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I was curious if building a rifle from a bunch of collected parts is worth the time. I know that whatever you put together it won't be numbers matching and the quality is up to whoever puts it together. For instance, if I collected all the parts necessary to put together a Lee Enfield No1 Mk3 would it be worth the time to put it all together and probably save some money opposed to buying a complete rifle for 500-600 bucks?
You never get the time spent on building a rifle back. However, the satisfaction of a job well done can't be purchased anywhere. And you will know you did it yourself.
The answer could be simple, if you search Numrich and similar sites to determine what each part costs. Get a complete parts list of whatever firearm you wish to build, price each one and you will know. That is if you purchase each and every part. If you scrounge around and find parts cheaper or free it changes the cost structure.
Watch the auctions, local gun shop, and for sale sections and you might be lucky. Family is also a good source of free or cheap firearms.
Financially, it is cheaper to purchase an already completed rifle. This is especially true of Arisakas and Enfields, since their seems to be a shortage of wooden parts (stocks, hand guards, forearms, etc.) for them. American surplus guns are cheaper to restore since there is a good supply of parts and they are pretty inexpensive. There is something to be said for taking a "bubba" project and restoring it to its original form. I recently restored a 1916 SHTLE "bubba" rifle for a friend and the project ran about $600 for all of the parts. It turned out great but if he went to sell the gun, he would probably be lucky to get $400-450 for it (it is a non-matching mix-master parts gun). That said, he loves the gun and will never part with it. I also recently restored a 1918 Springfield 1903 "bubba" rifle for another friend. It was his grandfather's gun and he wanted it restored to its original glory. Parts were pretty cheap, especially the replacement surplus stock, and even though he spent about $550 for the parts, he could probably get $800-900 for the rifle. The rifle turned out great, but once again, he won't sell it. Both of these projects were based upon personal feelings and not money. You will need to identify why you would want to take on a project and then go from there. There is a lot of personal satisfaction in restoring an old warhorse to its original condition and sharing its history with others. I took my son-in-law out this morning and he was able to experience two 91/30's, a Type 38 and a 1916 Spanish mauser, all of them projects that I had just completed. Needless to say, we had a great time (and yes, the Type 38 in 6.5 Jap was a joy to shoot compared to the Type 99!).