Started my Kibler .32 SMR Today

[garypl]

SMR arrived in the mail yesterday and I unpacked it and sorted through the parts.

Day 1:

Worked on it today from 6:00 PM ~ 7:30 PM. I finished inletting the barrel for a snug fit. Then I installed the triggers. Finally, I drilled the holes in the barrel underlugs. Had to get out a pin vise to hold the small drill bit for the drill jig, it worked out OK. That little drill jig works great!

The holes in the stock for the pins for the underlugs seem very tight - think I will have to open them up with the 1/16" drill bit. I couldn't push the pins through and I didn't want to crack the wood.

Next I have to slot the holes in the barrel underlugs - have to find my jeweler's saw - it's around here somewhere!

That's all for today.

 

[Thomas.bill92]

Off to a great start it seems, keep us posted!

 

[longcruise]

Yes, keep us updated.

 

[garypl]

Day 2:
I was busy and only spent 45 minutes this evening slotting the underlugs on the barrel. I found my jeweler’s saw but didn’t have any blades thick enough to cut the lugs - they kept breaking almost immediately. So I clamped a straight edge to my drill press table and drilled a hole on each side of the original hole and then used mini files to create the slots. Pins went in easily and next step will be the butt plate install.

Total time to date - 2 hours - 15 minutes

 

[tom_in_vt]

That is going to be such a fun little rifle. Thanks for sharing!

 

[garypl]

Thanks Tom - I agree with you - I've been shooting the same .40 flintlock since 1981 and last year I traded into a .32 caplock. I really enjoy shooting the little .32, but I prefer flintlocks, so here I am! I have been reading and watching videos of Kibler builds and found the information to be so helpful and I hope that I will be able to provide a couple of hints to help others while I am working on my kit. I'm keeping track of all the time I spend working on the basic kit, so others may have a better idea on how long it takes an average person to finish a Kibler kit.

 

[Granville]

I received mine today, only in .36. I was startled almost when I opened her up and saw how slim and almost fragile the whole stock is. It will be nice to get the barrel and buttplate mounted, seems like if you accidentally hit or drop it the thing it will be trouble. Thats not to say that its anything but top quality. Good luck with your project .

 

[garypl]

I received mine today, only in .36. I was startled almost when I opened her up and saw how slim and almost fragile the whole stock is. It will be nice to get the barrel and buttplate mounted, seems like if you accidentally hit or drop it the thing it will be trouble. Thats not to say that its anything but top quality. Good luck with your project .

My thoughts exactly! Every time I remove the barrel from the stock I get a little nervous until it’s back in place. But it feels so good and balanced when you put it up to your shoulder!

Good luck with your project!

 

[garypl]

Day 3: spent 50 minutes starting to fit the butt plate. It’s been many years since I’ve fit a butt plate - I forgot how much fun they are to fit! Top is pretty tight but I have a small gap in the curved section. Getting tired so put it away and will work some more tomorrow.

3 hrs - 5 minutes into it so far.

 

[garypl]

Day 4: spent 65 minutes finishing buttplate inlet and started to file down casting gates. I have good contact all around except near the top corner - there is @.005 tiny gap in the corner, but I think it will disappear when I finish the stock. The wood is proud of the buttplate so tomorrow I need to sand it down and trim the screw heads so they are flush. Next step ramrod pipes.

So far 4 hrs, 10 minutes into the build.

 

[garypl]

Finished filing casting marks from trigger guard today and inlet the guard and the lock. Took 1 hr 45 min. Spent 10 min yesterday filing buttplate screws to fit in the countersinks.

Total time so far 6 hr 5 min. Taking a break to cut the grass and plan to inlet ramrod pipes later if I’m not too tired!

 

[garypl]

Inlet 2 ramrod pipes and decided to call it a day. Mortises were a little short so I filed the ends of the pipes to fit. The lugs under the pipes were hitting the bottom of the barrel and were @0.035-0.040” too high to fully seat in the mortises. Took me 45 min to finish 2 pipes.

Total time so far is 6 hr 50 min.

Next I plan to inlet the last pipe, then drill and tap the lock. Also checked the ramrod fit and the hole drilled into the stock measures 0.300 and the ramrod is 0.325 - going to take a lot of sanding/scraping to make it slide into the stock.

 

[azmntman]

I originally ordered a .40 kit with extra fancy wood. Was excited then started seeing I needed TOOLS! Have not touched a chisel since 9th grade napkin holder project and the next time will not be on a Kibler rifle! I then noted the garage in disarray that will require much more time to clean than finish the gun if I had room. Problem was solved when I sold another gun and elected to put the $$ for the extra fancy wood towards "in the white" and figure with no tools needed and regular wood I will get a completed gun so that's where I am now. Kinda wish I had time/tools/talent now seeing this thread. BUT ALAS! I hear a voice....it keeps trying to mouth the words "colonial". What? oh my...... Rifle due in a month or so. Be watching your posts on finish!

 

[garypl]

I originally ordered a .40 kit with extra fancy wood. Was excited then started seeing I needed TOOLS! Have not touched a chisel since 9th grade napkin holder project and the next time will not be on a Kibler rifle! I then noted the garage in disarray that will require much more time to clean than finish the gun if I had room. Problem was solved when I sold another gun and elected to put the $$ for the extra fancy wood towards "in the white" and figure with no tools needed and regular wood I will get a completed gun so that's where I am now. Kinda wish I had time/tools/talent now seeing this thread. BUT ALAS! I hear a voice....it keeps trying to mouth the words "colonial". What? oh my...... Rifle due in a month or so. Be watching your posts on finish!

I agree that the right tools/space can make a big difference in doing something enjoyable or having a frustrating experience. You will still have a lot of work to do finishing the wood and metal, but at least you won’t need an assortment of new tools!

As you can see from the pics, my workbench is packed. This is normally where I do leatherwork, but that’s on hold while I work on the SMR. I want to finish this by end-June as that’s when my Colonial kit is supposed to ship! The SMR is my practice kit

 

[garypl]

Today I finished installing the front ramrod pipe. Took 50 minutes - I kept filing the pipe tang so it would seat fully into the stock. Measured the stock thickness at the front pipe and it was @.020 thinner than the middle and rear pipe areas so I took my time filing down the pipe. I made certain I marked the rear edge of each pipe as well as its position on the stock.

Next I clamped the lock in place, drilled the bolster and tapped it. Seemed to go smoothly until I removed the clamp and tried to thread the lock bolt - didn’t quite line up - was hitting the bottom edge of the hole in the bolster. Figured out that when I clamped the lock to the stock before drilling, I placed the clamp on the edge of the pan. It must have held the lock at a slight cant and when I removed the clamp and reseated the lock it didn’t line up perfectly with the lock bolt. So I trimmed the lock bolt and put a slight taper on the end. Then I turned the head of the lock bolt slightly to allow for a little adjustment in the side plate. I opened up the hole through the side plate, stock, and barrel lug by @0.020” to allow more clearance. Now the bolt threads easily into the bolster but when I tighten it down, there is @0.004” gap between the bolster and the barrel! I cut a shim from some 0.004” steel shim stock, trimmed it to fit the bolster and installed the lock with no gaps.
I won’t make this mistake again!

Next I started filing the gate marks on the buttplate and filing it smooth. Spent an hour with a flat mill file, then 100 grit paper and now 220 grit. Still have a long way to go.

So total time today: 50 min for front pipe, 20 min to drill and tap lock and ream holes, 1 hr filing and polishing buttplate.

Total time to date = 9 hr

 

[woodsnwater]

My lock came tapped. Is yours an older kit?

 

[garypl]

I just received it last week, so I guess it is a current lock. I thought the Ketland locks were backordered so maybe they came in and they shipped without drilling them. I think it would normally be better to drill and tap once the lock is fully inlet. In my case, I just clamped it too hard and in the wrond spot, but it looks fine now.

 

[Brazos John]

...how slim and almost fragile the whole stock is.

Another builder was concerned with the thinness of the long stock, so he found a piece of pvc the same diameter as the barrel, and put it in the barrel channel, probably with string or rubber bands, to reinforce the stock while it was being handled. Sounded like a good idea to me!

 

[garypl]

That's not a bad idea! I have kept my barrel installed almost the entire time I have been working on the rifle. It will have to come out soon when I start applying finish to the wood - just have to be really careful when handling it! I know I am a bit nervous whenever the barrel is out of the stock!

 

[garypl]

Didn’t have much time today so all I did was fit the ramrod to the stock, then stained the ramrod. Spent another 20 minutes polishing the buttplate. Total time today was 55 min for a total to date 9 hr 55 min.