NEW TO FORUM

[Topknot]

  Hey everybody, I’m a pilgrim here, but I have been reading the forums for years. I have been a traditional muzzle loader hunter for ten years or so. Now I am studying books and videos to start building them. I have bought all the tools , I think, and have got all the parts, I think, to build a Dickert style .36 cal. rifle. I have read the books, and watched the videos several times and I learn more each time. I am sure that when I actually get started, I will be asking you knowledgeable folks a lot of stupid questions. I hope that some or all of you will be kind and generous enough to answer them for a newbie like me. Thank all of you in advance.

    Topknot

[Eric Smith]

When you think you have all the tools, you don't. There is always another one right around the corner you didn't know about till someone mentions it. Welcome to the ALR. Us newbies are a minority here. These guys have forgotten more than I'll ever know!   

[JDK]

Topknot, Welcome aboard.

Couple things to get you started off on the right foot....try not to use ALL CAPS when you type....it's considered shouting.

Next, you find your welcome warmer if you complete your profile....especially your name and where you hale from.

Some here won't even respond to some one who goes strictly by their moniker, i.e. Topknot.....anonymity breeds problems.

Finally, Mr. Smith has nailed it on the tool thing.....you only "think" you have them all.

Enjoy, J.D.

[Acer Saccharum]

Welcome aboard, Topknot. You may find this site addicting, so set your egg timer, and have fun.

Please do try to type in upper and lower case. All caps is hard to read.

Thanks, and welcome!

Tom

In the profile, I DO find it handy to have a region where one hangs his hat. A number of friends have said, 'Hey Acer, I see you live in the Hudson Valley, I'll be passing thru, may I stop by?' The ability to make connection adds real depth and sense of community to the site. And, yes, it is a only computer website......but the imagination, inspiration and friendship takes us much deeper than a mere website ever could. This will grow on you, as it has me.

[Topknot]

  sorry about the capital letter thing. ididnt know. i know that there are probably alot of nifty tools and such i havent got, or even know about but, i hope that i have most of the basic tools to get started. my name is tim compton sr. i live in jacksonville al. about 100 miles east of birmingham. i am in my fifties, and i have read tons of mountain man books , and biographies of most. currently i have 3 store bought muzzle loaders a .54 great plains rifle, and 2 thompson / centers. both need new barrels. i did not buy the thompsons new and stupid me didnt know that they were rusted and pitted beyond help. i hunt with my .54 and have scored a few times on deer. my old eyes arent as good as they were 20 years ago, so i now use peep sights. i hope yall dont condemn me for it. well, thats a little bit about me. im looking forward to hear
from all of you.
        
                         topknot

[Acer Saccharum]

Most of us are old. 

[Eric Smith]

Good to hear from a Bama man. I to have been a student of the Longhunter and the Mountain Man for almost 45 years. I'm over here in Ga. I finally decided to become a builder after I learned what a wealth of resources were available. It's actually been a passion of mine for a long time. I stumbled on all this on the computer quite by accident. I was actually searching for single action colt revolvers. I wanted to build when I was 14, but no money and no knowledge held me out. No turning back now though.

[Topknot]

wherebouts in ga. are you located? maybe we can get together and hunt sometimes.

[Tim Crosby]

 
  Welcome to the ALR Topknot, you will learn a Lot here. Some of us are not all that PC savvy and have yet to catch up with the correct protocol but you will be fine.

     Tim C.
   
   PS:I fixed the cap issue in the OP.TC

   

[mjm46@bellsouth.net]

Hey Topknot, Welcome to the forum. You're almost a neighbor. I live in Woodstock, GA.

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

Welcome Topknot/

I am in Marietta, GA.

[Hungry Horse]

Topnot;

 Interestingly enough a good friend of mine that lives here in Lakeport California, is also named Tim Compton. Welcome aboard.

                          Hungry Horse
                           Marty Klier

[Topknot]

   
       i want to thank all of you who replied to my introduction of myself to the forum. i am really looking forward to talking alot with each of you. i cant wait to get started
       building my first of many rifles .... i hope. i feel that most of you must probably have felt like i do now. what im trying to say is im antsy and cant wait to get started,
       but on the other hand i dont want to rush in half cocked either. i want to gleen all i can from the books and videos i possibly can before i start. i want to take my time
       and think out every step i take to make it the best that i can. im sure all of you have been through this also.

       
                                                                                                                                            TOPKNOT

[Acer Saccharum]

At some point you want to stop reading and start building. Study is most effective when combined with hands on. One may make more mistakes this way, but the lessons get learned better than by watching someone else make them.

In everyone else's mistakes you will come to recognized your own weak areas. We are all learning together.

So dig in. Don't let the fear of making mistakes block you from building.

[Topknot]

    thanks acer for your reply,
     i know your right about getting started. one of the things im waiting on right now is my pre-carved stock to get acclimated to the climate down here in the south.
      i read somewhere that you need to let them sit for a month or so to let them neutralized to your humidity in your area before starting to inlet. the train of thought is
       the wood could swell and become too tight around what you have inletted. it makes sence to me, but i dont really know if it is true or not.


                                                                                                                       topknot

[Acer Saccharum]

Wood changes all the time. It takes me a couple of years to make a gun these days, so by the time I'm done, it's fully acclimated!

Tom

[KLMoors]

Welcome Topknot!

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I build my rifles from wood that I've had for many years, for the most part.  Wood in my shop's rafters dries to 7.5 %.  I built a rifle, sent it to NY for temporary safekeeping, then took it to Dixon's Fayre.  After those ~ 2 months, the wood had swollen around metal parts like barrel tang, etc, to the point that it looked like poor inletting (cost me points in the judging)  A month after I got her home again, the wood was back to normal.  But there was absolutely no damage. 

I'd suspect that you can go right ahead and build your rifle, and by the time it's ready for final finish, it'll be at ambient relative humidity.

[rick landes]

Welcome.