TOW Classic Golden Age kit

Hey all, thinking of doing a build as my first flinter. This would be my first ever build. Im pretty handy and technically inclined. Have some wood working experience in my past as well. Im not looking for a stupid hard 2 year project or anything but dont expect to get it done in a day either. Part of me really wants the accomplishment of building instead of buying (even if i may mess it up) plus there are some small asthetic additions id like to add and would have to use an unfinished stock anyways.

All this being said, how friggin hard am i looking at here? I plan on having them do the labor to the barrel as i do not have equipment to do so. It should just be finishing the stock and metal if i have it figured correctly. My other option may be the "in the white" build from TVM or their next step up in dificulty. Prices are about the same.

Lastly, what era would the TOW rifle fit best in? I really like the looks of the york/lancaster rifles as i find them to be beautiful and functional without being gaudy. Since i like them so much and the rifle will be the most expensive aspect, i figure it best to assess what era it will fit in and then add clothing and accessories to fit that time frame.

Thanks for any help.
GB

You might consider taking a look at Kiblers Colonial Kit.

Will do. Thanks.

Should have mentioned i need it in left hand. kiblers is right hand only it seems.

I should have also asked about the TVM kit builds. Their intermediate build seems manageable to me based on their description of work needed. The price is much better too as i can get a bit more extras like fancier wood. Im looking at the late lancaster build specifically.

Definitely would not be just finishing the wood and metal. There is a lot of inletting, the buttplate has to be completely fitted for instance.There is also drilling and tapping of holes. A lot of wood to be removed to get the right shape. Drilling and pinning the barrel. Drilling and tapping the barrel and fitting the vent liner. A lot of other little jobs as well. I don't have any experience with the TVM so can't help with the amount of work needed there. Both of these rifles would roughly be from the 1800 to 1820 time period I would say.

Thanks for all that info! I think the TVM kit will be the way to go as the vent area is complete already from them.

Would the early lancaster place me in a different time period than the late lancaster?

Hi Grizzly,
I don't think it really matters with TVM. I've fixed several TVM guns of different models (early Lancaster, fowler, southern mountain?) and the stock patterns appear to be the same. Just the hardware changes a little.

dave

Awesome. Thanks for that info.

Hi Grizzly,
Please don't misunderstand me, the stocks, locks, barrels, and styling of American long rifles changed greatly from the colonial, "golden age", to late flint eras. Early guns had more robust stocks, better carving, fewer metal inlays, larger bores, etc. The rifles gradually got thinner, smaller caliber, less carving and more metal inlay as time went on. As far as I can tell, none of those changes are reflected in TVM early and late Lancaster rifles except maybe some of the hardware. Their designations seem to be mainly to label guns with different hardware.

dave

If in fact you want this parts set to be a "learning experience" along w/ acquiring a MLer, the TOW parts set will give you that along w/ the TVM. An "in the white" rifle" won't give you a whole lot of building experience. . Requiring a LHed LR eliminates some excellent parts sets , but it is what it is, so either the TOW or TVM parts set would fill the bill....w/ the TOW possibly being a little more difficult.

Whatever your choice is....buy at least one of the excellent "how to" books". The "Gunsmith of Grenville County" or "Creating the American LR" are 2 of the best......good luck......Fred

I have settled on the TVM kit build i believe. It seems within my scope of ability without being as easy as the in the white kit. I certainly plan on picking up several source materials to ensure i do it correctly.

Hi GB,
I would check out Pecatonica River Long Rifle Suppply as well as TOTW.
http://www.longrifles-pr.com/index.shtml

The skills you mentioned compare to mine; I have woodworking and aircraft maintenance experience.

I'm building their Early Lancaster package with guidance provided by "The Art of Building the Pennsylvania Long Rifle" and "Long Rifle Construction Manual Edition 2.0". I've managed to hit every curve the assembly has thrown at me.

Hope this helps.
John

even if i may mess it up

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You don't even want to think like that. :nono:
Often said here that it is easy to turn a $1,000.00 kit into a $200.00 rifle. That's a real bummer when that happens. Would you really want to show off yer disaster? Methinks not. :shake:
As for style, pick wat suits you, wat looks good to yer eyes. There ain't no rules on this. Do yer own thang. However, as pointed out, for a first rifle, the 'in the white' is a great way to go. You have to disassemble to finish then reassemble to use. Great learning experience. Many here wish they had made that choice at the beginning of their ml journey. I recommend.

Hi Grizz,

It should, but the TVM ones don't look much different from each other.

The Early Lancaster should have a wider butt plate and only a small amount of curve to them. Late Lancasters typically have a much narrower butt plate and a good crescent shape to them. The "Golden Age" Lancasters are the ones with the thinner butt plate and much more pronounced crescent shape to it. A LOT of the Golden Age rifles were .45 down to .40 caliber, whereas the Early Lancasters were more commonly .50 to .54 caliber or more. The wide butt plate with less curve on it is very comfortable for shooting .50 caliber (usually requires heavier powder charge than a .40 to .45)

The Golden Age rifles were also commonly more ornate than the Early Lancasters. The war was over and all of a sudden there wasn't the big demand that there was during the war, but there were still a lot of gunsmiths making rifles. Their answer was to decorate their rifles with more ornamentation to make them stand out. Highly ornamented rifles became the norm and that is one of the reasons that era of rifle-making became known as the "Golden Age".

Early Lancasters either didn't have a patchbox at all or it was a wooden patchbox. later versions of the Early Lancaster (during Rev War) had brass patchboxes but it wasn't until the Golden Age (Late Lancasters) that you really started seeing Pierced Patchboxes commonly on rifles. A pierced patchbox has decorative cut outs in the brass so you'll see the wood of the stock through the cut outs in the brass. Late Lancasters also often had brass decor along the forearm, wrist, and butt of the stock.

I personally have an Early Lancaster rifle that was made by "tg" here on the forum many years ago. It is a beautiful, slim, and elegant rifle with a swamped barrel. The swamped barrel is period correct for both early and late Lancasters. It has a 44½" long swamped barrel. Swamped barrels are light and far better balanced than the straight barrels that became common after Remington invented their gun drilling machine in ~1840. If you have not considered a swamped barrel, you need to seriously consider it. It is lighter overall and much easier to hold on target then the 40¾" straight barrel on my other flintlock. If it comes down to nicer wood or a swamped barrel...go for the swamped barrel. You won't regret it.

Twisted_1in66 :thumbsup:
Dan

You should also be aware that a typical parts set build will take you about 150 hours, or 200 if you are careful. Time commitment goes up considerably if you are adding stuff like carving and engraving.

Of course, the most important thing in any build is the desire to do it, and work shop set up and space is nice to have as well. But many a gun has been built at the kitchen table. After that come the tools. The good news is that the only power tool you need is an electric hand drill, but an actual drill press is mighty handy too. Other tools will make themselves known to you as you need them. But by all means start out by doing your research first.

Grizzly Bar said:

Should have mentioned i need it in left hand. kiblers is right hand only it seems.

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No offense intended; but I could swear when I was on the site the other day I saw them offered in left hand.. I think it was an option you had to select in the actual ordering / checkout.

I hope so cause I need a lefty when I can finally part with the money for one as well.

Go for the Track of The Wolf golden age. It’s the first rifle I built. If I can get one together half decent then anyone can ! Still the gun I enjoy shooting the most.

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That came out really well. Did you use their finishing products on the barrel and stock or someone elses?