hour wise

[elk killer]

just wondered what the average time spent was to say,,,
file and polish a rough casted trigger guard,,start to finish,,
takes me about 2 to 3 hours

[keweenaw]

That's about right for a sand casting that needs stock removal, lines trued up, etc.

Tom

[Ryan McNabb]

The trigger guard is really crucially important.  I use big heavy sand castings from masters I carved myself, and seldom get one done to satisfaction in less than 4 hours.  It's the last 30 minutes of fussiness that are the most tedious, the easiest to ignore, and the most crucial. 

Investment castings can be done in 30 minutes.  But Homie don't play that.   

[Don Getz]

At least that long, I know I have spent more time than that and I'm not really a slow, meticulous worker.......that's why
I like to build barn guns..........Don

[Acer Saccharum]

It takes me a lot longer than four hours. Most castings need to be thinned down a lot to make them right. I use old dull files, which adds time. I like the get the facets just so, which takes time. The extensions need to have a reverse taper filed on them, don't forget. The inside of the bow needs some attention, too. It then takes me forever to get the file marks out with sandpaper(ulp, yes, sandpaper) on a wooden backer.

If I could stay at it full time, take no time off for coffee or 'checking the ALR', it might take me six to eight hours.

[Jim Kibler]

Acer,

I'm with you on the time required to clean up a sand casting.  Much depends on the quality of the initial casting.  Excesively rough or oversize castings with mismatch etc. take extra time.  I believe I work at a decent speed and think that 6-8 hours is a reasonable time to do a quality job.  Sure, I could probaly do a lesser job in maybe half the time, but it would show.

Jim

[wattlebuster]

Didnt keep up on the first few but the last two i did took 5 to 6 hours on average

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I no longer am content with factory castings, and since I don't cast my own, I buy something that is close, and alter it to suit.  I like getting a big fat sand casting and filing it down to what I want.  The following is an example.  This is a split guard for a William Antes swivel breeched rifle.  The original is missing, so I used a guard from one of his rifles that is illustrated in RCA 1 as an outline, bought a big close casting from TOW, and spent two days making this one.   I think there was enough brass on my bench when I was done, to cast another guard.
So, why did I buy two?  That rough one is going to be an Andrew Verner guard.

I have used investment castings many times.  Recently, I built a JP Beck rifle for Leatherbelly using one of Dave Keck's fabulous castings.  I didn't time myself, but I likely used up five - six diligent hours polishing it. I work quickly, and do not waste time contemplating the universe, and I use new rasps and files designated only for brass or wood.  I use no power tools in the polishing process.

[Acer Saccharum]

Pretty fine rasp work, there, Taylor!

[flehto]

If sand castings are used, 6-8 hrs, Goehring's, somewhat less mainly because of filing the thumbnails, and the least amount of time is spent on Chambers' early Lancaster TGs. I use sandpaper wheels in a Dremel to cut the sand castings down but not on the others. Probably being too fussy is the reason I don't like to do TGs  and I inlet the Tg only w/ the necessary surfaces finished and later on do the entire TG.....Fred

[A.Merrill]

    Taylor, used that same TG myself, it dose have enough brass in it for two TG but you can make a beautiful TG out of it.    AL