Building the BP trade rifle from a TOTW kit

Well, I'm going to build a TOTW Lehman Trade rifle in left handed flint and figure it will be fun to document the build. For those looking to try one of these, these builds are not quite as easy as the TOTW ad copy makes them out to be if you want it to look as nice as the finished rifles displayed on their page.

Hopefully this will be an instructive thread that helps people decide if this project is within your abilities and if so, as a guide so as not to make any of the mistakes I sometimes make - LOL.

So as for what to expect when ordering... well, for starters, your kit will not ship with a lock n all likelihood. Track does not usually keep many locks in stock, so it will be backordered and arrive later - you will get dinged with shipping costs twice as a result, so get ready for that.

Depending on the stock grade you order, the price of the rifle can be vastly different than the initial pricing you see. In the case of this kit, all-in price (August 2010) was about $750 with a fancy grade maple stock (semi-inlet - more on that later).

Now for state of parts. You will get raw sand or wax castings. What does this mean? Well, the photos will help, but it means no surfaces on anything will be finished. few, if any, holes will be located or drilled. no mating surfaces will mate without tool work, and not all possible parts (like some small screws or springs) will be included. This is NOT like a Lyman or Pedersoli kit where are you do is sand and finish the stock then install everything. Do not expect that.

The stock will have the barrel channel roughly inlet, but not the tang or even the rear of the barrel itself. The ramrod hole will be drilled. There will be no lock inletting done. The buttplate are will be rough from the carving machine.

These rifes can be made with iron or brass trim. I prefer iron so this build will reflect that. If you aren't great at metal working, consider the brass set - its easier to work with and more forgiving.

Now if you're not scared away yet... here's some pics of the things I already started before deciding to begin this thread.

This is how the patch box arrives to you. No casting sprues are removed apart from a rough grind. No casting burrs are removed. The finish is as-cast.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN1817-1.jpg

Here I started shaping the door hinge. Not the sprue is filed off and I started rounding the bottom rear edge. This will be to accommodate a latch spring which isn't included with the kit that I will have to make and install later.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN1818-1.jpg

Next I use soft-jaws in the milling vise to start setting up for the drilling operation that locates the hinge pin. I used a 3 axis milling machine, but a good job can be done with a drill press if you are careful. Start with an oversize drill or centre-drill to divot the surface before you actually the pilot hole. This will prevent bit wandering - you need this hole to be precisely aligned Drill the hinge plate and door together, clamped as shown. If you don't have soft jaws, use leather to prevent your vise from bending or chewing up the parts.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN1819-1.jpg
Work up through several drill sizes until the pin will fit in. I drill mine a thou or two oversize and when I do final install on the stock, I will peen either end of the hinge plate to prevent the pin form coming out.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN1821-1.jpg
Pinned:
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN1823-1.jpg
Now once it's pinned you will not the doow and the hinge plate will not be flat to one another at the hinge. Use a mill file to correct this.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN1822-1.jpg
Finally (for now) select the wood screws you want to use - track provided some that will work - and select a counter-sink that matches the screw head pitch. Before fitting, de-bur the screws - mine were pretty crude. The hinge plate had rough as-cast holes already there for the screws. I drilled mine smooth to match the screw shanks and used the counter-sink until my screw heads were 90% inlet. The rest will be blended after installation in the stock. Don't forget to file a little recess into the hinge plate for your fingernail so that you can open the door once the patchbox is inletted into the stock.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN1826-1.jpg

Now the trigger guard. It comes ROUGH. Sand-cast rough. Use a hacksaw and then a file to remove the sprue and then a file to shape the pin tangs. File off the casting seams and then wrap a small half-round file with 120 grit wet/dry paper and start into it. I don't go past 120 until I have the guard semi-inlet later, then I'll go 180 and finally 400 grit.

Have patience - the sanding is the longest part BY FAR - but how good a job you do here will dictate how it looks later after install. You want it to look custom-built, not machine made like a Lyman Great Plains rifle off the rack.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN1827-1.jpg
Sanded to 120:
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN1828-1.jpg

More to follow.

ok, today I made the spring assembly for the patch box. For a spring I used an old spring off an SMLE bolt head release. I heated it up and re-bent it to shape, ground off some excess material, and then re-tempered it. The screw was turned in the lathe from a hardware store screw. I also burnt the zinc off it with muriatic acid. Turned out reasonably well and it does a great job of holding the door open or closed. I set the amount of tension by slowly grinding material off it until the cross-sectional thickness was appropriate.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN1851-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN1850-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN1849-1.jpg

OK, here's a good representative pic of what you have to do for the ramrod pipes. From left to right:

1) As received except I already ground the sprue back close enough that I have to switch to a file. It arrived almost 1/2" long.
2) File-cleaned to remove casting seams, imperfections, etc. and the mouths bevelled by hand with a counter-sink bit.
3) Finish sanded to 120 grit. I don't go further than this prior to inletting as they will just get scratched up anyhow. After inletting they will get polished to 400 grit.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN1852-1.jpg

LOL about you didn't get a lock with the kit. That's standard for TOTW. They already have your money correct.

Some of their suppliers want payment when they order the parts. For these suppliers TOTW waits until they have sold X number of kits. They have your money and don't care if you have to wait. Once they have the cash from several kit sales they will order the parts and then ship them to the customers'.

TOTW doesn't pay their bills until it's 90 days past due. Neat isn't it. They have your money AND can keep it in the bank. They also want their suppliers to wait to get paid. Then they get you for another shipping charge.

Don't get me wrong, you will be getting quality parts. I just have a problem with the way they do business.

Check the barrel and breech plug with a dial caliper. I've have seen some of their breeching operation are 20 to 40 thousands off.

Thanks for the tip on the breech plug ;) I'll check that. Either way, it IS fixable.

I'm looking forward to see your progress on this:thup:

How's the build going?

unfortunately it has not progressed these last 3 weeks. I spent two of them in British Columbia on business and the replacement barrel has not arrived yet (the original had a fatal machining flaw on one of the flats). I'll post as soon as I can progress it ;)

OK, well the replacement barrel (36" .54cal Green Mountain) arrived on Friday. they told me it was their last .54 GM barrel in stock - something about GM getting a US Army contract to produce machine-gun barrels and their commercial orders being insanely backed-up as a result. Lucky me ;)

Now when you get these, they are surface-ground on the flats to what looks like approximately 80grit. I think they also must have changed to a less expensive supplier of breech plugs. According to their plan set that ships with the kit, the breech plug is supposed to be already contoured and sized. Mine was neither, though I did pull the plug (it was in b@lls-deep tight) and measured the clearance. Distance to rifling is exactly 0.630" and the plug is exactly 0.630" long - so no wonder it's in so tight at top-dead centre. It's completely bottomed-out which is a very good fit. Much better than I expected.

Here's the barrel internal threading. It looks die-cut to me, not machined. Either way though, it IS well done and the thread fit (male to female) is very good.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2015-1.jpg

And this is the plug as-received. It is taller than the barrel is and MUCH longer than the plans call for, leading me to believe it's a generic part made for any number of their rifle models. It's machined from what looks like hot-rolled billet. The machining is nice enough executed, though the facing cut (lathe done) could have been a little smoother, but it'll work fine as-is.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2016-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2017-1.jpg

Here you see the base is proud and the witness marks they made don't line up well.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2018-1.jpg

I filed the base flush to the flat and re-struck the witness mark, better this time.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2019-1.jpg

This is what the tang that the instructions say is included was supposed to look like. The top one is a cardboard cutout I made to act as a template for when I use hte oxy-acetylene torch to heat up the tang and bend it to the right profile.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2020-1.jpg

Here the tang is after bending and it's been scribed to match the template.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2021-1.jpg

And now the top of the tang is filed flush.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2022-1.jpg

Plug removed and I'm now shaping the tang to match the template scribe-marks with a file.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2023-1.jpg

Cut to length and filed to shape:
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2024-1.jpg

Now to draw-file the 5 exposed flats to 400grit. For reference, the left-flat is as-received (surface ground coarse), the right flat has been draw-filed to 400 grit.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2026-1.jpg

To draw file (for those who don't know) means to draw your file lengthwise down a barrel to make sure you get no ripples in the surface finish like you would get with localized sanding or filing. I find you get the best results with the file about 45 degrees to the axis of the barrel, flat on the barrel flat (you need a steady hand so the file doesn't wobble) and you either push the file down the length of the barrel or pull it towards you. Which you use is personal preference, but I find I get more control by pushing the file away from me. I also find you get much better results if you push the file down the entire length of the barrel with one continuous pass, repeated as many times as needed to get the finish you want.

On a rough-machined barrel you would start with a smooth file and then graduate to varying grits of paper. On these Green Mountain barrels, you already have 80 grit or so. I start with a smooth file to press 120 grit wet-dry paper over the length of the barrel. The file keeps the paper pressed flat to the steel ensuring you don't round off the corners of the flats. After 20 or 30 strokes (with practise you can tell when enough is enough by eye) I switch to 180 grit and repeat. After 180 I go to 400 which is about all you need if you are going to brown the barrel. If you are going to rust-blue it and you want it to have a higher sheen, go to 600 and then deaden the gleam a little with a scotch-brite pad.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2027-1.jpg

And here are the top three flats at 400 grit.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2029-1.jpg

Oh, and by the way, I forgot to mention - the instructions for the rifle and the ad copy forthe stock is that all you have to do to fit the barrel is to square up the back of the inletting. this is not true as the inletting is too narrow for the barrel, so next up, I will have to widen the inletting and square the end of the barrel channel. I might have to deepen it too - we shall see. It's only a few thou too narrow, so instead of chisels I may use a file or a small sanding block.

This is a nice project to watch.

Made some more progress today as I started inletting the stock. On this one, the barrel channel was machined into the blank before I got it, but it was too tight for my barrel by probably 30 thou in width and the end of the barrel channel is left round so you have to square it up to get bearing at the back of the barrel. To do this, it's best to remove the barrel plug and set it aside. I then rough out the squaring by eye and start with inletting black brushed onto the underside of the bbl. This identifies the tight spots which I brought down with a small bastard file. I then put black on the back of the bbl and used chissels and small files to get the contact acceptable and square to the barrel.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2071-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2074-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2075-1.jpg

Now is a good time to trim off the excess from the front of the stock. Leave it a little proud for now though since you don;t know the final dimension of the stock until you are done inletting the barrel tang and the nosecap at the other end of the forestock (later). Save the scrap as we will use it later as a test piece for the stock's finish ;)

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2076-1.jpg

Here you can see there's pretty good contact at the back of the barrel. This is plenty good enough for now so I'm moving on to inletting the tang. First (and obviously) you have to re-install the tang into the barrel and then scribe out the rough location on the stock in pencil. I then use a special chisel meant for outlining cuts (I never remember it's real name but it's only sharp on one side so you can chisel in straight lines) to start the cut.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2078-1.jpg

Now using a variety of chisels you start cutting the tang inlet by eye. Keep it slightly undersized - not oversized as we don't want gaps when we're done!
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2080-1.jpg

At around this point you switch back to inletting black and begin trial fitting the barrel frequently until you get nice contact. You also may need to slightly tweak the angle of the tang. The metal will be somewhat annealed from being heated before and you can do the tweaking in a vise. Note that the contact areas at the barrel shoulder are the critical areas that soak up recoil so pay the most attention to the fit in these places.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2081-1.jpg

Normally you would inlet the lock next but since I still don't have the lock, I'll likely tackle the ramrod pipes next.

ok, well next I decided to inlet the rearmost ramrod pipe. There are three ramrod pipes on this type rifle and the rearmost is by far the most difficult to inlet (so you start with it - lol). It's also the easiest to locate for obvious reasons. See the photo, there is a step in the forestock where it goes.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2085-1.jpg

Now there is the easy way (i.e. lazy and improper way) to inlet the rear ramrod pipe and then there is the right way. The right way is a lot harder to do but has the advantage of being right - lol. The easy way is to simply mill or chisel out the area under the pipe flange, leaving it unsupported by the wood of the stock. The right way is to carefully inlet it so wood remains under the flange to support it. You do this by outlining it with pencil, chiselling smaller than the pencil lines and ultimately by switching to inletting black until you can inset a length of ramrod dowel.

There is also a tab on the bottom of the pipe to allow you to pin it in place. I inlet these by drilling a series of under-width holes and then filing them into a slot.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2086-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2087-1.jpg

You will notice the forestock is too big in this area and you will have to rasp or plane the stock down so it blends well with the ramrod pipe as you progress and don;t forget inletting black - your best friend! Also, use a small round file to slightly bevel the entrance to the stock's ramrod channel hole.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2088-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2089-1.jpg

And finally, you will be done.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2090-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2092-1.jpg

See how nice and proper that inletting looks compared to if I had just milled the wood away under the pipe flange? Before you pin it (later as I will do them all at the same time in the mill later on), make sure one last time that the ramrod will go through all three ramrods without binding - this last one is the most finicky - by far.

Now the next step now that the rear ramrod pipe is located is to use it to dimension off the drawing and mark (in pencil) the location of the three barrel tenons and cut the dovetails into the barrel to hold them. These are on the bottom flat. You always install the one back at the tang first and work your way forward.

There are LOTS of ways to install these that will work, but if you have the right gear (a large enough milling machine) - this is the BEST way to do it. As I said, mark the locations in pencil. The exact position of the tenons doesn't need to be precise, but you want them to looks uniformly distant from where you will be mounting ramrod pipes. It also helps if the tenons are more or less equidistant from each other. Mount the barrel with the bottom flat facing up. I use a .375" end mills to make starter cuts and then measure the TOP of the tenon dovetails at the tenon. I subtract 10 thou and this becomes the width of my cuts. Each tenon is hand made and you need to measure each one individually and mate it to a dovetail cut. They are NOT INTERCHANGEABLE. Measure twice and cut once.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2093-1.jpg

Once all three dovetails are roughed out by and end mill you COULD use a dovetail end mill, but in my case the tenons themselves are not that uniform and the sides aren't very parallel, so I'm cutting the dovetail angles with a file. Here is where a home-made tool REALLY comes in handy. I took an equilateral triangle file and un a large grinding wheel I ground one flat smooth so it won't cut. Place the smooth face against the bottom of the dovetail rough-out and file your dovetail relief angles - the file won't cut down, only laterally to make a nice dovetail and you can control the angle to match the tenons TOTW sent you.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2094-1.jpg

Do not overdo the filing. While the dovetail is still slightly too small, choose the smallest side and start it in with a small jeweller's hammer, then use a brass punch and a larger ballpeen to beat it in. It should be VERY hard to beat in. I like it if the barrel actually shaves a little material off the tenon itself - then you know you have a wickedly tight fit. You never will remove these tenons again, so get 'em in there tight.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2095-1.jpg

Now because we don't want to booger up our inletting all sloppy-like, we file the sides of the tenon and the top of it os that it is seamless with the contours of the barrel flats. Before filing, I take a small punch and push the burred edges of the barrel's dovetail down tight to the tenon's top edge with a few good hammer smacks (the dovetail top edges expand from beating in the tenon). when done, the tenon should almost look like it grew there. Next we will inlet this one into the stock before we install the next tenon.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2096-1.jpg

Is "inletting black" something you can buy at a specialized wood working shop, or something you make up?

brownells and TOTW sell it, among others. It's a sold product like shoe polish except a lot more viscous (wet). It goes on like paint but doesn't dry like paint does.

This is the stuff I use. A little goes a long way.

http://www.trackofthewolf.com/catego...um=INLET-BLACK

ok, well not much progress in the last few days as a couple things have come up, firstly I got the flu and secondly I got two vintge BP guns in that need restoration and preservation before I can get back to this project, so likely this will be on hold for a couple weeks.

Nevertheless, I did inlet the first tenon and dovetailed in the second tenon to the barrel. When inletting the first tenon (closest to the breech) you dap some inletting black on it and carefully insert the barrel in line with the stock until the black transfers. I use a very small drill and drill out a line of narrow holes then use a tiny file to elongate them into a slot.

the tenons should be about 1/2" to 1" behind where the ramrod slots will be positioned os that there is meat between them - this will lower the chance of lateral stock splits over time.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2097-1.jpg

More to follow.

Claven,
I have done some restoration work on some pretty beat up rifles... almost a "kit" rifle in nature based on the parts that I got. Anyway, I wish to think you for the step by step method. From what work I have done, I will attest to the difficulty of doing a good job. I appreciate the time and effort. Looking forward to more! :)

Well, sorry for taking so long since my last post. I've actually done a bit of work on this gun here and there over the last few weeks, but with the holidays, etc., progress has been very slow. The lock showed up about 3 weeks ago as well. It's mostly rough cast with machining only on the areas necessary to assemble it. It will need a lot of finishing work, but will be nicely serviceable.

I also inletted the rest of the ramrod pipes, I'll post photos of those later, but for now here is the barrel sight work I wanted to do before fixing the barrel to the stock.

The barrel dovetails were cut on the mill as stright end-mill cuts and hand-fitted with the above safe-edge triangular file.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2484-1.jpg

The rear sight is off an old anschutz rifle that I milled narrower. Not period correct, but it more or less looks the part and is elevation adjustable, though discreetly.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2485-1.jpg

The L&R lock:

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2482-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2480-1.jpg

Well I made some progress since I last posted, albeit the progress is slow - lol. For starters, I polished the lock to 200 grit and started inletting it. I also drilled the stock to retain the barrel tennons (still have to drill for the ramrod pipes)

Getting ready to drill (a mill SOOOO helps):
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2609-1.jpg

Pinned in:

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2610-1.jpg

Lock inlet for the powder tray and lock spring boss, the remainder of the lock plate scribed on the stock:
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2611-1.jpg

And the lock plate inlet is roughed out with chisel work:

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2615-1.jpg

Sorry for all the slow progress guys, this is what I do when I have spare moments between ongoing M14 and AR15 builds and several milsurp restoration jobs, nevermind my day job!!

ok, well I know I am not progressing fast enough on this rifle for some people's tastes, but I'm just ridiculously busy so I apologize. I do have some more progress to show off though.

Much of the lock is now inletted, though I still have some work to finish off the mainspring area.

Cut to depth for the bare lockplate:

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2688-1.jpg

Trial fit:

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2687-1.jpg

Starting the inlet for the lock internals:

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2690-1.jpg

You go one piece at a time, mark where you need to remove material and go from there :)

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2691-1.jpg

Excellent work but the lock seems to be on the wrong side. :lol:

A little more progress to show. As you may have guessed, the lock inlet for the internals was roughed out in the mill and scraped to size with chisels. Unfortunately, the Lehman was designed for a percussion lock, and the flintlock they sell with it causes a few inletting compromises - more on that in a moment.

You also end up with a paper-thin gap between the ramrod channel and the mainspring inlet. In my case, it broke through in one spot, but hte spring doesn;t foul the rod - I've checked, so this isn't a noteworthy concern. I also slipped once with the chisel and broke into the barrel channel when inletting for the mainspring hooks - again, just a cosmetic issue that will only be obvious if you pull the barrel. On these guns, the barrel typically remain pinned in though.

On the whole I'm well enough pleased with the lock inletting. It's fully functional with no fouling of the internals and seats nice and tight.

The compromise I referred to is that because it's a flintlock, there is precious little room for the sidenail. I put it as far as possible back on the lock ledge, but it still broke into the inletting for the breech plug. I could have put it right through the breech plug, but I wanted it to be possible to remove the barrel without removing the lock in case anyone ever tries to do that. I therefore slightly relieved the breech plug to accommodate.

Inletting for the lock:
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2703-1.jpg

Drilled and lock threaded, sidenail installed. Pretty long huh!?
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2704-1.jpg

Here you can see where the sidenail breaks through the breech plug inlet. You can also see the small spot I mentioned where I slipped and the chisel broke into the barrel channel. Oh well, I'm not perfect, it seems.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2706-1.jpg

Couldn't have gotten the sidenail back much farther on this lock. It is nice and functional though.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2707-1.jpg

Relieved breech plug:

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2708-1.jpg

On another note, the sidenail TOTW sells with this kit is not threaded anywhere near long enough. If you cut it to length, there is no thread left. I had to more than double the length of threading (cut new threads) to make it usable.

To drill the sidenail, you drill through the installed lock and stock as a single unit with whichever drill is indicated for your tap that you will ultimately thread the lockplate with. Then you remove the lockplate (without removing the stock from your jig) and change drills to a size that is 3 or 4 thou larger than the diameter of your sidenail shank and re-drill the same hole (stock only). Once you tap your lock, you should have a perfectly aligned lock, stock hole and sidenail. After the stock is thinned down (the lock is rather recessed when first inlet), you later inlet the sidenail plate on the side opposite the lock.

These kits look like a frightening amount of work.

Perhaps "kit" isn;t really the right term. It's a piece of maple with a barrel channel partiall inlet and a bag full of steel castings. Also a barrel blank. That about sums it up. But, if you like building rifles from basically scratch, this is a way to go that ensures you have most of the material on hand.

I enjoy long term projects, I'm not really keen on black powder, but this looks like a good one. It looks very challenging. Do you keep them all when you're finished (builds, restorations etc.)or move them on?

Most I keep, but sometimes I'll sell one or two here an there. Once you put so much effort into something, it's hard to let it go.

I can build an entire AR15 from parts in an evening and there is therefore nowhere near as much attachment to one of those. A flintlock long rifle can take me months to finish - totally different story ;)

So I inletted the sidenail escutcheon. The one that comes with the kit has a squared anti-rotation tab, but the round version is easier to inlet so I cheated and filed the tab to a round point so I could just do 90% of the inlet on the mill. I intent to brown this part in-situe as I'm finishing the stock, so I actually epoxied it into the inletting and left slightly proud, then used a belt sander to take it flush.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2723-1.jpg

It was then time to move on to the double-set trigger assembly. Positioning here is REALLY picky and finicky as you have about 1/16" or fore-aft movement to play with, elsewise either the trigger will only work in single-set or only in double-set but not both. Often, even if uou get it perfect, you will have to tweak the sear bar on the lock (as I had to do) to get the sear low enough to be contacted by the triggers. This is far less an issue with a standard non-set trigger.

Start by measuring, marking in pencil, then carving the outline with an edging chisel.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2724-1.jpg

The rough out the inlet.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2725-1.jpg

Now star the inlet for the trigger bars and switch to inletting black on all contacting surfaces so you know where to remove wood.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2726-1.jpg

I didn't take a picture, but you do the same with the main trigger spring. In this photo the triggers are fully inlet and the retainer screw for the main trigger spring is filed and sanded flush to the trigger plate.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2730-1.jpg

Here you can see where I had to bend the sear bar to get it low enough to reliably fire. You do NOT want to lose temper in the sear up by the tumbler, so I clamped the sear between large blocks of aluminum to leech the heat away from the tip and use an OA torch to spot-heat it where the bend is.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2731-1.jpg

And here is the inletting.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2732-1.jpg

You'll also note I added a retainer screw for the rear of the trigger plate and you can see the inlets for the two trigger guard tenons which will be pinned in later.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2734-1.jpg

Trigger guard is trial fit. Next we will have to slightly inlet the tangs down into the stock, a mm or two.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2733-1.jpg

More to follow.

So I finished doing the last little bit of fine inletting on the trigger guard and drilled and pinned it in place. I had to relieve the trigger mechanism slightly on the tips to allow the trigger guard to fully seat. Also, when cocking the rear trigger there was a minute amount of contact at the back of the trigger bow on the decorative tip. I used the OA torch to heat and bend that back slightly to give nicer clearance. In this photo you see the set trigger at full cock.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2748-1.jpg

And here is the finished inlet:

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2750-1.jpg

Finally, I have laid out the buttplate for a 14.5" pull to the let-off trigger. Next I'll have to rough that out on the bandsaw. It's coming along...

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2749-1.jpg

Buttplate inletting time :) I roughed out the cut to the crescent shape pencilled on using a band saw (handy item). After that, I roughly inletted the domed tang. Commercial guns save time here by just machining the stock inlet square and it's hollow under the buttplate. That is lazy and IMHO has no place on a hand-made rifle, so I will inlet that to close to 100% contact.

Here we can see that the tang is mostly inlet and the crescent has about 50% contact. The geometry of the stock didn't quite match the supplied buttplate, so I heated it up at the midway point with an OA torch and re-bent the curvature to about 4 degrees less curvature. It's not noticeable with the eye, but does make a difference to the inletting as the stock height was already pre-determined on the duplicator at TOTW so I can only modify the plate, not add more wood.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2752-1.jpg

And now we are at 95%+ contact all around the perimeter of the buttplate :) Close enough.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2753-1.jpg

Drilled, countersunk, and screw dressed to match the buttplate profile:

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2757-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2759-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2760-1.jpg

That should do nicely, and the buttplate is nicely supported all the way around to handle stout loads :)

Cripes - I just realized I forgot to take photos of the toe cap, which I have inlet and dressed flush to the wood. Oh well, pics of it in the next instalment. I did take pics of the nosecap install though...

Obviously, I have to feather the stock contour down to the nosecap, and I have started to, but I didn't take pics of that. The length is set so the nosecap is just behind the filets on the muzzle octagonal points. Inletting of this part is primarily done with small wood files and inletting black.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2773-1.jpg

It's held on with a small M3X0.5 screw I had to make by hand as the head needs to be really thin so as not to compromise the strength of the small stock tongue the nosecap is fastened to.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2771-1.jpg

Here you can see the fastening surface a little better:
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2774-1.jpg

In reality, the inleting is done to about 80-85% contact, but you'll note at the base of the nosecap there is some gapping on either side of the nosecap. The gap is just up by the top of the inletting where the walls of wood are very thin. This is because I lost some of that paper-thin wood when I was filing the base true. In eny event, it's not visible when the rifle is assembled :)

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2772-1.jpg

ok, as promised, pics of the tope plate inletted and installed:

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2775-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2776-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2777-1.jpg

Note that the stock has also been reduced in width to the size of the buttplate.

Now here is the forestock tip rasped down to transition to the nosecap:

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2778-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2779-1.jpg

I wish I had the talent and equipment to do what you do. This is turning out beautifully!

Next step was to drill the pins for the ramrod ferrules, so that has now been done.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2782-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2783-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2784-1.jpg

After that, I disassembled the patch box and cut a recess for the hinge lugs, then traced the outline. Next step is to inlet it.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2785-1.jpg

Time to start inletting the patchbox plate. Obviously, you strip the plate first to doe this, then re-assemble and inlet the operating mechanisms. The round cutout for the patches is the last thing you inlet.

Here the plate is rough inlet, still a tad proud. I'm slowly taking it down to flush. This is a fairly complex inlet and you need to take your time to keep gaps to a minimum.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2786-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2787-1.jpg

I start with a fine dremel gouging tip to get within a milimeter or two of my scribe lines and then switch to a scraping chisel and inletting black to strive for a tight fit. This is literally one of the only things you should ever use a dremel for on a gun build IMHO ;)

Can you post a pic or 2 of the chisels/gouges you used for the inletting (around the outline)?

Claven, an excellent start on the forend, fitting the tip is often a buggaboo for beginners, your tutorial will help those who have not done these things before. Please also show the results of slimming the entire forearm, that too will benefit everyone. People may miss the fact that there is a great deal of wood to be removed.

Hey guys, sorry to take so long to answer, I was out in BC on business last week. Since you asked, here are the chisels I use as scrapers. For around the perimeter of shallow outlines, I use the 45 degree chisel (the one on top) flipped upside down as a scraper. It works well as long as you aren't dragging it into the open grain, so for half the inlet you pull it one direction, for the other half, you pull it in the other direction so that you are always pulling along or away from open wood grain, if that makes sense?

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2792-1.jpg

For removing the material roughly in the middle, I use a dremel flex shaft as pictured mounting the small wood gouge bit (loose in my hand above). GO SLOW. A slip can ruin your inlet in a big way. I keep the speeds pretty slow, around a "2" on my 8 speed rotary tool.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2793-1.jpg

Here the inlet is done and the exterior is lightly sanded. I need to sand it flush to the wood a hair more, but will wait until the stock is completely shaped before I do more finish sanding I think.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2789-1.jpg

And here we see the hole underneath. I don't cut this with a spade drill like some guys do, it's actually a bit D-shaped. I like leaving a small lip of wood at the front end because these steel wax castings fit fairly loosely and if you want the door to sit up flush with the main plate after it's installed, it helps to leave just enough wood to press the door up a hair. I actually ground out the recess roughly with a gouging bit and then use a small drum sander and sanding disc to smooth the insides of the patch box recess.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2790-1.jpg

Ans since the nosecap came up, this pic show where I set the nosecap, just to the base of the points at the corner of each barrel flat:

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2791-1.jpg

Next I decided it was high-time I profile around the lock plate. I traced the perimeter I wanted in pencil, and went at the remainder with files until I had the profile I wanted.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2798-1.jpg

At this stage, you take a piece of plain paper and rub around the edges of the profile with the end of a pencil. Then you cut out the shape and use it as a pattern to trace the identical profile on the reverse side, then copy it there :)

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2795-1.jpg

Once I have some excess material removed, I file a "dish" cut around the profile I want like so...

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2796-1.jpg

then I feather out the dis cut to the narrower grip section, and voila! :)

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2797-1.jpg

So now we get to forearm thinning. There are a number of ways to do this, and I find which you use is HIGHLY dependent on the type of wood. For straight grain wood, bar nonw, I like a proper scraper. This one is made by Veritas and is pretty high-end, interchangeable blades, etc.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2804-1.jpg

The problem with fiddlebacked maple, however, is that a scraped edge will leave a wavy surface due to the nature of the grain and you will have to sand it smooth again, so make sure you leave some meat for sanding if you use a scraper. I typically will only use it in small areas that need precise removal of material when working with fiddleback maple.

Next, you have the wood plane. This works OK if you have long flats to remove material from, but for fiddleback you need to keep it razor sharp and only remove very thin curls of wood. I will use this to remove high-points I'm trying to round, etc.

Now I know it sounds crazy, and frankly it does require a LOT of practise to not ruin the piece, but for fiddleback, I like an industrial power belt sander like this Makita. DO NOT USE the 80 grit belts they come with or you WILL remove too much wood and ruin the stock. Buy a 120 grit belt, clamp the stock REALLY firmly in a good vise (use leather to pad the jaws) and GO SLOW. 2-3 seconds of sanding, stop and check, repeat. You can scribe lines, but I just do it by practised eye. I don't use a sander for straight grain,. but for fast removal of a lot of wood from fiddleback, IF YOU ARE VERY CAREFUL, this way works and leaves you with a flat, non-grain-wavy surface.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2805-1.jpg

Now here is a chunk of the original forearm from when I shortened it to show you how much the stock has been thinned:

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2800-1.jpg

Notice when we approach the lockplate flare and the cosmetic flare on the opposite side, I let the barrel channel walls get slightly thicker, this is to fill out the hand a bit where the stock is gripped.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2801-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2802-1.jpg

Oh, I also fit the touch-hole liner. This ones is TOTW brand liner threaded 1/2x28. I recommend you drill this with the barrel clamped in a vise on a milling machine - you only get one chance to drill it to the right diameter. Use a centre-drill prior to drilling to final diameter and mark the location first with the barrel and lockplate installed to best locate the flash hole. put a 90 degree bevel on the finished hole, no larger than the diameter of the flange on the liner. Once installed, file it flat and polish to 400 grit with the flat of the barrel.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2803-1.jpg

I still have to finish sanding and scraping the final rounded contour under the forearm, right now, it's parallel-sided with the thickness reduced.

Good work on the forearm. I personally use a large, course file to remove the majority of the wood moving then to a finer file and then on to 220 grit sand paper or a scraper since power tools, unless you are very, very careful, can remove too much wood too quickly but you are obviously capable of handling the power sander very well.

Yes, rasps and files also work well, that is what I use around the lock flats. And as you say, I do not recommend you whip out the belt sander if this is your first stock and you haven't got a steady hand and a fair bit of practise first. It can go south in a great big hurry - trust me :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Claven2

............... as you say, I do not recommend you whip out the belt sander if this is your first stock and you haven't got a steady hand and a fair bit of practise first. It can go south in a great big hurry - trust me :)

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Ooooh yes. :madsmile:

You are doing an excellent job with the tutorial, thanks for posting all of this.

Made some progress on the buttstock in the cheekpiece area. the cheekpiece on the blank comes HUGE and rough. Also, for my grip, the comb was too far forward, so I had to correct that too.

Here you can see I've scribed out the lines I wanted. There is really no rule on shape of cheekpiece. It seems on original long rifles that there were as many designs as there were rifles, so go with something that fits your hold and appears to you aesthetically. I like mine short, relatively high on the stock and with a little understated carving detail.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2811-1.jpg

Here you can see the comb has been set back, re-thinned, and the cheekpiece has been filed to shape and blended into the stock at it's base. I've also scribed out where I'm going to carve a rounded detail.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2815-1.jpg

And here the carving is complete (for now).

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2816-1.jpg

You'll note I left the cheek piece convex above the carving detail. On most originals it was actually concave. I may yet change it to neutral or concave, I'm yet to decide, but convex makes for a more useful cheekpiece IMHO.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2817-1.jpg

I also filed the underside of the forestock to a rounder grip and better blended up to the nosecap.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2813-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2814-1.jpg

Slept on it overnight and decided to change it to a neutral flat (not concave or convex) and I thinned out the comb a bit more. It looks more traditional in the Lehman style now.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2818-1.jpg

Here you can see the contour of the ramp is flat:

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2819-1.jpg

The easiest way to remove wood in a targeted way like this (without filing for HOURS), IMHO, is to use a small spokeshave. I like the ones I get at Lee Valley. They make everything from a $20 spokeshave to a $200 one. Believe it or not, I actually prefer the really simple tenon-type hand-forged and honed tradional style shaves like this one (I have these in several sizes):
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...okeshave-1.jpg

Though I will sometimes use a nice one like this Veritas. I find these higher-end ones less intuitive to use and they take a while to get adjusted just right.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...c1fc71_z-1.jpg

In other news, I got most of the stock sanded to 240 grit before my hand and forearm got too sore - lol. Still have to do the detail areas, then I'll have to raise the grain with water and sand again...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Claven2

Lehman style

---

:confused: Leman of Lancaster Pennsylvania?

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSC01451-1.jpg
I sometime wish it was left handed, but it's the family "hair-loom". (The deer skin wasn't courtesy of this rifle, but the squirrel and coyote tails are!)

ETA: sorry, that's the only photo I have of this side of the rifle. Not much detail. But it's a very minmal stock compared to it's massive 42" barrel. Quite usable, though!
The lock is Leman, don't know about the rest.

Yeah, the rifle I'm building is roughly a copy of an early Leman (from Lancaster Pennsylvania). Most Leman's were percussion but some very early ones were flinters. Also Leman never made a lefty rifle, but that's detail stuff.... lol.

Your rifle probably started life as a full-stocked gun and was likely shortened into a Hawken-style at a later date, probably 1870's.

Off the TOTW website, here is an image they posted of an exact replica of an original Leman they used as a pattern when casting their replica parts:

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...lflint_9-1.jpg

Mine has a few differences. It's left handed in .54, which the originals were not. Mine is all steel while the originals had a mix of brass and steel. Mine has real curly maple, originals had painted-on faux-curl. Mine is flint, the original they patterned was a percussion. I also went with double-set triggers, no originals were set trigger models.

Next we remove all the iron hardware and pause to snap a few photos that I forgot to take when inletting jobs were finished - lol. You can still see a little inletting black here and there, but it will either come off when I finish the stock or will be hidden under iron furniture.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2820-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2821-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2822-1.jpg

Next we pain the stock with water using a normal chip brush or sponge. Don;t go crazy, just wet the surface. It'll stand in the corner for a day or two to dry out and the stock will feel really rough again, probably close to 80 grit (!) since all the grains pushed down from sanding operations will stand back up. I'll then have to lightly re-sand with 240 grain to take this risers off.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2823-1.jpg

If I might intrude a little more. here's a couple of buttstock photos that show more detail. The front of the cheekpad just gradually fairs in at the front and the rear swoops back to the top of the buttmetal.

Absolutely useless for me, so I mirrored the image to fit our left handedness, because you're doing something I've contemplated for a long time. Now that the old one is up and shooting, it probably won't happen, but am enjoying your thread!

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...uff03321-1.jpg
The wood surely doesn't look this light in natural conditions! Must be the flash. The overall photo is closer in coloration.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...uff03421-1.jpg
Oh, and fresh RLO all over it, just because...

Nice photos :) As you can see, there is wide variation and artistic license in the cheek pieces. One thing most Leman's do share though, is a rolled detail at the point of the cheekpiece of varying size. I tried to duplicate the spirit of that :)

Now that the stock is sanded to 400 grain to remove some of the loose fibres, we need to start darkening it. There are all kinds of shortcut products, as I like to call them, but I'm not a fan, so let's do it like they did a couple hundred years ago.

First of all, you need to locate some 70% concentration nitric acid, some places it's called "assay acid" as it's used in the assay of precious metals. It's not as easy to get as it used to be since apparently there are terrorist-like things you can do with it in quantity??? I had a buddy (thanks Brewster!) who works with the stuff and he provided me with the right dilute solution (1:4 acid to purified water). You paint it onto the stock (wear protective gloves!) and allow it to mostly dry. In the old days you would use a heat source like an oil lamp or candle to slowly heat the surface of the stock until the acid oxidizes some of the chemicals in maple, but you can take a shortcut here and use a heat gun with a concentrator tip. It's way faster and you are way less likely to accidentally char part of the stock - be especially careful of thin areas!!!!. when it turns color, it does so very abruptly and becomes a mellow yellow-reddish tint like so:

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2840-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2841-1.jpg

No, that's not wet, that's the color it becomes DRY. As an added benefit, if you had bits of iron or steel dust in the grain pores that turned into a greyish bunch of stain spots on your stock when you had wet it to raise the grain (it doesn't sand off), the dilute acid chemically eats the stains away 100% leaving only any residual inletting black on the wood. An added bonus, and also why you don't need to worry about any grey water/iron stains. In case anyone cares, those stains are dissolved iron or steel oxides from chemical reactions with wet tannic acid that was in the wood.

Now need to neutralize all that acid so that it doesn't work on the stock for the next decade and doesn't pit your steel parts when you assemble the rifle. Mix a tablespoon of baking soda with warm tap water and paint it onto the stock. Allow to mostly dry and repeat. This will kill as much of the acid as you need to worry about. If we stopped here and oiled hte stock, it would be a nice chestnnut brown, but it would not look period. It need a little more purply-red. More on that later...

Here is a pic of the stock wet with soda water. This is roughly how it would look if oiled today. Really not that bad.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2842-1.jpg

There will be a few new grains that will have raised from all this work. Don't worry about it. If you did a decent job removing the worst of it when you wet the grain the first time and re-sanded, what remains will come off when we oil the stock using a fine steel wool buffer pad later on.

More to follow on traditional stock finishing :)

Never heard of that staining method, will have to try it on something. Very impressive!

If you don't already have a copy, try purchasing "the Modern Kentucky rifle" by RH McCrory. I beleive he is long since deceased and wrote the book in the early 1950's, but it's still one of hte best step-by-step references out ther eon how to build a longrifle using traditional methods. This is one of the processes he outlines.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...ookmkr_1-1.jpg

Most of the modern stuff like Aqua-Fortis or Chromium Trioxide are modern chemical treatments designed to replicate these older and more time-consuming methods. When I start the next step, we will turn the stock almost black, but it will retain these brown-red undertones from the Nitric Acid staining.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Claven2

.................................
Most of the modern stuff like Aqua-Fortis or Chromium Trioxide are modern chemical treatments designed to replicate these older and more time-consuming methods. When I start the next step, we will turn the stock almost black, but it will retain these brown-red undertones from the Nitric Acid staining.

---

Excellent work Claven, you are doing well.

I do have to say though that Aqua-Fortis is the alchemical nomenclature for nitric acid and is commonly available, at least here in the US. Do a Google search for "Purchase Nitric Acid" and the options are many. It is commonly used in staining maple, whether for longrifle stocks or furniture . It can be had from any company dealing in stains for longrifles (Track of the Wolf, Stonewall Creek Outfitters and many others) as well as some who deal in traditional stains and paints for the traditional furniture builders. It is usually available mixed with 2 parts nitric acid to 1 part distilled water - a 50% dilution but the 25% dilution you mention also works well and does allow more opportunity for control.

Chromium Trioxide on the other hand had much popularity at one time ('50s - '70s) but has fallen seriously out of favor since it will, with time, age to a green cast when used on wood though it usually starts as a nice shade of brown. Aqua-Fortis is completely traditional and is widely used for maple and other woods as well but it will darken walnut and cherry too much unless used in low concentration.

May I recommend two excellent books that have a great deal of information on building the longrifle? One, my personal favorite is “Recreating the American Longrifle” by Bill Buchele with updates by George Shumway and Alexander. This book is a classic written by Buchele in the late 1960s. Also, there is “Art of Building the Pennsylvania Longrifle” by Dixon, Ehrig and Miller. Both are commonly available and widely expand on McCrory’s excellent early work.

Thanks for the book recommendations :)

I actually was not aware that Aquafortis is nitric-acid based. I do know that TOTW has been out of stock on it for almost 2 years now (I have a standing notification for it) and I've not found anyone in the US who will ship NA to Canada. Here in Canada, it's sale is very regulated.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Claven2

Thanks for the book recommendations :)

I actually was not aware that Aquafortis is nitric-acid based. I do know that TOTW has been out of stock on it for almost 2 years now (I have a standing notification for it) and I've not found anyone in the US who will ship NA to Canada. Here in Canada, it's sale is very regulated.

---

Sorry to hear that, I thought that might be the case. If they will work with you, you can try Stonewall Creek Outfitters, they have it at:

Finishes and Stains

They are a good and reliable company but like most sellers they will be aware of the law and may not ship if Canada has strict regulation. Track may be the same when they are back in stock. That being said, the Wahkon Bay Outfitting Co. items are high quality. Good luck and looking forward to seeing the next instalment.

It' not too big a deal, I have a near-future supply of dilute Nitric acid now anyhow :)

So next we darken the finish down with a solution of potassium permanganate mixed with water. Potassium permanganate can be bought at higher-end aquarium supply stores as some aquarists use it for something or other. It comes as small purple crystals that readily dissolve in water. I mix about a half teaspoon in an ounce of water.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2843-1.jpg

Paint it onto the stock, let it almost dry, then paint on another coat. I'll be doing this several nights in a row until I have it almost char black when dry. It lightens SIGNIFICANTLY as it dries, so this will take a good many coats.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2844-1.jpg

Still wet and saturated:

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2845-1.jpg

Once you have enough potassium permanganate on the stock so that it looks charred/burnt, you then hand-rub boiled linseed oil into the whole thing. This is what it looks like after staining and oiling - almost black.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2846-1.jpg

Next take some extra-fine steel wool, soak it in boiled linseed oil and vigorously rub the stock until the desired look is achieved. Be careful around corners and edges - it you rub those too hard or are not careful, the edges will bee too light. I try to leave it darker in areas where the gun would not see wear in service. This gives the stock and older look, similar to an original.

So far I've buffed the area up to the lock flats. The steel wool removes any left over raised grain or imperfectly sanded areas making the wood glass-smooth. Later after the whole stock is wooled, several hand-rubbed coats of BLO will finish the stock off.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2849-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2853-1.jpg

Stock fully buffed down and polished now, 2 coats of BLO applied. I suspect I'll need another 6-8 cots minimum before I get the gloss I'd like to see, but here it's wiped dry and photos taken in overcast sunlight. Not bad IMHO. I did take the finish thinned at the wrist and at the front hand support to give the illusion of age and wear.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2854-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2855-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2856-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2857-1.jpg

And don't forget to break off a small piece of wool and polish the inside of the ramrod channel!

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2858-1.jpg

Found some time today to make the ramrod. You can make this out of almost anything, but supposedly the best woods for this that are unlikely to break or splinter are ramin or hickory. Historically, I believe birch was also sometimes used. Find a piece with as little grain runout as possible with straight grain throughout to make it less likely to splinter in use. I ended up using ramin which I think is an asian hardwood. Most modern gun making kits use ramin as it is supposedly more flexible and less prone to breakage than hickory. It's my first ramin ramrod though, so I'll let you know if it breaks! lol... I sand the rod lightly to 150, then a very light going over with 400 grit to smooth it out.

Obviously, it needs to be small enough to fit into the ramrod pipes. Not too tightly. No matter how nice the ramrod, it will be a little warped and this warpage is more or less what keeps it in place coupled with a reasonably snug fir to the area that fits inside the forestock.

Original trade rifles had plain wood rods, but I like a brass tipped rod for practical reasons and it allows me to thread in accessories just in case. Steel tips can also be had, but I've often worried about scratching the bore. To fit the tip, I use a file to remove just enough wood to get a press fit. Original brass tipped rods would have been riveted in place, but this weakens the ramrod, so I cheat and pour cyano-acrylate glue into the threaded hole and allow it to cure to lock the tip to the rod itself. I know... I'm such a cheater.

There are lots of ways to finish the rod. You can decorate it, stain it, leave it as-sanded, etc. Many original long rifles had spiral-charred rods, so I went that route. You carefully play a flame in a spiral around the shaft. You want to char the wood, not burn it. go slowly and be careful. I use a propane plumbing torch for this. When done, rub BLO into the rod and then use a piece of steel wool soaked in steel wool to lightly burnish the exterior. This will take any black ash off the spiral and leave it a char-brown color. Put on a few more BLO coats and you're done.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2861-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2862-1.jpg

That finished, I started browning a few of the iron fittings for the stock. You really only need to sand to 180, but I prefer the look if you go to 400. I like Laurel Mountain Forge for a browning solution, but there are a lot of different formulas out there, use whatever works for you. Worst case you can remove the finish and start over with a quick buff of 400 grit paper.

Solution applied 5 minutes ago. Will wait 3 hours and re-coat, then 3 hours later scale. Might need another 2-3 coats after that.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2859-1.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Claven2

................... Not bad IMHO.

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Your humble opinion is exactly right, the stock stain and finish are very nice. Excellent work.
:clap:

Thanks - I'm very happy with how it has turned out thus far. Next step is to get all the stock furniture properly browned and waxed or oiled, particularly the butt and toe plates to protect that very breakable area ;)

ok, well fast forward passed all the browning of parts and I've re-assembled the completed rifle. Very happy with the result.

I did remember to take a couple pics of some of the browned parts prior to assembly:

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2954-1.jpg

And here is the barrel after the last round of browning but prior to scaling:

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2956-1.jpg

I won't bother going into the browning details - there are lots of references on how to brown steel parts. Just buy the solution of your choice and follow the directions. I prefer to leave my browning solution on longer, 12 hours at a time, as I prefer the older stippled look like a true older rifle.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2959-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2958-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2960-1.jpg

And here you can see where I positioned the touchole. Some guy put it right at the bottom of the bowl. IMHO this is wrong. You want it up a bit so that the flash from the primer goes instantly into the touchole. If you put it too low, you have to wait for the primer charge to combust to get over to the hole.

You can just make out, I got the lock plate engraved "R Cormier Ottawa" - kind of a vanity marking ;)

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2961-1.jpg

I think the matchbox turned out particularly well.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSCN2962-1.jpg

I haven't test fired it yet (just finished it about an hour ago), but it is throwing good sparks :)

I will probably put one more coat of oil on the stock as well. The last few coats have been "Original Wood Finish" from Lee Valley. It's polymerized (by boiling) pure linseed oil mixed with natural beeswax. No driers or heavy metals added - it's fantastic stuff that gives a nice satin sheen.

Hope you all liked my build thread/"how to" post, and that it helps someone else to take the plunge and do their own build :)

Claven2:

A wholeheartedly :clap::clap:.

You've done a wonderful job on your new Flintlock. I hope she shoots straight when you take her out!:cheers:

Darn that's a beautiful piece of restoration work .... :clap:

This old girl will live on for years now ....

Thanks for breathing new life into her ... :super:

Regards,
Doug

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Badger

Darn that's a beautiful piece of restoration work .... :clap:

This old girl will live on for years now ....

Thanks for breathing new life into her ... :super:

Regards,
Doug

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This one isn't a restoration Doug - It's a completely new build. :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Claven2

This one isn't a restoration Doug - It's a completely new build. :D

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Holy crap ... :eek:

Even more amazing ... :super:

I can't even use a hammer without hurting myself, so I'm impressed ... :lol:

Regards,
Doug

Claven.... oh, my...... *sigh* :dunno: I hate to be the one to tell you but...... you put the lock on the wrong side. :yikes: :bash:

I guess it is back to the ole drawing board but the experience will help you do it right this time.

JUST KIDDING! :madsmile:

You did an excellent job building this one and, having built a few myself completely from scratch, I must give you a hearty "Atta Boy". And thanks for the excellent posts giving everyone a step by step explanation and demonstration of the process. Again, good job, you can be proud of your work and the results.