My Traditions Kentucky Pistol Build

[wiscoaster]

....Adaptable to a rifle too.

....

Is it pinned in place through the lock bolt hole?

Thanks!! But, no, it's just gravity that keeps it there. So, I'm a bit leery of using the same idea for a rifle barrel. Honestly, if it were a rifle barrel, I'd probably want to figure out a way to hang it from the tang screw hole (if it has one, I guess).

Can't do that over the kitchen table, even in my house.

 

[wiscoaster]

Parts order update:

The new stock and parts kit I ordered arrived today. Very fast shipping. I'm impressed with this seller on ebay.

I did some quickie dry-fitting of the new parts to my original and mostly finished stock and decided the original stock was still a no-go. So, since I'm basically going to be restarting from scratch with a new stock, and I'm just repeating what I've done before, no more step-by-step updates will be posted to this thread that just cover old ground already documented. I'll resume build updates when I get back to the point where I'm doing something new and not previously posted.

In the interim while waiting for parts, though, I did decide to give the barrel another two applications of plum brown, and the lock plate and hammer another two applications of paste blue, and I must say, I think they're looking awesome.

 

[kyron4]

Parts order update:

The new stock and parts kit I ordered arrived today. Very fast shipping. I'm impressed with this seller on ebay.

I did some quickie dry-fitting of the new parts to my original and mostly finished stock and decided the original stock was still a no-go. So, since I'm basically going to be restarting from scratch with a new stock, and I'm just repeating what I've done before, no more step-by-step updates will be posted to this thread that just cover old ground already documented. I'll resume build updates when I get back to the point where I'm doing something new and not previously posted.

In the interim while waiting for parts, though, I did decide to give the barrel another two applications of plum brown, and the lock plate and hammer another two applications of paste blue, and I must say, I think they're looking awesome.

Can't wait to see more pictures.

 

[wiscoaster]

Step #20:

Sights.

These come blued, so they need to be de-blued and re-rust browned to match the barrel. Such easily overlooked pieces - easy to forget about, but important. So fired up the oven for a rust browning session with just the sights.

Before:

After de-bluing and re-rust browning:

I dunno, at this point there's not much difference. Though I suppose black would stick out more after installing into the barrel. You'll notice I didn't detach the blade, figuring the process would "patina" it somewhat, which worked out OK. A small forceps and a stiff brush help to card these tiny pieces. It's hard to get into all the corners with just steel wool and your fingers.

So they need to be installed into the barrel dovetail slots. The irritating part is that after all the trouble of rust browning, in order to get them to fit, a lot of the brown finish ended up getting sanded off. So some additional spot touch-up was needed after installing.

In the barrel, and hopefully centered. Will find out shooting!!

 

[Sam squanch]

You know if you get married, your new workshop will be a picnic table in the backyard, right?

 

[Trot]

Looks good, but I do believe the rear sight should be turned around. The flat side should go toward your eye.

 

[wiscoaster]

You know if you get married, your new workshop will be a picnic table in the backyard, right?

No chance.

especially not in Wisconsin!!

 

[wiscoaster]

Looks good, but I do believe the rear sight should be turned around. The flat side should go toward your eye.

I checked with a couple of my milsurps with v-notch rear sights and I do believe you're correct. Thanks!!

maybe knocking the sight out might also dislodge the stuck bullet

 

[kyron4]

Looks good !

And Trot is correct, the dished out side of the rear sight faces away from you. It's there to give a crisper sight picture and reduce shadowing and glare.

 

[wiscoaster]

Opinion input request:

As I mentioned in a previous post in this thread, I'm thinking about a decorative brass side plate on the offset side of the pistol. I'd want to retain the original provided washers so as to get the proper spacing to the lock side plate. I think the inlet and simple curves metal shape and engraving in the pic below would be something I could pull off with my current limited skillset and tools.

What do you guys think? Adds any attractiveness value to the pistol or just looks stupid? Thanks ....

 

[Sam squanch]

I think it would look nice.

 

[wiscoaster]

Step #21:

Finishing the stock (again).

Base coat of a BLO and dark walnut stain combo. Dry and steel wool. Second coat of a combo of Minwax Tung Oil Finish and red Transtint dye. Dry, steel wool, and very light 400 grit. Third coat of same combo, very thin. Waiting to dry. See how it looks tomorrow. Might be done and ready for final assembly? Or might need one more very light & thin coat of tung oil.

Local outdoor ranges are closed Monday and Tuesday, so the earliest I could test fire would be Wednesday.

Stay tuned.

 

[wiscoaster]

Step #22:

Final Assembly.

Not without the usual minor irritations like screws that were too long and needed to be shortened, etc. I forgot to grease the rod retention spring before installing it. And I know the nose cap doesn't look perfectly straight, but I had that damn thing on and off a half dozen times filing here and there with little effect. Actually, now that I look again at the photo, I think maybe its the stock that isn't straight where it abuts the nose cap. Ah, well. Something for later.

Also for later, the decorative side plate idea has been shelved for now. I just wanted to get the dang thing done!!

It's been function checked with just a cap, but first shots will have to wait for a trip to the range, which probably I won't get to until tomorrow. I want to make up a muzzle-loader range kit first. Also have some other priority stuff needs to be done today.

But all in all, I'm fairly pleased with the outcome so far. And the little adventures along the way.

 

[BackDraft]

Looks nice!

 

[JeffG]

Step #22:

Final Assembly.

View attachment 228307
View attachment 228308

Not without the usual minor irritations like screws that were too long and needed to be shortened, etc. I forgot to grease the rod retention spring before installing it. And I know the nose cap doesn't look perfectly straight, but I had that damn thing on and off a half dozen times filing here and there with little effect. Actually, now that I look again at the photo, I think maybe its the stock that isn't straight where it abuts the nose cap. Ah, well. Something for later.

Also for later, the decorative side plate idea has been shelved for now. I just wanted to get the dang thing done!!

It's been function checked with just a cap, but first shots will have to wait for a trip to the range, which probably I won't get to until tomorrow. I want to make up a muzzle-loader range kit first. Also have some other priority stuff needs to be done today.

But all in all, I'm fairly pleased with the outcome so far. And the little adventures along the way.

Nicely done!

 

[TDM]

Very nice. Good work.

 

[wiscoaster]

Step #23:

First live fire.

Range day today. Got my kit all packed. Weather cool and cloudy. The range I used today is pretty well sheltered from the wind. Target used is the big 18 in. square "Shoot n See". Target distance at five paces (approx 15 feet). Shooting offhand standing and unrested, two-handed grip, point of aim is center of bullseye.

First shots with a 20 grain load of Pyrodex. My usual pistol practice distance is 25 feet, so my first group of three shots is pretty embarrasing:

Definitely pulled shot #2 down and to the left; I could feel it as I fired. My lame excuse is "learning the lengthy trigger pull".

Second group of three with 25 grains:

That's better. At least it shows me the gun is shooting consistently.

Third set with a 30 grain load:

Can't see any significant difference between 25 and 30 grains, so I'll probably go with 25 grains.

I was going to reshoot the 20 grain set, but then, guess what, I got distracted by something, forgot to load powder, and loaded a stuck ball!! Good thing I had a new sturdy range rod, a good bullet puller, and previous experience handling a stuck ball ... Bullet stuck in barrel - with a twist ... I did try the "shoot it out technique", which didn't work for me, and my CO2 discharger hasn't come yet, so I handled it with no problem with my bullet-puller. By then I was about done for the day. The main discovery of the trip was that I wasn't cutting my patches small enough. They were too difficult to start. I had to borrow a dull scissors from the RSO. Trimmed so that the size of patch when laid over the muzzle just covered the barrel end turned out to be just right.

The groups were all a little high and a little left, so I'll try drifting the rear sight to the right, and perhaps filing the V-notch a little deeper. I have another rear sight as a backup in case I screw that up. Any thoughts on my elevation remedy? And how much deeper if I do file it?

Learning experiences for the day: 1) pay attention to what you're doing (as with anything where the sequence of steps is crucial to the outcome), and 2) shooting a single-shot muzzle loader is a hell of a lot of work!! Tires me out!! I think I'm going to try a cap and ball revolver next. (Got my eye on the Colt 1860 Army).

So ....

End of build

Thanks for all the comments, opinions, ideas and support.

 

[64Springer]

Not too shabby.

 

[TDM]

Good shooting there @wiscoaster!

 

[wiscoaster]

Build follow up:

I drifted the rear sight about half a millimeter for windage correction as detailed above for first shots, and that proved to be about twice what it needed to center the point of impact. I filed the v-notch until I had bright metal (then reblued it) and that proved to be about half of what it needed to correct the elevation.