Tools

[barebackjack]

What are the essential tools needed to build a rifle (not a kit rifle)?

Any good brands that work for you, types, etc.

I would like to build a "scratch" rifle, although not as "scratch" as some of you do, but not a kit rifle.

I really like the Lehigh style, but have been told it is one of the hardest styles to do well, so is not suited for a begginer. I have woodworking experience, I worked two years in a carpentry/cabinetry shop, im no master, but not totally naive to it.
What are some other styles to maybe look at besides the lehigh, that somewhat follow that style?
I dont want to do a kit rifle (but if I can get the lyman kit im looking at cheap, ill get that too), and have decided that if im going to spend a sizeable amount of money, I would like to do something a little more unique.

Thanks for the help, Im sure ill be needing more.

Boone

 

[Norskie]

Power tools: drill press. Small and cheap is fine.
Hand tools: draw knife, four in hand rasp, files, good whittlin' knife, chisels and a few gouges, coping saw, hack saw, hand saw. There's more, but that's all I can remember, now.

 

[Cherokee]

Taps and dies. Harbor Freight will work for these just dont put much stress on them. Decent set of files. Craftsman files are good. Buy a few about $30 for three good ones triangle flat and flat course type.

 

take a peek at[url] airbum.com[/url], its an airplane site, but has some good stuff. [url] http://airbum.com/NeatShtpix/HainesPart1.html[/url]

 

[Tinker2]

Boone

Are you going to do this in a dorm room?
Kitchen table or work bench?

When I was still in school, at one time, my work bench
was a TV tray.
How much room you have to build something can be a
major factor in what you build.


Tinker2
From Pierre

 

[LRB]

Think Jim Chambers kits. They are between scratch, and a kit such as Lyman.

 

[MSW]

if you've worked at a shop, you are probably well ahead of most of us (you're a mile ahead of me, anyway). the tools which i've put to best ase are, oddly enough, not rasps or drills, etc. but think about the following if you don't already own them
-- a bunch of really good lights, both flourescent and incandescent.. adjustable for as many angles as you can get.
-- if you haven't had your eyesight checked lately, get a new pair of glasses
-- get (at minimum) Recreating the American Longrifle, and The Gunsmith of Grenville County. also check out[url] technicalvideorentals.com[/url] (sp?) these books are doubtless the most cost- efficient pourchases i've ever made... thay have both saved me many times the cost of botched up parts, not even considering the time i'd have wasted messing something up and either trying to fix it or having to replace it altogether
-- a really solid bench, and a really good vice, or vices. patternmakers' vice, gunstockers vice, at (at minimum) the heaviest machinist vice you can get. make sure the bench is the right height for you, so you don't trash your lower back leaning over it.
-- a really good set of sharpening stones. if you don't have good whetstones, you will have dull tools, which are an anethema and apotheosis (to borrow from Faulkner)... so, if you don't have 'em, go get 'em right now.

-- a clear understanding that this is one of the most addictive hobbies going...

good luck, and welcome into what i hope will be a greatly satasfying experience.

MSW

 

[Zonie]

To build one of the Pre-Carved stock "box of parts" like you would get from TOTW or Pecatonica River, this is my listing of the minimum tools you should have. There are dozens of tools that are useful but the tools in this list are IMO required.

Electric hand drill
1/16, 5/64, 3/32, 1/8, 5/32, 3/16, 1/4 inch drill bits.
Center punch
Awl
#6-32 tap and correct tap drill
#10-32 tap and correct tap drill
1/4-28 tap and correct tap drill
Tap wrench handle (fits above taps)
(With taps, buy the very best you can find. Even the best will sometimes break but IMO, cheap taps will create a real nightmare from the get go.)
10 inch Mill File
10 inch Bastard File
10 inch Double cut Bastard File
3/8 dia Rat tail file
3 corner file (triangular)
Several high quality screw drivers (plain, not Phillips)
90 degree Countersink
Tri-Square
1/4 inch Chisel (best you can find)
Non metallic hammer
Inletting Black or Lip Stick your wife wouldn't own.
Large handle Exacto Knife with #2 pointed blades.
Whet Stone
Small Vise that can clamp on a table, or a Workmate or similar clamping bench
8 inch Vise Grips
Hack Saw with high speed steel blade (32 TPI)
Lock Mainspring vise (TOTW or MBS)
1 X 1 1/2 X 4 block of wood for a sanding block
LOTS of sandpaper (80, 120, 220 grit for wood)
Wet/Dry sandpaper (silicone carbide) (120, 220, 350 grit)
Brass Polish
Silver Polish (for mirror finish on brass parts)
Water base or Alcohol base stain
Finishing topcoat oil (tung or Tru-Oil)
Browning Solution
A 6 inch Dial Caliper (is one of my most often used tools. Useful for making sure of drill diameters, determining locations for pins, widths of forends...all kinds of things )

IMO, Dremel tools are dangerous to use around a high dollar piece of wood so I don't recommend them for beginners.
IMO, a adjustable fluorescent light with a magnifier built in is very handy (but not a required item).
A propane torch is often handy for soldering, browning, heat treating small parts...

I'm sure there are a few things I forgot but with the above tools, I could assemble and finish a gun.

 

[sdakotadoug]

Thanks Zonie, you always come through. I'm starting to build my own tool selection. Doug

 

You'll note that other than a hand drill Zonie didn't list any power tools. I would opt for a small table top drill press instead. Most power tools have been known to get people in trouble real quick,(Don't ask how I know) and are not really needed to build with. Zonie did miss out on two tools, a number 49, and 50 Nicholson Rasp.. These would be esential when removing a lot of wood. Bill

 

[Tinker2]

Doug, good to see an other person from South Dakota on this board.

Collecting tools never ends.



Tinker2

 

[flashpanner]

I'm comming to your shop to build my rifle! sounds pretty equiped. Do you have a coffee pot nearby?

 

[barebackjack]

I have a garage, modest workbench, modest tools. Im in the process of building the "brick sh#thouse" of workbenches.

Thanks for all the input and advice fellas.

That list was very helpful Zonie, thanks much. I agree on the power tool bit, the old masters did it way back without em, I figure I can too.

What about styles of rifles? Like I said, I REALLY like the Lehigh style, but hear its pretty difficult, what would be some better choices for me that follow somewhat close to this style?

Thanks again, great site, great guys.

Boone

 

[barebackjack]

Has anyone ever gotten a component set from dunlap woodcrafts? The website says 90-95% inletted and finished stocks.

Boone

 

[Zonie]

Glad to help out.

The reason I didn't include a drill press is I figured the list should be for someone who had already spent their money on gun parts :grin:

Actually, if someone asked what power tools do I own and what should they should buy first my answer, in this order, would be:

Bench grinder. This is not only good for grinding, but one of the wheels can be replaced with a buffing wheel. The buffing wheel, used with the right compounds can save a person many hours of polishing on their brass/German Silver parts and little things like screw heads that IMO look very professional when polished.

Drill Press. Not only useful for drilling holes, but with a 1 inch, 1 1/2 inch and 2 inch sanding drum attached it can smooth and shape wood, and to a limited degree, metal parts.
In a limited way, this can also be used as a lathe for short pieces of stock. I do not use gouges to shape the stock, but I have found that a double cut file or a small sanding drum held in a electric drill can be used to shape the piece part.

Dremel Tool. Although this can be a source of instant disaster on a gunstock, if used carefully, it can be used to cut off screws and hardened pin stock, mill out lock mortices (with a router type base added), polish small parts, shape wood (using either the metal bits or a 1/2 inch sanding drum), and many other things.
IMO, what it can't do is precision inletting or precision metal work.

Small Belt Sander. Useful for thinning stock blanks and shaping large areas on stock blanks.