One day I might even get good at this building thing.

[Justin Urbantas]

Here is my latest build. .45 cal. fairly plain, but pretty elegant I think.

[greybeard]

I like it. Looks to be a well made piece with not too much bling.
Bob

[n stephenson]

Nice Work!!   I like .45s . All I`ve ever had shot good. Thanks for posting. Keep Building!!

[rich pierce]

Looks clean. Keep them coming!

[Eric Smith]

I would say you are well on your way. I like a .45 cal. That looks like a shooter.

[BOB HILL]

Keep up the good work.      Bob

[wattlebuster]

Looks good from here

[Timothy88]

Looks good to me. 

[smallpatch]

Justin,
Please take this as constructive criticism, and in the spirit given.
This gun is nicely done as a first or second gun.  Feel good about it.
Now, there are several things that will improve your builds greatly.
First, stay with a school or original builders style.
Slim them down.  Lots more wood should be removed.  Smaller cheek piece, lower barrel and ramrod channel, smaller lock and side plate panels.
Try to find some originals to look at, and if possible, handle.
Listen to experienced builders.
You are doing the same things I did, as well as most others, starting in this area of endeavor.
I hope this helps you on future builds.  You are well on your way.

[Maineshops]

looks well done I hope my next one comes out as well. Dan

[Justin Urbantas]

Justin,
Please take this as constructive criticism, and in the spirit given.
This gun is nicely done as a first or second gun.  Feel good about it.
Now, there are several things that will improve your builds greatly.
First, stay with a school or original builders style.
Slim them down.  Lots more wood should be removed.  Smaller cheek piece, lower barrel and ramrod channel, smaller lock and side plate panels.
Try to find some originals to look at, and if possible, handle.
Listen to experienced builders.
You are doing the same things I did, as well as most others, starting in this area of endeavor.
I hope this helps you on future builds.  You are well on your way.

Thanks for the suggestions. I have a couple questions for you. When you say smaller cheekpiece do you mean smaller width, or height?  I can see where the lock panels and ramrod channel can be smaller. How would you lower the barrel channel if it is level with the nosecap in the front? It is a pretty small nosecap.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Justin:  your barrel channel should expose at least half of the barrel side flat, and 2/3rds is good too.  Making your own nose cap will allow for this treatment.  This greatly influences how deep the forestock appears...they can appear very deep which makes the rifle look slab sided and bunlky.  Alos, in conjunction with that, is the thinnest web between barrel and rod hole that will accommodate the lugs.  And while at it, the pins or lugs need not be heavier than 1/16" + or - a titch.  All these things add up when going for correct stock architecture.
Your cheek piece has curved extensions that flow all the way to the butt plate and to the wrist.  By shaving down the cheek piece, those accent lines diminish too, and the whole look is better, IMHO.
Dane will hopefully have more to add.  As he said, we all started at the beginning...I love that line.

[smallpatch]

Justin,
Taylor pretty much answered all your questions.
To add a little....eventually, you'll find that sometimes the only way to get the look you want, you just gotta stop using precarves. They are generic, and generous.  Way too much wood in the web, barrel channel too deep, etc.  They are designed to "sort of" do several different styles.
Once I asked my mentor, (Allen Martin), how much wood do I remove?  His answer... remove wood till you're scared,..... then take off a bit more.
Hope this helps.

[Justin Urbantas]

Thanks for the advice you two. Every one I build will be better than the last. I will take the plunge and build one from a blank this winter. It is just a little scary to look at a raw piece of wood, and think how to make it into a gun. So many small details to get just right. I'll probably do a simple NW trade gun to make it an easy transition.

[galudwig]

Hey, its not all that bad.  Once you get the barrel channel cut and ramrod hole drilled, you simply trim away anything that don't took like a rifle stock!    Seriously, I was intimidated at first by the whole "build from a blank"process too.  Once you've done it though, you'll never go back to pre-carves. 

I suggest having your barrel inlet and ramrod hole drilled by someone like Dave Rase or Mark Wheland the first time out as they will help you get the web thickness set up right. Getting that right is critical to setting up the rest of the build.  You might also consider building a "schimmel" style rifle.  This allows you to concentrate on getting all the lines and curves right with minimal complications from "add-ons."  The nice work you already do on butt plates and trigger guards should compliment a simple rifle wonderfully!

[rich pierce]

Justin, you've got the inletting and finishing skills you need already. Now it's just a matter of studying originals for architecture details.  A plain original is a great investment.  It's not hard to find a nice plain original longrifle, say not re converted to flintlock, maybe needing some restoration, for about the same as the parts for a build.  Then you'd have an invaluable resource right at hand to reference.  Just pick one with good architecture!

[B.Habermehl]

The cheek pieces on most of the original guns I have handled were not more than 1/4 to 5/16 high at the rear end and about 1/8 inch high at the front. Also most were concave not flat as the pre carves usually are from the high point twards the comb. I hope this description makes sense. BJH

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Think of the cheek piece as an architectural embellishment - not a pillow to rest your face on.

[BackWoods]

VERY nice...

[Phip]

As a new builder I sure learn a lot reading the back and forth of the constructive criticism.  Great posts!