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

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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.
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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...

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...

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...

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.
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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...

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...

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

https://www.milsurps.com/images/imported/2011/06/DSCN2782-1.jpg
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ok, as promised, pics of the tope plate inletted and installed:

https://www.milsurps.com/images/imported/2011/05/DSCN2775-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/imported/2011/05/DSCN2776-1.jpg
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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...