Traditions Kentucky pistol kit?

[Minuteman]

I just ordered a Traditions Kentucky pistol kit from October Country and was wondering, does anyone have any experience with the quality and extent of the inletting they do at the factory?
If I need to remove wood from the back of the barrel channel where the back of the breech touches the wood what do I use? A super sharp chisel? I mean thats end grain and it don't sand down worth a hoot.
What are some of the most handy tools to have for inletting? Whats the best way to go about it?

 

[torn moc]

I would use a Dremmel tool....but go slow! just take a little off at a time...... :thumbsup:

 

[Norskie]

When I put one of these together there was no wood to remove in the breech area. The lock inlet just needed a little cleanup. Just check the depth of that inlet and make sure the moving parts don't bind. I don't think the nose cap gave me any trouble, but I had to work on the trigger guard inlet some. Of course, each kit may be a little different.
The major wood removal you'll be doing will be refining the overall shape. A good sharp 3/16ths chisel, a medium rasp, a file and a sharp whittling knife will do you fine.
Did I mention sharp?
I would scrape and burnish, rather than sand.
Moose

 

[leatherjunkie]

I am working on this same kit right now.
I have put the parts into the stock for a trial fit.
I know that i will have to enlarge the inleting areas due to nothing is dropping in.
on the lock area i will have to fine tune the inleting area. the springs on the lock are hitting wood. after i get the parts to seat into the stock correctly i will have to shape the stock to the parts.
I will be using sandpaper. yes i know thats the slow way. using sandpaper will help me not take off too much wood for fitting.

 

Almost everyone that assembles this kit for the first time finds two main problem areas. They are connected.

first, the barrel almost always sits too far foreward for the hammer to strike the nipple square on. this is when you see questions on the forum about bending the hammer or shimming the drum.

This can be solved by properly setting back the barrel before drilling and pinning the barrel in place.

The second problem is that a gap always appears between the nose cap and the fore end wood. The gap is almost always about 1/8"-3/16", which is usually about the amount one needs to set back the barrel in the first place.

In almost every one of these kits I have seen or assembled the barrel needs to be set back to some degree for the drum or touch hole to line up properly.

Check yours carefully before saying "close is good enough." Both problems are very noticable, and the line up of the hammer and drum or touch hole is critical.

The brass on these kits is very brittle too. Annel everything before trying to bend it into place. Just about everyone breaks their first trigger guard trying to bend it cold.