building a flintlock pistol AKA a slow death

which of you enablers gave me the idea to build a flintlock pistol? i would like to send you a dozen wolves and a few Grizzley's.
I finished my last rifle build and was arrogant enough to think i have sufficient skill to do a pistol. bought the metal parts from a member here and dug out some black walnut blanks i have packed around since 1978 when I and my late father milled a Oregon Black walnut tree. i had planned on using it for making cases for some other type of handguns but life got in the way and i never used it.
seems to me there is as much or more work building a pistol than there is in a rifle!

I have never tried a pistol either and just started one last week. The hardest part so far is holding onto it!

i only by chance inletted the barrel first, and have found it reinforces the rest of the build while clamped in the vise. i made some thin plywood jaws and covered them with leather to clamp the thing.
my major problem is gripping rasps and chisels with my arthur's itis. after 10 minutes of work my fingers lock into claws!

deerstalkert said:

seems to me there is as much or more work building a pistol than there is in a rifle!

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The smaller canvas leaves you less room to hide your mistakes.

Looks great!

Looks good to me waiting on the finish line.

That’s coming along nicely!

SDSmlf said:

The smaller canvas leaves you less room to hide your mistakes.

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Mistakes? mistakes? what makes you think i would settle for something as mundane as a mistake????
major screwups, Gaffs, disastrous lack of planning, malfeasance, (stealing stuff from the wife to incorporate) but mistakes?
one must have a glimmer of an idea of what they are doing to make something as common as a mistake!





ok ok, i made a bunch of mistakes, but i am a champion of hiding them. from 12 feet my efforts look great.

deerstalkert,
Looks great to me.
Keep the forum posted with photos as you complete this project.
What finish are you going to use?
Thanks for posting your work.

In any case it is looking good. I think that you are doing a great job with it.

deerstalkert said:

which of you enablers gave me the idea to build a flintlock pistol? i would like to send you a dozen wolves and a few Grizzley's.
I finished my last rifle build and was arrogant enough to think i have sufficient skill to do a pistol. bought the metal parts from a member here and dug out some black walnut blanks i have packed around since 1978 when I and my late father milled a Oregon Black walnut tree. i had planned on using it for making cases for some other type of handguns but life got in the way and i never used it.
seems to me there is as much or more work building a pistol than there is in a rifle!

Click to expand...

That looks really nice, to quote Dances With Wolves...how does it smoke??

GA Ranger said:

deerstalkert,
Looks great to me.
Keep the forum posted with photos as you complete this project.
What finish are you going to use?
Thanks for posting your work.

Click to expand...

the only finish i am sure of is a polished cedar casket!
i haven't really thought of a finish other than my old stand by of oil. i think i will sand to 600 grit and oil.
my main concern/ indecision is the sights. any and all advise is welcome.

BuffaloSoldier said:

That looks really nice, to quote Dances With Wolves...how does it smoke??

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ain't smoking yet but it sparks great!

well i fixed the break and sanded my fingers to stubs. whiskered it and waiting for it to dry for the next marathon of sanding. figure about 4 more days before i can shoot it!

getting close to making smoke!

My congratulations. I've always admired folks who could take on a build from a hunk of wood and come out with great results like this. More guts and talent than I have and my hats off to you.

thank you sir!
but if I can do it anybody can. In the immortal words of somebody, "just whittle away what don't look like a gun and make holes for the parts!"
if somebody didn't say that they should have!
i basically built it so i could have a match for my rifle. the pistol has more bling.
as i work on it all kinds of ideas flow through the draughty halls of my mind! thinking of building some two tone sights for it.
the trigger guard has an acorn finial on it so i filed an acorn on the butt cap back strap. the sight i have has a serpentine tail going forward ending in a snakes head. i filed that to look like an acorn instead.
kind of just fell into the theme, which is neat, as i was born in a town named Oakhurst.

deerstalkert said:

thank you sir!
but if I can do it anybody can. In the immortal words of somebody, "just whittle away what don't look like a gun and make holes for the parts!"
if somebody didn't say that they should have!
i basically built it so i could have a match for my rifle. the pistol has more bling.
as i work on it all kinds of ideas flow through the draughty halls of my mind! thinking of building some two tone sights for it.
the trigger guard has an acorn finial on it so i filed an acorn on the butt cap back strap. the sight i have has a serpentine tail going forward ending in a snakes head. i filed that to look like an acorn instead.
kind of just fell into the theme, which is neat, as i was born in a town named Oakhurst.

Click to expand...

I built a couple of carpenter bee traps out of 4 x 4's last year. It worked. The bees died laughing.

Ok fellas. i need some direction on sights for this thing.
Placement, configuration, even color.
am thinking of a two tone rear sight, white base and brass upper. maybe just a tiny brass blade in front?
time is ticking so what say you?

first shot.
shot first time ! now to figure out sights.