New Member Asking About Cost of Tools for First Rifle Build

[Brent]

Mattole,

After years off I'm getting back into rifle building and am in the process of acquiring tools.  I'm certainly a newbie but perhaps my purchase decisions can help you.

I went through the forum reviewing all threads discussing carving and inletting tools and made a list of the most frequently recommended ones.  The Flexcut 11 pc Carving Kit was also mentioned and since the kit did a good job of covering the tools on my list I bought it.  After tinkering (and cutting myself) with the chisels I find that for me the Flexcut kit work well for carving.  Several sites carry the Flexcut brand but Woodcraft seems to be the favorite of the forum.

As for inletting, I have a number of straight chisels but felt I needed something better.  I wound up buying a couple of dogleg chisels from Stonewall Creek Outfitters and after playing around with them I find they work very well.

When it came to a vise I splurged and bought the Patternmaker or Gunstock Carving Vise (and yes, all of those words are for the name of one vise) from Woodcraft.  Woodcraft has several different vises for gunstock work with this vise being the midrange model.  The vise was a little more pricey than what I wanted to spend, and it probably won't do too much more than a less expensive model, but it is well built and solid vise that has given years of dependable service to others.

I also bought a surface plate from Woodcraft that was on sale.  The reviewers raved about the usefulness of the plate for sharpening chisels and it was cheap enough so I figured why not.  As an added incentive, Woodcraft had free shipping on the plate and on all of the other items I bought too. 

Books.  Recreating and The Art of Building books have already been mentioned and I agree that they are a must buy for the new builder.  There is a third book though that I think will also help - The Longrifle Construction Manual from Muzzleloader Builder's Supply.  This book, though more basic, is geared to first time builders and yet has nuggets of tips and advice not found in the other two.

I've been drooling over the A. Verner kit myself but need to finish up a couple of other projects first and develop my skills before I tackle such a kit.  Muzzleloader Builder's Supply also has two kits covering the Allentown Bucks County area that would make Pavlov proud of me.  Please post pics of your kit when you get it.

[chuck c.]

I've seen a lot of people desperately wanting to buy a copy of "The Gunsmith of Greenville County" lately and they can't because it's out of print. In 2008 the author did a series of articles called "New Techniques" in Muzzle Loader magazine. A lot of the info found in the book is in these articles which you can get by purchasing back orders of the magazine. Mike Brooks' tutorial is excellent and he was nice enough to put it out there for free!

[Mattole]

Thanks again everyone. I have learned a lot in this thread and as usual you have been very generous in sharing your knowledge and experience!

[msw]

what Bill Knap said!!! for true... i couldn't even hazard a guess as to what my tools cost, or how much it would cost to replace them, since i've bought the odd this- and- that over the years, and it's probably added up to a pretty hefty sum if done all at once.

as regards the sharpening- it's true- you cannot have your tools too sharp.  i would recommend that you rent a video on how to get them as sharp as possible.

good luck with your build (it won't be your last, once you get one done, it's only a matter of time before you're planning the next one).

[okieboy]

 
Mattole, just for fun, I removed my gun from the vises and took a couple of pics of the tools currently laying on my benchtop. I am currently inletting the lock, but not all of the tools laying there are for that. Yes, I did neaten them up a little to make it easier to see whats what. My benchtop gets messy at times, but periodically I will stop and straighten it out (it does make the work easier).

[Mattole]

Thanks very much for the images of your tools, okieboy. Now I just need to figure out what they are!

I spoke with Karen at Jim Chambers Flintlocks the other day (where I have decided to buy my "Isaac Haines" rifle kit) and she said they have a video showing the construction of a rifle from a kit, and all of the tools that are necessary are shown and named. That will be helpful for me, I'm sure.

[okieboy]

 Here is something for you. These are the five mallets that I use in my work. You will notice that of the five, four are homemade. All four of the wooden ones are used for driving or chasing chisels and gouges. Big ones for big work, little light ones for fine work. the two larger ones are maple (which can even be bought from Home Depot) if you don't have a barrel of scraps on hand yet, the other two are left over Osage orange.
 I drew you a little pattern to use with 3/4" thick stock. Cut two of the smaller pieces to epoxy to each side of the larger pieces. Any of these could be made with no more than a coping saw and a piece of sand paper. You will note that these are all square or rectangular in cross section. I have made and tried round mallets and they don't compare. the flat sided mallet does not roll around or off of the bench top and the flat side gives a large "sweet spot" for striking the chisel. The handles have their edges rounded, but are still rectangular, so as you pick them up the hand automatically orients them properly.
 In using chisels and gouges I chase or drive them with mallets about 85% of the time and push by hand about 15% of the time.
 Hope that you make your own mallets, it is a pleasant task and the product will actually get used and not just look pretty.