It's hard to say how many hours I really have in it. The following is just a guess:
Barrels: Sanding off old rust= 1 hr
Applying Laurel Mountain Barrel Brown & Degreaser and hanging the barrels in my browning case = 5 minutes.
Carding off loose rust = 5 minutes.
This was done 4 times for a total time of 40 minutes.
I should point out that each browning took over 4 hours in the box but I didn't include this time because I wasn't really working on the gun.
It did add a couple of days to the amount of time between when I started and finished the gun though.
Boiling barrels to convert brown rust to black = 1 hour.
(My pan was only long enough to get a little over half of the barrel in it.
The middle of the barrel was above water level so I had to use a Pyrox measuring cup to dip and pour the boiling water over that area to convert the rust.
Filing/sanding rust browning and boiling butt plate = 2 hours
Cutting stock butt and installing butt plate = 6 hours. This is not an easy task if you want a line to line fit between the metal and the wood.
Designing, building and installing barrel lug positioner = 2 hours.
Disassembling, sanding, polishing lock plates = 2 hours.
Refitting, sanding, browning/bluing breech block = 1
Stripping the stock, reshaping the butt to match the butt plate and blend in with the rest of the shape and sanding and whiskering = 6 hours.
Staining and applying 5 coats of Tru-Oil = 6 hours. This time is what I actually spent working on the gun and does not include drying times. The oil is not just painted on and left to dry.
Each coat is rubbed in and every two coats the finish is lightly sanded with 1200 grit wet/dry sandpaper to remove the little bumps that always form.
Sanding, polishing and heat bluing trigger guard = 1 hour.
Making, bluing and installing 3 ramrod guides = 45 minutes.
Throw in another 1 hour for installing the barrel wedge escutcheons, bending one hammer to align with the nipple and making trips to the local hardware store for screws, sandpaper etc.
This adds up to about 30 1/2 hours plus $25 for the cast checkered butt plate invested.
As I've told others, one of these factory kits can be built in 15-30 hours but the amount of time invested shows in the finished product. :grin:
I don't know what current employers are paying per hour but I figure that's about $350 or more worth of work. :hmm: