Pedersoli Kentucky Pistol Kit

[Compressorguy]

A little update on the progress of my Pedersoli Kentucky flintlock kit. It looks nothing like when I first stated, lol. I did away with the barrel retaining type muzzle cap and replaced it with a traditional brass one, cut and installed barrel lugs, made a jig for the drill press and drilled and pinned the barrel and installed inlays. I even made some very small chisels out of a hack saw blade and they were invaluable installing the inlays. I made a completely new trigger out of some 1/8 bar stock and removed all the excessive trigger play. The trigger barely moves uncocked and now sets with some preload and breaks clean at around 4 lbs. Also inletted and drilled and pinned a new trigger guard. I filed down the extra talk rear sight and cut a new groove and replaced the front sight and filed to shape. Lastly I drilled and tapped the lock bolts and replaced them with 10/32” screws. It’s almost finished except for draw filing the barrel and browning the barrel and lock and final sanding and staining the stock. It’s been a lot of fun and a great but challenging learning experience. Here’s some progress pics.

 

[Compressorguy]

Some more pics

 

[Compressorguy]

Pic of the trigger I made for it.

 

[ghostdncr]

Yes sir, I think you've improved that kit substantially. I hope you'll keep the progress reports and photos coming!

 

[Compressorguy]

Muzzle end.

 

[JRBCo.]

Pistol looks good. I have that same kit but have not started it yet. I was kind of disappointed with how barrel was attached. You came up with some great ideas. Two questions. How did you attach the inlays and how did you attach the muzzle cap on the stock. My stock ends quite a ways from the end of barrel. Thank You

 

[Compressorguy]

Thanks! The inlays came from TOW and I inletted them into the stock and then epoxied them in. I then wiped off any excess epoxy with alcohol. The trick is just enough but not too much and barely any came out to make a mess. I’ve never done it before but it was relatively simple to trace around with an exact knife then carve out the wood. I made these two small chisels out of an old hacksaw blade and they were invaluable in completing the inlays.

Regarding the muzzle cap, I cut a small slot in the short tang that hangs off the front of the stock and epoxied in a thin strip of “lite ply”. If your familiar with and built RC planes you’ll know what this is. It’s super strong/stiff for its size. I cut a piece about as wide as the wood tang and it reached to the end of the muzzle cap, about an inch. Once dry, I then cut the oversized brass cap (bought the rifle version, not the short pistol version to give me extra) and fitted it to the barrel and stock so no gap remained. Once satisfied with the fit, I slathered the barrel with car paste wax and filled the void between the sock, cap and barrel with 5 min epoxy. Squeezed it together making sure it was all under and around the lite ply and let it set. So essentially I built up the stock with a piece of wood, lol and epoxied the muzzle cap on. After a couple minutes the epoxy had set and the barrel lifted right out. If you look close you can barely the piece of lite ply under the epoxy and the void completely filled with epoxy. Feels very strong. I guess you could also drill and install a couple small steel pins to reinforce and “extend” the stock. Either way it worked perfectly I think.

 

[Compressorguy]

For the most part I completed the pistol today and put it together. I inletted an acorn I made out of some silver coinage. I also browned the barrel last night and hated it. It turned out very brassy colored. Thinking I would redo it, I buffed off the brass brown with some 0000 steel wool and behold I loved the finish left behind. Almost looks like a aged vintage patina steel now. I think I will leave it for now. The rear sight is the original sent with the kit but heavily modified and blued/black. I was going to brown the lock but after I the barrel I may just leave it alone or.....? Regarding the stock I finished it in 4 coats BC Rusty Walnut stain and then applied 5 coats of BC Tru-oil and wiped with 0000 after each application. For the final finish I then applied black carnuba wax to fill any pores and give it a darker grain appearance then buffed it off with a cotton tee shirt. I think for now I’m done but would like to do some engraving on the brass side panel but will study and practice first. Anyway here’s some pics of my first completed kit and a far departure from where it started from. She’s a good sparker!!!

 

[Compressorguy]

Some more pics

 

[Compressorguy]

Few more

 

[Compressorguy]

Last ones

 

[cowboydave]

That's looks very nice. You did a fine job. Thanks for posting the pics and info.

 

[desi23]

Looks great! Nice job, I think it looks much classier than a factory model.

 

[rtuba71]

Wow ........ Great job!!

 

[JRBCo.]

Your pistol really turned out nice. Thanks for the info. I have hope for my pistol now.

 

[DanL]

Looks fantastic!

 

[deermanok]

Very nice work.

 

[Euan]

You did an excellent job with that kit. Well Done.

 

[Colonial Boy]

Last ones

A great job and I’m sure that you’ll get a lot of enjoyment.
‘Hope you find the frizzen

 

[Loonhaven]

I like the way you handled the muzzle end. Looks alot better than factory. This is a Pedersoli Kentucky pistol that I altered to look more like a pistol that might have found its way to rendeavous.