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Your first and most recent build...

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Joined
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I'd love to hear about your first build, challenges,istakes, fustrations, how it might of sit for awhile, and do on

Any pics would be great too.

And for those brave enough to go back on your saddle again, your current build or project....
 
My first Plains style rifle from 1968 and my latest Plains rifle from Dec 2017.
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You can tell that's a 1968 build from the avocado green shag carpeting in the background. Updated to kelly green for the 2017 gun.:grin:
 
Hi,
I salvaged parts from my first rifle years ago. However, it was made from a band sawed maple stock blank, Douglas 13/16" 44 inch 45 cal straight barrel and a Siler lock kit all purchased from Dixie Gun Works in 1976. I tried to work on it during summers when home from college but I had to work as a tree surgeon to pay for school and I was usually too tired in the evenings to work on it, and during weekends, I was off rock climbing. After I graduated, I worked on it full time while I was searching for a job. I finished it in 1978 and it came out OK but with many of the mistakes neophytes typically make like incorrect lock panels. I made the brass patch box, thimbles, side plate, trigger, toe plate, muzzlecap, and star inlays. My only guides were Bill McCory's little book on building rifles and Kaufmann's old book on Pennsylvania rifles. My dad taught me all the wood working and metal working skills needed and we both learned some of the methods specific to making flintlocks. We built the lock and it came out great and worked very well. The rifle lives on in 3 different rifles made years later. I hated the barrel, too long, too skinny, too straight, and too heavy. I built 3 more rifles with straight barrels and never used them after discovering swamped barrels. Bill Kennedy mentored me a bit before he moved from NJ to PA but by and large I taught myself after getting my basic wood and metal education from my dad. Below are photos of my 2 latest guns, both of which pay close attention to historical context. They both have locks that I built, and most of the brass hardware was hand made by me, just like my first rifle.

dave
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It is always painful to post pictures of my first rifle build as you can see from the pictures. It is pretty rough but I learned a lot as can be seen in my second and third rifle pictures.

I have killed a pile of deer with this rifle, three this year alone so it does have some redeeming quality. It is a scratch build with some barrel inletting help from Fred Miller.

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Awful lock panel;

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Second gun, 12ga fowler, another scratch build with some help from Fred miller on the barrel and ramrod hole;

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Third gun, Tn .40 Squirrel rifle, Pecatonica precarve;

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I am working on a Kibler kit now, so easy to build I almost feel guilty.
 
I forgot to mention, first build took me 2 years, I even had to have misdrilled holes in the tang and lock plate welded up to start over. I would get so frustrated with parts of the build that I would put it up for months at a time.

I have thought about going back and correcting all my mistakes on my first build but always think about the rough life it has in the woods. It has been beaten and banged, scratched and dented but always comes through when I need it to perform, I guess I will leave it ugly.

Second build (fowler) took a year, I learned to do a lot of looking at originals and bought Grinsdale's fowler book.

The third build took 8 months, the precarve was way off center so it took most of my extra time carefully evening things up, patching gouged out places as well as straightening a really warped stock.
 
That's funny! The 1968 rifle build was when I lived in NJ (1948 - 1998). The picture was taken in my CA back yard with real grass don't remember what year (2008 maybe). I've lived in CA since 1998 (hate CA). The 2017 rifle picture was last month and the lawn is artificial turf (looks good don't it) which I had installed in 2013 - not cheap but I HATE cutting grass. :thumbsup: :grin:.
 
In this game the word "build" is subject to various interpretations. Scratch build is even wide open. Kit is even an unclear term. I'll mention two I 'built'. Two because the first was not a rifle. First was a Remington Army C&B brass frame revolver from Dixie Gun Works. The action on a single action is very simple. But, even though I had shot .22s and shotguns since nearly baby-hood I had never worked on guns. Putting this together taught me a lot about fitting parts, filing and stoning them to work in harmony and smoothly. Came out well and I shot it for several years before selling. The second "build" was an H&A short 'kentucky' in .50 cal. I intended to be a hunter. It went together with minimal wood removal needed. Several problems at the end. Like a lot of beginners I did not remove enough wood along the barrel making it look less than slender. And, the very short barrel made it a very light rifle. Even in just .50 cal. with hunting loads it kicked sumptin fierce. The lock provided was not a good sparker and a facing had to be put on the frizzen to correct that. Years later I sold it to a friend who was a gun trader. He sold it to a guy who simply would not believe it wasn't an old original. Today it hangs in a country music tavern in Wisconsin and is touted as having been made in the Arkansas Ozarks by some old guy. That part is true. But it was 1974 not 1874. :grin:
 
Bottom one if gorgeous, what a piece of wood, what kit is that if any, a lefty to boot!!
 
Here was my first pistol build....from start to end:

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I'm finally going to get to my Lehman build....well...right after the Pa flintlock season.
 
muamero said:
Bottom one if gorgeous, what a piece of wood, what kit is that if any, a lefty to boot!!
It's not a kit. the wood plank came from Dunlap Woods some 15 years ago. The rifle was gift from a father to his son who lives in Utah - it took me a year to finish as I made most of the parts except for the barrel,breach plug/tang, trigger guard, butt plate, and hammer. I'm a slow worker :grin: .
 
My first was a CVA kit, my last, just finished is a restock of an old CVA mountain pistol restocked in to a full stock southren style pistol.
In between, CVA and TC kits, full stock and half stock Hawken looking flint locks, Pennsylvania styled trade rifle,Leman full stock, New England style Fowler Centermark FDC , blanket fusil, ”˜canoe’fusil, southren mountain style, NWG.
 

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