Old traveler, you would love my guns, they sure have a lot of flaws! I guess the artistry and craftsmanship comes from eliminating as many as possible. Nate, I use a few power tools as necessary also, ie band saw for preliminary shaping of blanks, drill press, hand drill etc. However, I feel real pride in being able to use handtools such as drawknives, spokeshaves, various planes, scrapers etc as I think the use of these old style tools is dying out and, as many of us here are, being of a historical mind and maybe a bit old fashioned, it is sort of my way of sticking my finger in the eye of the modern world. Since apprentices tend to run off with the milk maid these days, I do use electricity to do what teenage boys used to do. I certainly don't mean to be critical of anyone that does it differently, we all have our own preferences and goals when we do this. I also understand the need to get parts in the hands of folks, especially beginners at an attractive price. This whole gun building thing can run into real money real quick if you're not careful.
Since I build for customers, I take pride and the customers appreciate, the fact that I make most of the parts from scratch. Like most others, I purchase barrels, locks and stock blanks from suppliers as well as brass castings for buttplates and triggerguards. Iron mounts I forge. As Mike pointed out, that is basically the way the originals were made. Ramrod thimbles, nose caps, side plates, triggers sight etc, to me, look better as handmade items.
