tow kits

[buckknife]

Im not a gun builder,would have a hard time builden a good workable mouse trap ::So i really dont know nuthin about builden a kit gun from track of the wolf.the bucks county long rifle in 45 flint has caught my eye though.Do these kit guns have the vent liner installed or is that sumthin that needs to be done?
I could aford one of these kits but have no skill needed to build one What would be the going price to have sumone put one togther for me?Talken a decent ready to use browned barrel an such and a good finished stain on the wood.

and would this gun be period correct

 

[bob1961]

you can chose options to your ability at the buttom of the page your gun is on and recalculate with all the labor done for ya....................bob

 

I know from building their Jaeger that these kits are very difficult for those with no experience (like myself) to complete. I keep correcting my mistakes even though it's been done since last fall! The vent liners are not installed and they won't install it for you because it's difficult to tell where it should be located until the barrel and lock are 100% installed. They will do some of the work(check their website) but you will need a drill press and such for the lock bolts and the dreaded tang bolt-trigger plate alignment. I still have nightmares about that! I think that a browned barrel is a post 1800 finish although this is open to spirited debate. First I left my Jaeger in the white, then browned it, then back to white and now sports a rust blued look by using Perma Blue. You will probably spend as much as the kit price or more to have it built for you. I will say that the pride in having built my own made up for all the frustrations I had building it. Good luck, it's tough wanting one real bad and not being quite sure how to go about it.

 

[Zonie]

The TOTW, Pecatonica, Chambers, MBS etc "kits" do not come with the barrel pre drilled for the vent liner.

One of the reasons for this is that until the barrel is installed in the stock, and the lock is also installed in the stock, you don't know where the vent liner needs to be.

Most/all of the above suppliers will do some of the basic machining for you like cutting the dovetails for the sights, installing the breech plug, installing the barrel underlugs for the stock pins/wedges, installing the trigger and lock, cutting and installing the buttplate etc however you must pay additional money for these services.

Some of these places (TVM and others) will completly build your gun for you to any level of finish you want.... for a price. It is my understanding that TVM is very good at furnishing a gun with the barrel and stock unfinished.

There are also hobby and professional builders that will do the same.
If your interested in spending the money for these services, give the dealer a call and ask him how much he charges.

To the best of my knowledge, the only "kits" which require very little other than finishing the wood are the kits made by Pedersoli, CVA, Thompson Center, Lyman and a few others.

 

[buckknife]

Zonie i figuare id have around 600 in the kit by the time the breech plug was installed and dovetails cut.I have considered tvm.Get a gun in the white put togeather.Might be the way to go.Still need a few more bucks any way i go.Tracks buck countys sure are sweet looken though.

 

[Flintandsteel]

buckknife,
I'm sorry to say this my friend, but what most suppliers call "kits" are really component sets, not kits. These are not snap together, ready to roll rifles.
I guess I'm slower than most folks, I've heard a few say they can put one of these together in about 40 hours. :bull:
It takes me at least 75 to 100, and that's with no carving ,or inlays, or engraving.
I'd suggest that if you are not willing to invest the time, and buy the tools, then you should have someone put one together for you.

There a lot of characters on this board quite capable of doing so, and coming out the other end with a pretty nice rifle.
But, remember the amount of time we are talking about, and be ready to "pay the fiddler" if your gonna dance.
I hope this helps. I'm NOT trying to discourage you, just want you to be informed now, and not disappointed :boohoo:later. :curse:
:imo:

 

[Hoyt]

I probably got more in the "tools" than I got in the so called kit. However, if it don't blow up when I ever get it finished...I'll be proud of it.

 

[76monza]

Buckknife,
I have only built a few percussion rifle kits in my short time involved in muzzleloading. My first thought was to jump into a TOW kit too. I realized that was going to be major undertaking especially with what little skill I had with tools. I decided to go with one of the pedersoli kits that was a 95% inlet. All the iron and brass were already fitted into the stock and all that was needed was final shaping, and very minor adjustments and cutting into the lock and barrel channel. Staining, browning and finishing were the final steps involved. The TOW guns do require a lot of precision cutting and drilling. Even now I would give very serious consideration before undertaking one of those "advanced kits". I learned alot about what not to do on those first few guns.

Whatever directiion you decide buckknife, good luck!

 

[TANSTAAFL]

The most important investment to me would be, put a few bucks into "how to" books and videos.

"The Gunsmith Of Grenville County" By Peter Alexander comes to mind. Also Jim Chambers has a (about 3 hours long) muzzleloader building video out, a Hollywood production it is not, just good solid visual and verbal information.

Also TOW has full size line drawings of long guns, for around 5 bucks. I think?

Without competent help, I would invest first in the how to, (if you decide to do it, you will need such anyway) If after getting an understanding of the task, and you should think it would be too much, and decide against, you can probably sell the material on ML (several come to mind) web sites without a great loss.

 

[TANSTAAFL]

Almost forgot, take a look at this:

http://www.airbum.com/NeatSht.html

Scroll down to the bottom once there and have a look at Budd's building project to date of building a Lancaster kit from Dunlap (basically the same as TOW)