the Official Un-Official " Newbie Introduction Thread.

[mjm46@bellsouth.net]

This is my very first post so I am as new a newbie as possible. First I want to thank Bill Shipman for putting me onto this forum, I think I may have visited here in the past but as things go I lost track.

I am a retired Graphic Designer originally from Massachusetts now living in a suburb of Atlanta, GA. I have a longtime interest in history and flintlock firearms and 18th century lifestyle. I was very involved with the Bicentennial Celebrations in 1975 through 1983 and participated in several reenactments in several states and Canada.
 
My first flintlock rifle was a Dixie Gun Works Pennsylvania rifle, which after a short time I decorated the stock with carving, inlays and refinished. It wasn’t great but a decent shooter. In 2006 my home was burglarized and my old flint rifle and several other items were stolen. After not using the rifle for a long time I thought I could live without it. But after a couple of months I decided to build my own. That was the beginning of an addiction for me. I still have that first rifle that I built and it is a very nice shooter, but I am very far from the rifle I want to produce. Since that first rifle I have built 5 more each one is a learning experience and each one is better than the last. Maybe after another couple of Builds I’ll be ready to start a new one for me.

I must say I am very impressed with some of the photos of work I’ve seen just this morning. I think that there may be a lot to learn from this forum. I expect to be posting more in the future.  

Micah

[Cobweb]

Greetings!

My first post on this forum. It looks like the place to be if you need any information in the muzzle loading field.

I'm retired from pipe fitting and again from county equipment operator. Waiting about 18 months for the wife to retire, then she says we can build the garage I have been wanting! Someplace to tinker on muzzle loaders besides the kitchen table!

I have been interested in the muzzle loading field since being introduced to them thru my father-in-law in early 1970's. I have not shot or hunted with center fire since the 80's. Enjoy shooting with the MO Off Hand Association and was instrumental in getting it started. We currently have 19 shoots state wide but the attendance is dropping off for several reasons. High travel expenses and we are all getting older!

I live in the Central Missouri region and I am looking forward to all the information I have been getting since I started lurking here about 6 weeks ago.

I'm not much of a poster because I don't build (no place to) rifles but looking forward to being able to in future.
I check this site daily and it is a wonderful place to be!

Beautiful work here and loads of information!

 John ... just like an old Cobweb......hanging around! 

[Dennis Glazener]

John,
Welcome to ALR. I am sure you will find plenty of guys interested in flintlock off hand shooting. That's something I wish I had gotten into. As a kid I was pretty good with a .22 but as an adult I have a hard time with off hand shooting.

Make yourself at home and be thinking what kind of rifle you want to build once you get the garage built.
Dennis

[rich pierce]

John, Hi and welcome- I'm in St. Louis.  Be happy to chat anytime.
Rich

[Long Ears]

John, welcome, you are in the right place. These guys are very helpful and experienced. I have learned so much I can hardly wait to read the forum in the evening. I have to be careful it is cutting into my building time! Bob

[frenchman]

 I am in the middle of nowhere i don't really have anybody to help me building these guns or any museum that have any guns of this kind. I found this sight by searching on the internet and stayed with it i found the guy's on the sight honest and ready to help and encouraging, i fell in love with these guns after i held one in my hands than lost all interest in the modern stuff and sold most of it. I few years back i had the chance to take a course with Peter Alexander and the rest is hard rock school . Been a milwright for 35 years now retirement is knocking at my door and hope to do some travelling and meet some of you guy's.
Denis Tear ( frenchman )

[Cobweb]

>>>>>>John,-------These guys are very helpful and experienced. I have learned so much I can hardly wait to read the forum in the evening. I have to be careful it is cutting into my building time! Bob
[/quote]<<<<<<

I know what you're talking about! I can't wait to get in here of the evenings and see what I might have missed!
I'm sure when the weather gets better I'll spend less time in here!
Thanks for all the welcomes!!

Cobweb

[J1776]

Hmmm,.. never aw this before??

Anyway,...
"Fairly" new here to the forum, but completely new to the gun building end of things.

Got the bug to build a rifle,.. actually something for my son when he gets old enough to shoot, (he's 3 months old now) and pass it on to him then.
So,... I'll be picking the minds of those knowledgeable folk here....looking forward to learning everything from inletting to carving, to you name it!

[tgglunt]

My name is Tom and I am from Northern California. I am a retired firefighter and brand new to gun building. We spent Thanksgiving in Williamsburg last year as my youngest attends college back east. I was absolutely fascinated at the rifles I saw in the museum and at the colonial gunsmith. I started doing research about flintlocks and found this site. The craftsmanship and techniques discussed and shown here are amazing. I think I caught the disease and look forward to Jim Chambers' building class in May.

[dogcreek]

I've been visiting and posting on this website for about a year or so and have learned a lot. Thanks to the members for that. I live in northwest Iowa and love to hunt and to work on guns. I spent six years in the gun manufacturing industry and another year working in a three-man machine shop. I've prepped a lot of guns for bluing, refinished a lot of stocks, restocked some guns, and did lots of minor alterations and repairs--all on cartridge guns. I'm in the process of building my first flintlock, a Bucks in .50 caliber, from a precarve. 

[rmatt]

Hi guys. I to have been lurking. Joined in 2008 and as you can see not many posts. Retired from the construction heavy equipment business. Always liked the longrifles but never tried building until this year. Long hard winter and the build sure made it go by fast. Now into a second build. Hard to learn by yourself. Only one of my shooting buds are interested in this type of shooting, but not a builder so I rely on what I can find on this forum. I'm the kind of person that learns better by seeing something done than by reading about it. I like the tutorial section. So I hope some of the questions won't sound too stupid.
Bob

[4ster]

I sort of introduced myself in the "Over the back fence" a while back.  To make it un-official....

I bought a TRS Ferguson kit about 6 years ago.  For some reason I was expecting nearly finished parts and a set of instructions to follow.  When confronted with the reality of a pile of parts and not enough information, the kit went into a closet and the back of my mind.  

I was pointed to this site by Bryan Brown when I ran across his site on the Ferguson.  The wealth of information and the examples of excellent workmanship displayed here inspired me to start putting the jumble of parts together into (I hope) a working replica Ferguson.  Specifically I have run into a couple of head scratchers that people here have helped me resolve.  Thanks!

Steve

[Kevin Houlihan]

  Well, I might as well introduce myself also.  Kevin from CT here.  I built quite a few muzzle loader rifles and pistols about 10 years ago - even got an award at Dixon's.  I'm working on a dog lock fowler 20ga. currently.  I have parts ready to go for an East Tenn rifle w/ a swamped Getz barrel, a Kennedy pistol kit and a 3 1/2" barreled flint pistol.  This site is awesome.  I'm sure that I'll have lots of questions.
Thanks!
Kevin   

[Bluestarz]

Hello to all!

I'm from southern California and am in the middle of my first attempt at TVM Tennessee kit build.  I have a kit built GPR and wanted to tackle something more challenging.  Boy, did get what I asked for, but I'm having fun and when I need to find answers to my build problems, ALR is the place where the answers can be found!

I've been in agriculture for many years and hope to retire within the the next 5.  Then I can spend more time improving my rifle building skills.

Bluestarz

[Dennis Glazener]

Welcome to all the new ALR members. Good to have each of you. Just make yourself at home. Good group of guys here.
Dennis

[rsells]

Marty,
I too think it is a sickness.  If you don't watch it you will  be working on a project and planning one that is four rifles down the line like I have done a time or two!  Still a great hobby/job. 
                                                                                     Roger Sells

[blunderbuss]

Howdy from Texas,
 I'm a builder,repair person ,shooter,reenactor,researcher,hunter.Basicly anything to do with traditional muzzle loaders. I've made several long rifles a couple wheelocks  a match lock or two and some blunderbusses,(two are on board current Navial vessels.)My favorite hunting weapon is a Jaeger .58 flintlock I made a few years ago I've shot alot of deer with that and one 300 lb Russian hog.
 Regards from Blunderbuss

[Calaloo]

Howdy everyone. I'm an old retired codger who has tinkered with and built guns almost all my life. I've built muzzleloading rifles and pistols but have'nt  for years. I always just kind of free wheeled it as far as design went. Sorta did my own thing so to speak. Anyway I've got the urge and am going to build a proper rifle at last. I have ordered the 1770 Lancaster County stock inleted for the "C" profile barrel and the Chambers deluxe flintlock from ToTW. I have the barrel that I bought at a gun show probably 12 years ago. It should almost fit. It averages about .010 to .015 to big but finish fitting should not be a problem. Anyway, I hope to be "seeing" ya'll on the forun later.

Calaloo

[Yellowleg]

OK, I'm just now catching up on this thread.  I too, am a long time "lurker" not so much by choice but out of necessity.  Lately my job has moved me around a lot so many times my visits are short and without the access to a keyboard (ala Iphone).  This unwanted life style has limited my building efforts for the last couple of years though something seems to always need attention in a good way.

I've been a BP shooter since the 70's when I had my own gun repair business.  During that time I assembled many a CVA kit for customers (I'm told those don't count) graduating to Sharon Hawkin parts sets and eventually flinters from various suppliers of parts.  Business as it was during that time I couldn't spent too much time on them but, if I had it to do over again, I would have scuttled the rest and stuck to flintlocks.  Perhaps I would have still been in business now.  Now my wife and I rendezvous when ever we have the chance where we operate a business selling clothes, accoutrement's and the occasional gun.

I'm far from an expert builder as proven by how much I'm able to learn from this forum everytime I visit.  But each build gets better as we all hope for.  The big trouble is time.  I'm 62 and running out of it.  I spent too much time earning a living instead of living a life.  Maybe I'll learn not to do that before I'm looking at daisy roots.

Yellowleg

[Dennis Glazener]

Welcome to all you new members. Make yourselves at home and jump right in. Anything that's been bugging you with your gunbuilding can be solved right here, only problem you will have is trying to decide what advice to follow.

Hope you enjoy your stay.
Dennis

[bonron]

Hello from Ohio. It's 38 Degrees out side and been raining for three days. Global warming?? I'm a 79 year old retired banker with deteriorating health. Been out of BP for several years. Just restarted. Am putting finishing touches on .40 cal. flinter. I'm really pleased with the forum entoto. Looking forward to many happy days here. Ron.

[Bert]

I have a small bandsaw mill and have a number of walnut logs just itching to get cut. What do you think would make a better stock, plain sawed (grain up and down) or quarter sawed (grain left to right)? What about stock thickness? Thanks, Bert

[greybeard]

I personally prefer plain sawn for strength through the wrist but I think you get better looking grain with maple if  it is quarter sawn.Bob

[Golcherfan1]

My name is Roy Weller. I am 17, and I see most of you gun builders are either retired or looking forward to it. I don't want to wait to start gunbuilding. I've talked to several people who gave advice on where to start and thought this forum would be of great use. I'm happy for any advice or input. Does anyone think I'm crazy to start out like this?

[Dennis Glazener]

My name is Roy Weller. I am 17, and I see most of you gun builders are either retired or looking forward to it. I don't want to wait to start gunbuilding. I've talked to several people who gave advice on where to start and thought this forum would be of great use. I'm happy for any advice or input. Does anyone think I'm crazy to start out like this?

Roy,
Glad to have you as well as the other recent new members.

Regards to your statement "I don't want to wait" I give you a big AMEN for that. I wish I had done the same thing back when I was your age. I am not sure of your financial situation but if you are like I was at 17 what little money I had was spoken for other important things i.e. cars, girls etc so you might want to see if you can find and old ugly CVA longrifle, you know the one with the two piece full length stock. Usually can find them pretty cheap. Then see if you can find a 2 inch thick piece of walnut or maple (or cherry, apple or pear) wood that is long enough to make a replacement stock. The CVA parts/hardware will work ok for a first rifle. The good part is you can shoot the CVA (or Numerich Arms) rifle while you are making a new stock for it. You learn a lot of what to do (and not do) when building a longrifle.
Good luck,
Dennis
(PS if you live near central VA I will help you get started and might even be able to dig up a piece of wood for a stock).