Half way to a full stock Hawken

[Little Wattsy]

I think I am JUST about done with all the inletting, shapeing, tap-n-dying, fitting, etc.. down to finish sanding, pinning, staing, and assembly... The wood is very nice, the inletting looks like a retarded monkey went at it with a rock and chisle, and the sanding is going nicely... :wink:

 

[Flint311]

Keep posting with pics, please. Lookin' good. Only thing I see wrong is that your bench is way too clean! :rotf:

 

[Archie]

You have a retarded monkey too?? It's a small world afterall...

 

[Mongo40]

Great looking rifle, is this a kit you bought or parts you've pieced together??? Would like to hear where you got your parts.

 

[Little Wattsy]

Great looking rifle, is this a kit you bought or parts you've pieced together??? Would like to hear where you got your parts.

Its a kit I bought from Pecatonica... http://www.longrifles-pr.com/hawkenfull.shtml
It required alot more work then a prefab from TC or Lyman but it WAS rough-cut vs a blank slab of wood.. I like that they offer all grades of wood and differant brands of parts..

 

[buford87]

I think that the retarded monkey has been turned loose in my basement also. Rifle is looking good.................watch yer top knot..................

 

[Little Wattsy]

So I tried the cotten rope and vinigar trick... turned out fairly well. didnt wrap it tight enough at the end but its close...

 

[Old40Rod]

Nice work... I've never done a Hawken but I'm think about making a flint Hawken for my next build.

The only thing I'm not sure about is the front of your lock panel. Maybe its the photos. Looks a bit square at the bottom corner.

Maybe the Hawken builders can chime in, but it also looks like you could probably take some more wood of the forestock to thin things down a bit.

 

[Spikebuck]

Wattsy:

Here are two links to ToW's Kit page that shows some great pictures of completed Full-Stock Hawken rifles from top, bottom, and both sides. This might help you take a look at your build vs these completed rifle pictures to see if differences exist you need to work on.

I'm just completing my first build, a Jaeger, and I can attest that removing enough wood to get to the "thin" build of fine muzzleloaders is stressing, if not just downright scary at times. :grin:

I don't know if you have a build diagram, but Track also sells full-sized plans which give critical cross-sectional dimensions (see view 9 of the second link). I used these extensively in my build (a calipers is quite useful in the build process). I know you got your kit from Pecatonica, but the plan would be relevant either way.
http://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/GunKit.aspx/604/1/EARLY-HAWKEN-FULLSTOCK-FLINT-PARTS-LIST
http://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/GunKit.aspx/604/1/KIT-HAWKEN-FULLSTOCK-16-FLINT

 

[Little Wattsy]

Wattsy:



I don't know if you have a build diagram, but Track also sells full-sized plans which give critical cross-sectional dimensions (see view 9 of the second link).

Yes I bought thier plan sheet (A life saver).
Thanks for the pics.. Reminds me of what I started.

 

[Al C]

Having only put together a GPR kit back in the early '80's, I'm getting the urge to build another BP rifle, especiallly after joining some BP related forums lately. Since I all ready have a half stock, I'm inclined to try a full stock this time. To those of you who have done so, is there much difference in the work involved between a fs Hawken like this, or would a Leman be a little easier? I see some of the guns you Guys build, and it amazes me the talent level here. Thx, Al

 

[Little Wattsy]

A Lyman would be "easier" as alot of the inletting is already done. They are more sand, stain, assemble. And they are a GREAT gun...

The Pecatonica kit, as featured above, is atad more work fitting pieces and parts, removing burs off metal parts, etc. A VERY rewarding project.

A full stock vs a half stock is not ALOT of differance just a tad more sanding .. :v

 

[Spikebuck]

Al, you may want to post your question as a separate topic so it draws specific attention to your topic.

 

[Zonie]

I think he was asking about a Leman, not a Lyman. http://www.longrifles-pr.com/lemanfull.shtml

Al C:

I haven't built one but the Leman is considered to be one of the easier rifles to build offered by Pecatonica River.

One things for sure. There are a lot more photos of a Leman than there are of a full stock Hawken.

As you probably know if you've read much here on the Gunbuilders Bench, ALL of the "kits" offered by the people who supply these Parts Kits are much more difficult to build than a Lyman, Traditions or similar kit built by one of the big factories.

Locating, drilling and tapping threaded holes, shaping the stock (they all have too much wood), cutting mortices and installing sideplates, trigger guards, butt plates, etc are required.

If you decide to get any of these parts kits I recommend that you have the supplier install the barrel breech plug and the barrel underlugs.
Also, having him cut the sight dovetails is worth the money.

If you know where you want the sights located, tell Dick Greensides at Pecatonica River where you want them. If you don't know, he will know the best place for them. He's been in the business for years and he does know a lot about these things.

 

[jdkerstetter]

It is much easier to build a correct Leman than building a Hawken with the features commonly accepted as standard. There is at least one documented Hawken with a pinned barrel, but many wouldn't recognize it.

The Leman, especially in flint with a simple breech and single trigger is a fairly straight forward build. The option of brass or mixed hardware simplifies it furter.

Things that complicate a Hawken build: Wedges with escutcheon plates, hooked breech with long tang that is through bolted to the trigger plate in two locations. Threading the trigger guard to the trigger plate. Setting the triggers up properly. Inletting the lock requires that it mates properly with the pattent breech. In half stock you have the rib and pipes to intall and the nose cap with the ramrod through it. The architecture is also more difficult to pull off properly. Finishing and installing the steel hardware is less forgiving then working with brass. There is a ton of inletting of parts required.....etc, etc, etc.

There's just a lot involved in building a proper Hawken and that's why it's not recommended for a beginning builder.

The Leman, as Zonie indicated, is often recommended as a "first" build and still makes a fine rifle that is adaptable to either light or heavy calibers. They were also made in countless configurations and hardware options so they can be as elaborate or simple as you please.

Enjoy, J.D.

 

[Col. Batguano]

I think you are right.

Where would you put the Ohio Vincent in their difficulty hierarchy?

 

[jdkerstetter]

Is this a trick question? Didn't you claim to just finish one? :hmm:

To answer you anyway, there are some rather plain Vincents, as there are some plain Lemans.

For a typical Vincent, which would be half stocked, adorned, boxed, under ribbed and have a poured nose cap, I would put it up there with a Hawken build as the architecture is hard to pull off and there should be several inlays.

The Vincents were small in scale as compared to the Hawkens, really quite delicate, and many people don't get that right.

Full stock Vincent? Start another thread.....we've gone too far afield and ff already.

My apologies to Wattsy for being a party to the hi-jacking. Enjoy, J.D.

 

[Al C]

Thanks fella's for the answers. I wasn't attempting to hijack the OP's thread,good work by the way. Just that to my UN Trained eye, i couldn't see the reason why you hear the Leman is a good first project, but doing a Hawken is a pain. In the end, I guess its all the fine details that add up to make a Hawken the more difficult, if you want it as authentic as possible. Many thx, I have ALOT to learn, so I'll be watching. Al

 

[Col. Batguano]

Yes I did just finish a half-stocked one. I left off the patch box. Just wondering where it was on the scale. I had been eyeing the FS Hawken as my next target, but decided on a swamped Stofil Long Lehigh instead.

 

[jdkerstetter]

No offence meant! Your questions about Hawken builds were fine and the Leman is a good comparison piece.

Vincents are another area all together and it was the Col. and I who strayed. Enjoy, J.D.