...and yet another Ketland Trade Pistol kit from MBS

[Alan O]

I love this kit. I "finished" mine by drilling the vent the night before last, after a series of firsts - the first *real* kit I tackled (i.e. not a shake-the-box variety), first experience with a drill press, tapping, actual carving/shaping, fitting, etc. It's not pretty and I made some non-fatal mistakes that only an experienced eye will notice. Still need to mount the sight, wrist inlay, keep experimenting with the finish, maybe polish it up a little more...leaves me feeling like I want to take a crack at another one though...

Thinking I will next apply some fresh Tru Oil to give some depth to the grain, and hopefully darken it a little

 

[Alan O]

Lessons learned include: finally figuring out how to inlay brass fixtures without creating an unnecessarily large hole (Hint: bevel the fixture *first* and trace with a pencil and/or fine Xacto, start removing material from the inside out, then use inletting black), USE A REAL DRILL PRESS! (a couple of mis-aligned holes taught me that my Dremel drill press, while very good for small jobs, isn't terribly good at drilling a hole for the tang bolt). I got a Ryobi at HD for under $200 and it's really good. More to come, because we never really finish these, do we?

 

[wiscoaster]

You could mix some dark brown Transtint dye into your Tru Oil and that will modify the color darker, as you wish, though it won't give more depth to the grain. Tru Oil alone won't do that. You might try doing some selective steel wooling before you apply the colored finish, which results in more finish and therefore more affect where you want it. Be sure to get the wool shavings off the finish first. They can be "sticky".

Nice looking pistol.

 

[Alan O]

Hey thanks - got it!

 

[ajf55]

Nice job, those are nice looking pistols.

 

[Alan O]

Thank you. Soon, I will be browning the barrel and adding a short belt hook from Middlesex Village Trading

 

[Alan O]

Just ordered two belt hooks from MBS because the website didn't say they were out of stock anymore. When received I will cancel the MVT order because, you know, they take a long time...One of those is going on the Ketland

 

[Notchy Bob]

Your pistol is looking really good, Alan.

Strong work!

Notchy Bob

 

[Alan O]

Thank you!

 

[Alan O]

Added something here that I like. Still need to brown the barrel. There's always something to do...