting this article on the construction, would you post it in the Builders Forum area?
When Builders Forum was set up, one of its purposes was to help the folks who were thinking of building their own gun but were afraid to try because they thought it was either beyond their knowledge or would require special high priced equipment.

I started a post on my Canoe Gun and the project is still under way, but moving slowly right now due to other things. It will continue in the near future.

As for the Commercially made kits, IMO even though they aren't the same quality as the "custom" gun parts, they are as good as the companys "finished" guns.
They do provide a way for those who are afraid of taking on a full gunmaking project to produce a nice gun made as well if not better than the factory can do. The person making the gun can actually feel a pride of accomplishment which just buying a finished product product can never duplicate.

For information about building a GPR, check out Builders Forum and look for posts made by Spotshooter. He asked a lot of questions, got a lot of good answers and has a lot of photos to go along with the story. I might add that building any of the other Commercial kits are about the same as building the GPR.

 

[tg]

Brewer, the lock on the Track De Chase kits is not at all PC but can easily be altered with some filing, it is all cosmetic, if you want a copy of an article on what needs done drop me a line and I will snail mail one to you, the extra for the walnut stock is well worth the cost if you want an authentic gun, most of these guns still existing are fron Canada and have iron furniture, some think brass may have been the choice in the maritime climates, there are no records of any French guns of this period being blued or browned, all references mention polished or highly polished barrels/furniture. TOW also has a 44" Fusil with a .58 bore option. Bouchards book ( The Fusil De Tulle in New France 1691-1741) would be a good thing to have as reference material when putting your gun together,he details many specs on these guns from originals.

 

Here is one made from Track's parts, but I think the stock was carved from a sawn blank rather than precarved.
:

 

[RussB]

Daryl...Now THAT, my friend, is a right nice piece!
Russ

 

Having the wrist checkered is a nice touch and improves the handling.