First Flint Build

Congrats,... A lot of enjoyment comes when you get to shoot it for the first time....Then there are more to build.

What did you get for a barrel?

Keep us posted on its progress.....
 
Ive started this post late. As it is my first build, i`ll be keeping it a quite plain, iron finished, southern long rifle (ish) and will be making most of my remaining pieces(attempting anyway) such as trigger guard and butt plate. I want brown but hear the browning isn`t so easy to find this side of the 49th. i Have not as yet looked for it but need to soon. don`t like the blue, so in the white or a pickled french grey, which needs to be seen to be appreciated. i don`t think that is the official name for that finish, but it helps convey the idea. the lock is inlet. ramrod tube is drilled. i`ve been doing a lot of work, and will post photos including a big error that i made but think i made a great recovery. i`ll know at the first coat of finish.


 
Shaping up nicely!

Was reading about your efforts on the Traditional Muzzleloader forum too. Have my second build (well first was a GPR kit ~25 years ago but I like to call it a build) in the shop right now myself at about 70% but with free time in such short supply it's taken a couple years to get it there.... a lot of fun though. Great stress reliever in the evenings.
 
Very nice - I've been putting off a build because I'm terrible at inletting tapered barrels - Every time I've tried I've ended up with gaps. Especially when the taper isn't linear.

For browning drop me a Pm - I might have some recipes that'll work for you.
 
Very nice - I've been putting off a build because I'm terrible at inletting tapered barrels - Every time I've tried I've ended up with gaps. Especially when the taper isn't linear.
.

try forging some scrapers out of old car or railway coil springs. Essentially L shaped with the short arm of the L being hammered out to become a blade, tempered and ground on a grindstone, to the shape you want to create. I draw the temper to somewhere in the brown range. My inletting is far from perfect but the scrapers reduce the screwups

cheers mooncoon
 
Shaping up nicely!

Was reading about your efforts on the Traditional Muzzleloader forum too. Have my second build (well first was a GPR kit ~25 years ago but I like to call it a build) in the shop right now myself at about 70% but with free time in such short supply it's taken a couple years to get it there.... a lot of fun though. Great stress reliever in the evenings.
Thanks all.
yes, my build has slowed somewhat, but only because the work is starting to get nitpicky. the fore end (Just the front real skinny part)alone has about 6 hours of planing scraping and sanding. it hasn`t been rubbed out or even final trimmed up along the upper edge of the channel.
H Wally, Pm inbound
 
Very nice in deed!
I am in the middle of my first flint lock rifle build also (stalled at the moment but plan to get back to it this winter).
I guess you could say that it's more of a kit than anything, .50 cal from Clark Industries, still a lot of work to get everything inlet properly and the wood shaved down, being so very careful not to screw up that wonderful curly maple wood.
There are a few tools I will need to pick up before I can continue.
If things slow down enough it might be possible to have the rifle complete around Christmas... at the latest complete by spring.
 
been awhile since i got some real work done, but here is the humble beginnings of the ramrod pipes. scrap metal and a youtube tutorial. much easier than my idea. lots of file work to get rid of the cold forge hammer marks, and the leaf on the lower pipe is actually dished, or spooned and hammered to fit the inlet, employing a "spring action" to maintain a tight fit. broke my "ramrod" before i fitted the upper pipes, but a trip to home hardware solved that, and will post those pics when done.


 
Great work. You're inspiring me to speed up my own build. Mine is nowhere near your quality...

I read about making ramrod pipes in "Building a Pennsylvania Longrifle" - I cheated and bought mine but seeing how yours turned out I'm kicking myself.

Your trick up there is really a neat idea!
 
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