I was originally holding out for a MBS English Dragoon in .62 for my next build but at $700’ish it was a little cost prohibitive. So when I came across this TOW Sea Service kit for $199 including the lock and barrel I could not resist! I’m sure the MBS is a far nicer kit but $199 was a steal. Should have bought 2, lol. I think they are now sold out of the complete kits. The kit had all the inlets already cut and the side plate and lock holes were already drilled, which proved to be a challenge to align everything as well as cover up the inlets, so no gaps and hit the existing holes. I ended up making a larger C-clamp drill jig for the lock and barrel tang bolts and it worked perfectly. My smaller C-clamp drill jig for the barrel, trigger guard and ramrod pipe pins made the job simple. Otherwise the kit went together fairly straightforward, just ALOT of wood removal to get her skinny. I used serval modified razor blades with different radius to remove the wood and were very effective (and free). The butt cap (my first) was a bit challenging but turned out well. My Dremel, which I normally don’t like to use, with a carbide cutting bit proved invaluable (just go SLOW!) I still need to remove some heavier file marks from it. Anyway her she is several weeks later with just the Fiebings med brown leather dye applied (like the very dark color) and I’m trying to decide on what finish to apply. I’m thinking BLO and/or TruOil. Any recommendations?
