A new challenge - a gun kit from Track

Let me correct myself...they indeed deliver either UPS or US Postal Services (USPS)...after double checking my invoice I realised it was sent USPS...not UPS...my mistake and also a relief as I had tasted the brokers's fee before.
It should be in any time now...



JacquesT said:
Yes it seems UPS deliver replicas of antique firearms, in kit form...Track of the Wolf either ship US Mail or UPS...not sure how the product is describe to the carrier but i imagine that, technically, this is not a firearm, no serial number, no flash hole etc...this i will try to arrange!! that's my challenge.
Click to expand...
 
i bought two flinters from the u.s.a. the first went like clockwork , no problem, the second a few months later was a problem, i sent a money order in full payment to start and finish the gun , then when it was finished the problem started ,the builder couldnt ship it with insurance and a tracking # u.s. mail, and with no insurance if it was broken in transit your moneys gone, so i finally sent it to a u.s. freight drop, at sumas . wash. and i went and picked it up,, just so everyone knows that its not always simple, wade
 
wade said:
i bought two flinters from the u.s.a. the first went like clockwork , no problem, the second a few months later was a problem, i sent a money order in full payment to start and finish the gun , then when it was finished the problem started ,the builder couldnt ship it with insurance and a tracking # u.s. mail, and with no insurance if it was broken in transit your moneys gone, so i finally sent it to a u.s. freight drop, at sumas . wash. and i went and picked it up,, just so everyone knows that its not always simple, wade
Click to expand...

How was the Canadian customs experience with the flintlock ? Did they know their stuff or did you show them the regs ?
 
My flintlock Tulle kit from 'Track of the Wolf' is in, finally!...almost a month delay...no duty just the GST and PST, the kit was described as follow on the package...
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6098.jpg
and was well package...2 layers of corrugated cardboard and vacum packed foam!!!!
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6101.jpg

And the content looks like this...
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6107.jpg

GO track GO !...
I am very pleased ...so far! let the game begin...
 
trapline said:
Hey, Bud
Dovetail cutting can be very tricky. Measuring, and the right files are the key. Always measure under the size you want and slowly file out. I make multiple cuts with a hacksaw and take the guts out by filing. The dovetail should be slightly tapered. (the lug base) I always taper from the lock side and pin from the same side. When you are just about there......drive the lug in with a punch. Takes about 15 minutes per lug. But then I've been doing it for 30 years. Very scary the first time. I make my own lugs, so I don't fear a little screw-up. Maybe try making your own lug and practice cutting a dovetail on a piece of scrap.
It's hard to explain in writing. The dovetail can also be staked after installation. This locks it in forever. Do not use any lubricant. A little bit of rust, helps to weld things together.

P.S. Controlled rust = Tennessee mountain browning. Lol !!! And you'll need a good set of needle files.

Regards
Mark
trapline.ca
Click to expand...

.....I am right in the middle of making a dovetail for the rear lug (my first ever) on the under side of the octogonal portion of the barrel...followed your tips, so far so good...will post picture...
Barrel and tang are well seated in the stock...not an easy task shaping/bending the thick tang to the curve of the stock...tried not to breath to much walnut dust !

Question: I intend to do a glass bedding in the tang and breech plug area. Could I do the bedding as soon as the barrel lug are installed and the position of the barrel is set?? or should I keep it for later on when the lock and flash hole are installed?

thanks
 
"How was the Canadian customs experience with the flintlock ? Did they know their stuff or did you show them the regs ?"

Flintlocks come accross the border without a hitch. Customs guys have always known what to do with about 8 of mine, no explanations needed.
 
wade said:
customs were helpful, i phoned them then went by their recomendations, a flintlock gun finished or not is a nongun both sides of the border, wade
Click to expand...



My kit came across the border with the following description on the voucher visible to the custom agent...
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6098.jpg

metal tube, wood, metal parts, and a blueprint...never a mention or allusion to firearm...just the plain fact.
 
Don't get ahead of yourself. Get everything where it's supposed to be, then do your bedding. Why would you need to bed the breech? Did they inlet too deep?
 
trapline said:
Don't get ahead of yourself. Get everything where it's supposed to be, then do your bedding. Why would you need to bed the breech? Did they inlet too deep?
Click to expand...

I did the enletting...or at least the last fittings...
There is a bit of free space at some spots in the breech plug area as well as under portions the tang...I rounded/filed, a tad, the sharp angles at the rear of the plug. Bedding will ensure better distribution of the pressure when firing.
 
work in progress.....

Here are some pictures of the project...
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6208.jpg
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6209.jpg
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6214.jpg
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6211.jpg
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6203.jpg

About 17 hours spent on Tang, Stock, Lock, inletting, drilling, tapping, soldering, dovetailing,...
Next is trigger pinning, adjusting...One step at the time...


and a couple of hours later...
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6219.jpg
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6220.jpg
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6221.jpg
and so on...
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6223.jpg

Then the lock and lock plate inlay...
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6239.jpg
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6241.jpg
and for a couple of hours I managed to get the lock to function in its new wooden nest...not easy as moving parts inside the stock encounter friction points and the inlay process becomes more precise and elusive...not to mention other friction point like the hammer on the stock and the trigger bar that needed shortening/filing to fit in the stock
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6245.jpg
The red colour on the lock is just lipstick (from the possible bag!!?)...it was suggested as colour transfer media...works good but ask before taking it from the owner's bag...

Next is the trigger group and mating of the trigger plate and trigger bar...
fun time!!
Trigger was adjusted in no time...half hour...everything seems quick after inlaying the lock!!
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6256.jpg
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6257.jpg
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6258.jpg
I had bedded the trigger group with epoxy to ensure stability and consistency...vaseline worked well as a release agent with the epoxy.
Next,...trigger guard and butt plate...all solid brass cast.
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6262.jpg
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6263.jpg
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6264.jpg
Will likely use 3 screws for the trigger guard as per expert description of Tulle (Russel Bouchard)...the blueprint from track calls for a post and pin (and 2 screws)...I left one post standing but will likely amputate it and go for (3) screw alone.

Here is the formed trigger guard...not that easy to have the right bent and full contact with the wood, this thick cast piece of brass need a lot of adjustment to sit well...next, 3 holes/countersunk and three wood screw but before some inlay work to get it to sit below wood surface...I may go for LeeValley screws that need tapping like for metal screw...better grip they say, food for thought.
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6295.jpg
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6297.jpg

And here is an interesting builder tutorial site; http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/tutorials/brooks/Brooks1.html

Brass finishing touch before/after...
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6319.jpg
using files, 220/600 sand paper, and buffing cream/wheel...
next, more wood inlay, drilling holes and fixing this triger guard in place.
As most of you knows such a project is a good excuse to buy new tools or upgrade old ones..
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6322.jpg
...new chisels and sharpening stones, and a neat little palm-size plane made in Germany!...also metal screws (8-32x1'') to hold the trigger guard, I will drill & tap a piece of walnut wood and experiment how this could work....the 3 tiny/short 3/4''screws provided with the kit are suspicious...going through the fairly thick casted trigger guard does not leave much screw shaft to bite into the stock...

Up to 30 hours of work in this project so far!!

Trigger guard inlay took about 3 hrs...new chisels made a difference!
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6332.jpg
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6331.jpg
Would be curious to visit the Tulle factory sweat shop in 1700s
here is my sweat shop...
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6333.jpg

Now the butt...same preparation as the trigger guard;
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6337.jpg
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6338.jpg
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6339.jpg
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6340.jpg
Easier as there is no shaping to do...appear to be a drop in job after the stock is properly shaped
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6343.jpg
there is a quarter inch of wood to cut across the grain...
Enough work on this project for 2007

Happy new years all...

...now back to work...
Butt trimming (timely topic in January)...what appeared to be a drop in project may be more complicated...
here is the situation...
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6347.jpg
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6348.jpg
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6350.jpg
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6351.jpg
Butt is trimmed but the brass butt will not gently sit perfecctly in place...should the metal or the wood be trimmed...will try trimming both, gently...

on an other front, there are the ramrod pipes...the bottom one seem to be a dandy one to inlay as the blank stock has a lot of meat to it...I will have to begin shaping this section of the stock so this pipe (with its extension/fenial) can be seated in line with the already pierced ramrod channnel...glad I did not have to drill that ramrod channel...way deep into the stock...
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6358.jpg
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6359.jpg

That ramrod channel is some obstacle to manage...first with the front lock screw...that screw must pass between the underside of the barrel and the top of the ramrod channel and then the triggerguard front screw must clear the end of the ramrod channel...
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6361.jpg
There must be a few stories of builders messing with the ramrod channel...

That Tulle has 3 ramrod pipes...I will begin by installing the rear one...
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6372.jpg
pipes are cast solid brass pieces...they need trimming of the generous pinning tab so the tab does not touch the nearby barrel...
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6373.jpg
as this rear pipe has a tail (fenial) this means shaping of the stock must also begin...always a few things going at the same time that's what makes it challenging...
Inletting the pipe allows the pipe to finds its nest...slowly
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6374.jpg

As previously mentionned, there is not much space to work...while inletting the wood to make the pipe tab fit I puncture through the underside of the barrel!! as seen on the previous picture.
This next picture shows the limitted tolerance between the underside of the barrel and the piping tab...same applies to the ramrod channel...very crammy space...
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6375.jpg
after 2 hours I see the light at the end of the pipe
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6377.jpg
The other two pipes are pretty straight forward...

An other 2 hours of work on that rear pipe allowed to bring it home...
front and side view...
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6379.jpg
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6381.jpg
The pipe tab had to be trimmed some more so it would not make contact with the underside of the barrel
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6383.jpg
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6384.jpg
This task also included filing the ramrod down a little with sand paper, enlarging the pipe channel with sand paper drum, and doing some sanding of the ram rod channel inside the stock...not an easy talsk..
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6386.jpg
There must be a righ way of getting to the ramrod channel inside the stock!? I ended up using a long rolled sandpaper strip...I read that wax may help that ramrod to travel smoothly...shall do that as a finishing touch!

Next... a break!
(a month later),,,Now back at it,

7 drift pin holes...4 for the barrel underlugs and 3 for the ramrod pipes
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6701.jpg
Then the drilling of the flash hole...a stressing moment...
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6703.jpg
Final fitting of the touch hole liner and voila...perfect sunset position...
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t76/jacques1952/PICT6706.jpg
Next is the metal finishing, the shaping of the stock and wood finish and many other little things, like welding the front sight, stamping the word TULLE on the lock...not sure how i will do this?? trimming/buffing of screw heads for smoothness etc..etc...
Already 44 hours expended on this project...
 
Last edited:
Shelldrake said:
How goes the project?
Click to expand...

Thanks for asking,
Project almost completed (95%)...or at least finished enough for having done the test proofing and fired a couple of shots down range.

I had a little episode with the flash hole insert, the drilling and tapping went fine...things got spoiled when I used the chamfing tool to allow the flash hole insert shoulder to sit flush...to my surprize this tool removed only some of the freshly tapped threads instead of making that seat around the hole...in the end I ordered tools (drill & tap) from Brownells (cheapper than TOTW) and rebored the hole and tapped again for the larger ''white lighning'' flash hole insert...all is good now...I will know for next time. This was only my second kit so I am still an apprentice.

I shall post pictures soon...

The engraving of TULLE on the lock plate remains to be done...I gather LeeValley has good choice of punch.

J
 
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