Ordered my Kibler kit

[GregCSarver]

Been a longtime PA Flintlock hunter. Built and reconstructed many TC Hawken and Renegades plus 3-4 Lyman GPRs

Finally decided to treat myself to something of highest quality. I'm confident I can do the kit as it sounds like most everything hard is already done.

I have a three month wait but is there anything I should prepare for now? Special tools. etc?

 

[GregCSarver]

BTW I got the Colonial in .54 cal.

 

[Phil Coffins]

Can you make a scary shape edge on a chisel?

 

[Kmcmichael]

Welcome to the waiting club.

 

[GregCSarver]

Can you make a scary shape edge on a chisel?

I have decent chisels and sharpening stones but I never tried to sharpen them. What is the trick? Good tutorial?

 

[Forester]

Ordered mine about a month ago. SMR, 45, to hunt in PA. Also upgraded the wood to fancy. Now I'm also in the waiting club. It should be worth the wait.

 

[Larry (Omaha)]

I have decent chisels and sharpening stones but I never tried to sharpen them. What is the trick? Good tutorial?

I am still learning myself at 76 years. What works for me: Good flat stones graduating from aggressive cut to marble smooth, along with proper lubricant.
Angle of attack is critical, with respect to keeping proper angle while working the chisel. Strop with a good leather strop when finished. Check for sharpness. My father wet the hair on the back of his arm, and when the chisel shaved his hair, it was done. I prefer to lightly touch the blade to a thumb nail at an angle. If the blade digs in (we are talking very lightly now!) then it is sharp.

 

[forty_caliber]

Working on a .54 Colonial kit now. Besides scary sharp chisels, new sharp files. I bought several Pferd branded files for this build. They are a pleasure to work with. PFERD-Tool

.40

 

[Kmcmichael]

There is a little jig with rollers that can be used to prevent rounding the bevel.
I have some LeeValley chisels and some others but actually like the Japanese ones that I have.
Caveat, I have cut some dovetails and mortises. I also sharpen kitchen knives and straight razors.
This stuff is new to me. I know nothing about these kits, inletting or carving. My smaller chisel is 1/4” and I have no skew versions.
But for sharpening a loupe can help one new to it. I think single bevels like Chisels or traditional Japanese Sushi knives can be easier for a beginner. One can sharpen the bevel until the edge develops a wire and curls the flatten the other side, strop and go to work. There are other methods. I grew up with oil stones but now prefer water stones. Shaptons are my favorite as no soaking is needed.

 

[Phil Coffins]

There are many videos on Utube on sharping chisels. When chisel is sharp you can shave wood so thin that you can see threw it. And it takes very little effort so you can control the cut. All the really nice work you see is because the smith has sharp tools. You can too.

 

[troy2000]

I have decent chisels and sharpening stones but I never tried to sharpen them. What is the trick? Good tutorial?

Google 'scary sharp.' It's a method of sharpening using different grades of sandpaper over an extremely flat surface (such as glass), instead of using stones. After I started using it, I was embarrassed by what I had considered sharp most of my life. It takes my planes and chisels to a whole new level.

add: and congrats on ordering your Kibler. I'm totally in love with my .40 Southern Mountain rifle; I'd probably marry it if I didn't already have a wife.

 

[Patch]

I have decent chisels and sharpening stones but I never tried to sharpen them. What is the trick? Good tutorial?

Here is a good one:



Paul Sellers has a wealth of information between his youtube channel, books, dvds, and blog. Everything translates or has some application to what we do here.

Burr is just another name for a wire edge, you hear them used interchangeably.

After you sharpen your chisels you can run your thumbnail up towards the bevel and the lip it snags on at the edge is the burr and needs to be removed.

I remove my burr differently than Sellers, I give them a light stab into some hardwood end grain and give it a gentle twist. His way is probably better but my way works for me.

The actual angle you hold doesn't matter as much as the consistency you hold that angle at while sharpening. Just pick an angle and hold that angle. One of the biggest mistakes people make is they're constantly adjusting during their stroke or they can't hold whatever angle they settled on and it creates a rounded dull bevel.

Here is an image I quickly pulled off the internet somewhere, there are probably better ones out there but this should work:

The secondary bevel is what you saw Sellers sharpen when he had the chisel at a steep angle, that is the actual cutting surface. The back and primary bevel are just polished on the stone to help facilitate with the cutting. The vast majority of your sharpening will be done to touch up the secondary bevel.

A good analogy to shoot for would be a well trimmed finger nail: the secondary bevel should resemble the tiny line of white nail at tip.

I would advise against using an angle guide for sharpening anything except maybe a plane iron. For one, they are too expensive and limited in application, and secondly because you should be able to hold a consistent angle while sharpening, the control to be able to do that will translate into other aspects of building, and if you can't then you have plenty of time to practice before your kit arrives.

What brand and type of chisels and stones do you own?

 

[Kmcmichael]

What size chisels does one need for a kit build? Are skew chisels advised?

 

[Hatchet-Jack]

I ordered a Kibler in December. Katherine told me last week mine is very close to going into production.

You need to learn to use a leather strop for sharpening chisels. You don't want to use stones every time.

Here's the latest build list from Jim:

Building and Finishing A Kibler Kit Tool List:

A good brand of chisel are the Pfeil or Swiss Made tools sold by Woodcraft. But, to be honest, there's nothing wrong with a cheaper variety. You might have to sharpen a little more frequently, but they will cut just fine. I have heard good things about Narex being affordable and decent quality.

A medium and fine grit sharpening stone will work fine. You could use natural stones such as Arkansas, or something like ceramic or diamond. Again, I wouldn't go to crazy with something expensive. Diamond are very nice but a little pricy. Arkansas might be a good choice.

A cabinet scraper is a nice tool to have. Yes, I'm referring to a square flat piece of steel. Ones that are on the thinner side are best. Maybe .020-.025", but then again, any of them will work okay.

To draw file, all you need is a flat mill file. Usually around an 8" file works well.

Also:

*1/8” chisel
*1/4” chisel *Xacto style knife *small mallet sharpening stone
*6”-8” single cut mill file *6”-8” half-round file fine cut *half-round needle file triangular (3-square) needle file flat needle file
*center punch
*1/16” drill bits
*1/16” pin punch
*small hammer
*battery, electric or hand drill
*side cutters
*pliers or vise grips
*screwdrivers
*2”-3” c-clamp
*articulating arm lamp (draftsman style lamp with full range of motion preferred) jewelers saw (optional)
150-320 grit abrasive paper for wood 150-320 grit abrasive paper for metal cabinet scraper (optional)
jack stand prop for rifle (optional) extension cord
inletting transfer color
wood stain and finish of your choice metal finishing solution of your choice

 

[Hatchet-Jack]

Also you can start looking into how you want to finish your metal and wood. I am going with a French Grey rubbed back for the metal using the brass black product Jim uses, tannic acid and iron nitrate with bone black nuances to produce a dark finish that shows the curl. I'll finish that off with Tried and True oil.

Good luck!

 

[jcbooher]

I recently ordered an SMR kit as well. Does anybody know if the lock bolt is drilled and tapped?

 

[Hatchet-Jack]

I recently ordered an SMR kit as well. Does anybody know if the lock bolt is drilled and tapped?

I believe they now come drilled and tapped. The underlugs are drilled as well.

Update: I could be wrong about the underlugs, but I think I read somewhere recently that they are now drilled.

 

[forty_caliber]

I believe they now come drilled and tapped. The underlugs are drilled as well.

In the kit I'm working on now the newer version with the Green Mountain barrel. The lock came drilled and tapped. The underlugs were NOT drilled or slotted. Used a jewler's saw to do the slotting as shown in Jim's videos.

.40

 

[Hatchet-Jack]

In the kit I'm working on now the newer version with the Green Mountain barrel. The lock came drilled and tapped. The underlugs were NOT drilled or slotted. Used a jewler's saw to do the slotting as shown in Jim's videos.

.40

Thanks for the clarification!

 

[jcbooher]

Thanks for the info!