.54 Lyman Great Plains Kit

[Mike_AK]

I just ordered one of the Lyman Great Plains Rifle kits in .54 caliber that MidwayUSA has on closeout. I've always wanted to build a blackpowder rifle, and with the closeout price, I decided the time had come. I'd appreciate any advice or pics from folks who have done this before me. Thanks.

 

[Birddog6]

There are probably hundreds of posts already on here about building GPR rifles. :wink: Just go back thru the old post page by page & you will find them. 2-3 of them just one page back.

 

[bioprof]

Be careful with the wood screws for the eschutcheons. I hear they're brittle and break easy. It helps to put beeswax on the threads before you install them.

 

[jtmattison]

Be careful with the wood screws for the eschutcheons. I hear they're brittle and break easy. It helps to put beeswax on the threads before you install them.

I second that. That was the only problem I had when building mine.

HD

 

[Birddog6]

If you don't have any beeswax, take a lil bar soap & take the tip of a Exacto knife & scrap it across the soap & put that shaving in the screw hole. If you just put it on the screw, when you thread it in the wood, the wood cleans off the screw as it goes in. So it works better for me to put the shaving of soap or beeswax in the hole. I lube all the screw holes in the wood on stocks of rifles I build. Just makes it all go allot easier, saves breaking off screws, saves ripping out the slots on them, etc.

 

[MSW]

what Birddog said... i use beeswax on basically any hole through which i put a screw (into wood) or any pin (again, through wood)... cuts down on the 'wrestling match' aspect.

good luck with your build!

 

[Mike_AK]

Thanks for the advice. A good wile back there was a post on this forum that got me interested in a GPR build. The guy had finished the metal by alternately applying Birchwood Casey Super Blue then steel wooling it for a nice gray patina finish. I recall he used Naval Jelly to remove the fake case hardening on the lock, and blued/steel wooled it too. The rifle had a nice german silver star inlay, and he had sanded a radius under the bottom edge of the cheekpiece that really made it pop out. Does anyone remember that rifle and maybe have pics of it? Wish I would have saved it.

 

[AeroncaTAL]

Would this be the one you're looking for?

Lyman in Gray

Scott

 

[Mike_AK]

That's the one! Thank you. BTW, nice Champ. Is that an L16?

 

[AeroncaTAL]

It's before the Champs. It is a Defender which became the L3.

Scott