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jdw276

40 Cal.
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Ok we all have our strengths and weaknesses. Our likes and dislikes.

What is your biggest dislike in building a rifle and it does not have the most difficult.

What is the most difficult part of the build in your opinion?
 
Buttplates :idunno: I aint done one right yet. Im snakebit when it comes to buttplates
 
Drilling barrel tennon holes is my achilles heel. Just now getting the hang of the tang bolt hole, so that would be a close second for me.
 
Don't really have any dislikeable tasks when building MLers...just some that take too long.....Fred
 
In my rather astounding level of experience of nearly completing one rifle I would have to vote that my least favorite thing is cleaning up and polishing cast brass parts. Seems never ending.
As for what gives me the most trouble.... Well, the list is long and distinguished. I seem to spend 1/4 of my time on a particular operation and the other 3/4 fixing my mistakes.
Butt plate comes to mind as mentioned previously...

When the specs say 120-150 hours to complete construction, I have come to understand that they mean "provided you don't bugger up every operation".

Man, I do love building rifles though.
 
for me, getting started. Once I start I can work like an obsessed Madman. Right now, I am sort of overwhelmed at the start of rebuilding my shop. Some of the expensive machines were salvageable or temporarily stored in a shed. All the taps, drill bits, drill press, stock vice, stock carver etc gone and to be replaced. Figure I will get them as I need them to do particular tasks. Two were machines/devices that I made myself. Means making them all over again.
 
entry pipes on hawken rifles and buttplates. Nothing a whole lot of patience can't fix. I find myself really procrastinating on drilling the holes for the pins for things also....If we didn't love doing it we wouldn't be building them though would we?
 
Those french butt plates that wrap around and have the big decorative points are just plain EVIL.

Zach
 
Not difficult, but tedious. Buttplates, entry thimbles, and nose caps. Solution?

Early English Trade Guns and Carolina Guns!!

:grin:
 
Buttplates and entry pipes. If your lower forestock is not perfectly symmetrical the entry pipe will forever look off center from some angles.

Brass cleanup is not too difficult if you mimic the old time builders and use scrapers for most of the shaping.
 
Or if the hawken style forend cap is off from the factory it will really mess you up till you figure out that's what it is...... Last 2 or 3 days I spent staring at how the heck did I get the underrib off that much and the barrel is straight with the lines on the cap.....Then it hit me like :doh: How did I not see that earlier...
 
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