My first kit

[Paul Regner]

I sure hope this your last kit! Its time to start building from blanks.

Thank you!

I'm not quite sure I'm there just yet. This kit has established a baseline for me and demonstrated where I need to work on honing some skills. I think I need to work on my steel finishing techniques and my carving skills (or more accurately, ESTABLISH some carving skills). I spent more time sharpening chisels than I did carving wood, and I don't think I have sharpening down pat yet. My understanding is that maple is not the easiest wood to carve on to begin with due to characteristics in grain structure, and it would break my heart to reduce a nice piece of curly maple to firewood.

 

[Paul Regner]

Very nice. That is some ambition to take on that file work and you did a great job of it. Sometimes you luck out with some very nice grain on those beech stocks. I have a Kentucky pistol that has a really nice side.

Love how you handled the trigger guard !

Thanks guys!

I screwed the trigger guard onto a scrap of 2x4 I had laying around (using disposable screws that didn't come in the kit), and that got secured into a vice. From there it was just a matter of revving-up the HiFi and getting to work with it. It began with removing the casting sprues and mold lines, and kind of got out of hand from there (I also had to take a fair amount of material from the rear foot of the guard for fitment to the stock). The ramrod thimbles were just a matter of slowly rolling them on the bench as I worked on them with jeweler's files. I find something really relaxing about shaping metals by hand.

In the interest of full disclosure, the idea for creating the facets on the trigger guard was not my own. I watched a series of videos on the YouTubes done by a guy from the nmlra.org, (I'm terrible with names) and he demonstrated that feature on his Traditions kit. I shamelessly copied the feature.

 

[Hatman/2nd line]

Nice job, congratulations!

 

[Redlemur60]

 

[LSB]

Nothing to be ashamed of with that project. Surprised the LMF browing solution failed you, I have had extremely good luck with it on rifle barrels, however there are many variables to consider such as humidity, time between coats etc. Don't give up on it if you want to brown another barrel-it might work great for you.

 

[Paul Regner]

Nothing to be ashamed of with that project. Surprised the LMF browing solution failed you, I have had extremely good luck with it on rifle barrels, however there are many variables to consider such as humidity, time between coats etc. Don't give up on it if you want to brown another barrel-it might work great for you.

I could probably break a steel ball bearing with a rubber mallet in a padded room. I'm certain I bolloxed something in the process. I still have half the bottle left, and I'll try again on my next project.

 

[holzwurm]

beautiful hand work. Nice job

 

[wganz]

set the barrel in a trough of pickling vinegar for about 15 minutes.
started over with the Birchwood Casey
coated it with Ballistol.
the next day barrel was a lovely deep mocha color.

Nothing from nothing leaves nothing.
Got a Traditions kit I’ll try that incarnation on.

 

[Paul Regner]

Nothing from nothing leaves nothing.
Got a Traditions kit I’ll try that incarnation on.

Scour the barrel with some 0000-steel wool while it's in the vinegar (it's a food product, so non-toxic on your skin).

 

[Paul Regner]

Well, I was feeling a little bored today, and with mild temperatures here in the desert I went out to the shop and fabricated a rudimentary v-block with some scrap angle iron, and drilled my ramrod ends and inserted some steel roll pins. I thought about going with some cut-off brass brads (I could have made them invisible in the ramrod ends) or small nails but decided not to leave anything to chance and used actual tiny roll pins.

Barring a failure in the hickory itself, I should never have to suffer the embarrassment or aggravation of attempting to extract my ramrod from the rifle, and coming away with just a ramrod end, or leaving an end inside the stock.

 

[Redlemur60]

Well, I was feeling a little bored today, and with mild temperatures here in the desert I went out to the shop and fabricated a rudimentary v-block with some scrap angle iron, and drilled my ramrod ends and inserted some steel roll pins. I thought about going with some cut-off brass brads (I could have made them invisible in the ramrod ends) or small nails but decided not to leave anything to chance and used actual tiny roll pins.

View attachment 170024
View attachment 170025

Barring a failure in the hickory itself, I should never have to suffer the embarrassment or aggravation of attempting to extract my ramrod from the rifle, and coming away with just a ramrod end, or leaving an end inside the stock.

Um thats a first. ?why?
And,. I think the conventional way is going to be more, reliable?
I dont like the idea of a ROLL pin moving around wheere i cant see it!
Pin it use a nail peen it until it cant wont wiggle then file it FLUSH. DO NOT reinvent the wheel it aint necc.
But your other work is outstanding.

 

[Paul Regner]

Um thats a first. ?why?
And,. I think the conventional way is going to be more, reliable?
I dont like the idea of a ROLL pin moving around wheere i cant see it!
Pin it use a nail peen it until it cant wont wiggle then file it FLUSH. DO NOT reinvent the wheel it aint necc.
But your other work is outstanding.

Overbuilding things has been an aspect of my entire adult life. perhaps it's why I was a good fit as a tank mechanic. If I was building a historically accurate piece, I think I'd have gone with the peened nail, but this is a recreational shooter and hunting rifle, so I opted to make it as strong as I thought it could be. Plus, I can always build another ramrod.

 

[Redlemur60]

Overbuilding things has been an aspect of my entire adult life. perhaps it's why I was a good fit as a tank mechanic. If I was building a historically accurate piece, I think I'd have gone with the peened nail, but this is a recreational shooter and hunting rifle, so I opted to make it as strong as I thought it could be. Plus, I can always build another ramrod.

Carry on

 

[BuffaloSoldier]

That's a very nice looking of shooting iron. Don't beat yourself up. Practice makes a good looking gun!!

 

[copehill hermit]

I think it is very nicely done. Hours of repetitive filing. excellent results!

 

[gunnyr]

Paul , Fantastic job , in fact it is so good , that I won't show my latest Traditions kentucky flint kit.
Again job very well done
gunny

 

[Paul Regner]

Paul , Fantastic job , in fact it is so good , that I won't show my latest Traditions kentucky flint kit.
Again job very well done
gunny

Gunny, if you're building kits, you're in the game and swingin'!

I had a lot of trepidation about posting my project on a forum that's obviously populated with people far more experienced at this than I am, and the support expressed in this thread has fortified my resolve to keep building and honing my skills. Start a thread and show us what you've created. I'll wager that you'll be impressed with the encouragement that you'll receive (I know I was).

 

[Greg_E]

That's some nice work! I'm also not going to make mine traditional, going nickel plate on everything and going to try checkering the stock. If I thought I could carve, I'd decorate more, but I know that would be a failure.

Regarding the brown, the barrel has some kind of protection on it, needed some mechanical abrasion to prep the steel to take the plating.