Introduction and a few questions...

[Corsair]

Hi Guys,

I've joined the forum a few days ago and have been admiring the craftsmanship on display here and absorbing the group's collective wisdom.  I've always been a student of history and very interested in the pre-Revolutionary period on the frontier, up through the War of Independence and the immediate post-war years.  I've always been a "gun guy" and, as someone with an interest in and knack for all things mechanical, I find flintlocks to be especially fascinating.  From a pure engineering perspective, they're a very elegant solution to the ignition problem and a huge improvement over the preceding technology.  Likewise for the longrifle (in its various permutations), itself.

Anyway, that's probably an overly longwinded way of saying hello, I'm glad to be here.   

I've built a number of large kit projects (cars and airplanes) over the years, as well as restoring a couple of motorcycles.  Which is to say that I'm not mechanically clueless, but I've never built a longrifle before and I consider my experience with modern firearms to be essentially irrelevant here.  After some extensive research over the last couple of weeks, I'm getting set to order a Kibler Colonial kit.  I've watched all of his videos and he seems to ship a quality product and one suited to a first-time builder.

Thinking ahead a bit, I've been considering how best to finish the piece.  My idea is to produce a rifle which appears as though it were just picked up brand-new from a gunsmith in 1770, as I don't care for the notion of faux "patina" or artificial aging of any sort.  From what I've read and seen, AF and tannic acid followed by Tru-Oil should give a nice result.  Given that I'm interested in learning more about period finishes, can anybody recommend a book or website which provides those details?  For example:

• Were stocks glossy or satin?
• Were barrels blued, browned, or left white?
• Were barrels simply draw-filed or sanded/polished?
• How were steel parts (including lock components) finished?
• Were brass components polished or satin?

I'm open to any and all input.

Best regards,
Ken

[Dennis Glazener]

Welcome to the forum, enjoy your stay.

I am not as familiar with 1770 rifles as others here so I will leave the other questions to them. I only want to say if I were doing the finishing I would abandon the Tru Oil and stop there.
Dennis

[Eric Smith]

For a first time builder, you can't go wrong bu starting with a Kibler kit. If you have seen Jim's video's, they will take you through most of the process. If you decide to build more, say, from a plank, get ready to invest in some education, books, videos, etc. I'm still a novice myself. I'm sure you will receive plenty of input here. Just put yourself out there and go for it.

[Craig Wilcox]

Ken, welcome!
I've built both race cars and airplanes, but none from a kit.  VariEze (Hah!!), Bakeng Duce, Taylor Titch, a few others.  But now that I am all retired, I play with long rifles, and do indeed love the ingenuity of the flintlock mechanism.

For answers to your 5 questions:  Yes.  Yes.  Yes.  In the white, rust blued/browned, fire blued.  Yes.

See, isn't that easy?  I do believe that to build long rifles, one needs a good sense of humor, tons of patience, and the ability to fix mistakes.  And that is what you have all of us for.  None, or very few, of us have all the answers, but between us we have many if not most of the answers.

Again, welcome!

[rich pierce]

I don’t know of a single book or website source that would answer your questions about 1770’s colonial rifles. There is not perfect agreement among experts. Eric K can offer more than most as he’s done a lot of research about original finishes and how to re-create them. I’ll offer my thoughts.
list]

• Were stocks glossy or satin?
Most oil based varnishes on top of period wood prep techniques give a rather soft look.

• Were barrels blued, browned, or left white?
Some were clearly finished white  What bluing there was may have been fire blued (not durable) or charcoal blued (more durable but can be blotchy).  Whether many 1770s barrels were delivered browned is unknown. Many originals appear to show an uncolored finish on the flats inside the barrel inlet. 

• Were barrels simply draw-filed or sanded/polished?
Roughly filed on the lower flats. Probably draw filed on top flats.

• How were steel parts (including lock components) finished?
Case hardened. Can’t tell if polished afterward or not. I think that color case hardening with a focus on colors is from a later period.

• Were brass components polished or satin?
Probably exterior facing surfaces received some polish on top of a filed and scraped finish. Maybe fine abrasives like pumice or rotten stone.

[/list]

[Daryl]

Fine abrasives like rotten stone and pumice can take a perfectly finished rifle in true oil and turn it into a really nice satin finish that is quite durable.
0000 steel wool will do likewise but be very careful with that stuff - it takes off finish rapidly.

[Corsair]

Thanks, all, for the kind welcomes and good information; much appreciated!

I've built both race cars and airplanes, but none from a kit.  VariEze (Hah!!), Bakeng Duce, Taylor Titch, a few others.

I've seen a couple of LongEZ projects in process over the years and know that I don't possess that degree of patience myself; I have nothing but respect for plans builders.  I built the wings of a Model 12 Pitts which was mostly a plans project with some parts included, then sold it before finishing.  The two project airplanes I completed and flew were both kits: an RV-8 and an RV-14A.

I'm planning to order the Kibler kit this week and am looking forward to receiving it and getting underway.

Ken

[little joe]

For your interests I recomend Wallace Gusler,s video avaiable through Pioneer Video. It will show you how it was done in 1770