Scota4570... Nah... It isn't cheating. I have never built a gun without the aid of power tools. For instance, I always use a bandsaw to profile my stocks. I have used a hand-held belt sander for some shaping operations too. It is only cheating when you present a rifle as having been built using entirely ancient methods when you didn't. I use traditional methods when it is practical. I use modern tools when it makes sense. But I can say, that every visible part of the guns I build were not touched by power tools. My engraving is done with a hammer and graver, my wood is scraped or sanded, and in certain areas, the chisel has done the work.
But if someone came to me and asked if I could make them a gun using entirely ancient methods, I would reply, "Oh course. But you do realize this is going to increase the cost by a factor of 4-5 times due to extra labor?".
And this is the problem with using totally traditional methods. I try and use traditional methods when I can, but often, they are impractical. I have a fine mill that I could use to do most of my barrel inletting, but I don't. Because this is one area that I believe should be done by hand. My main reason for that is so that I can get acquainted with the particular piece of wood I am cutting. This is more important than it might seem at first. But when it comes to shaping and carving later, I will know the grain shifts and turns, and how the wood reacts to having parts of it removed, and the hard and softer areas. The more you know about your wood before you lay chisel to it, the better.
Nobody should think of using power tools as cheating... I guarantee you... If the ancient makers had been so fortunate as to have them, they would have used them too.
M. E. Pering
