Considering doing a first ever build

[Martin_G]

Hi Everyone,


I'm thinking about trying my hand at building my first pistol but I'm not sure where to start or which pistol kit to buy yet. Actually, this will be my first ever build using wood & steel.

It will most likely be a percussion kit in .50 or .54 caliber. I still haven't decided if it should be a half-stock or full length stock.

Now, I do know how to finish wood pretty good, and I can muddle through metal finishing ok, plus I'm mechanically inclined. OTOH, my skill at working wood leaves alot to be desired. Because of this I don't have any tools suitable for working with wood. 

I had originally thought about getting a cheap Traditions kit to work with then decided it might not be the best to learn the skills needed to build a nice muzzleloader and have something to be proud of.


I'd appreciate it if any members here would be so kind as to help me choose which pistol kit to get and give me an idea of the basic tools I'll need to finish a kit.



Thanks,

Martin

[Rolf]

Hi Martin,

I'd first recommend you read a good book on gun building. The two most popular are,"Recreating the American longrifle" by Buchele and "The Gunsmith of Grenville County" by Alexander.  I also recommend Mike Miller's DVD "Building a Kentucky pistol" by American pioneer video.

Most kits have left alot of extra wood on the stock to allow the builder freedom in shaping and carving. Also, usually only the barrel is pre-inlet. You have to do the rest. Jim Chamber's Kentucky pistol is the only one I know of where most of the basic woodwork is done.
http://www.flintlocks.com/pistols.htm
I think you can get it as percussion in caliber 0.54. As for tools, I'd contact Chamber and ask for recommations.

If you want to learn the skills to build a muzzleloader, building pistols from scratch is a great way. Thats what I am doing. Here is a post about it. It contains links to my first three pistols.http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=20054.msg189611#msg189611
 It's a steeper learning curve and requires that you are willing to practice all the steps on scraps. If you want , I can send you a pdf file with the stock profile I drew for these pistols. At the moment I'm working on four long barreled pistols. Everthing but the barrels and locks are made from scratch. When they are done, I plan to start on a rifle.

Best regards
Rolf

[Pete G.]

Don't waste money on cheap tools or chisel sets. I bought a set of straight chisels and a set of palm chisels and found that I use only three or four out of the 10. A couple different sizes of  straight chisels, a veiner and a double bevel skew chisel cover 95% of my use. OTOH, when it comes to using gouges for stabbing in carving, there is no such thing as too many, but that's a little further down the road.

Incidentally, when building a pistol make SURE that you keep the barrel square to the stock otherwise everything gets a little out of whack. When you start to examine pistols closely you will find this flaw quite often.

[Martin_G]

Pete,

Is there a distributor that you can suggest to buy tools from, and what brand or brands would you say are worth the money. I haven't bought a tool for wood in years!

Just as important as the good brands of tools are the bad ones. What brands should I steer clear from and avoid at all costs?

Rolf,

A little earlier I had a chance to read your posts regarding the pistols that you've built. From what I can see you do an excellent job building them, plus you're studying to be a doctor too! Well, if becoming a doctor doesn't work out for you, then there's another job you could do and thats as a gunsmith and a builder of fine weapons!

One thing I learned years ago is that a person can be his or hers own worst critic! I would be ecstatic to have 1/3rd the skill you have with wood!

It seems that I'm a good mechanic but when it comes to wood I'm all thumbs. My brother was like a wizard with wood.



Thanks,

Martin



PS: I'll start looking for tools, books & videos this week.

[Eric Smith]

I recomend Pfiel carving tools. Buy them at Woodcraft.com. I think most would agree.