Beginners tools

[Mike Brooks]

Take a look at my tutorial, it covers what few tools I use.

[davec2]

A lot of good advice here about buying quality tools.  I am a great proponent of that philosophy and am a self admitted "tool junkie".  However, I have seen some absolutely incredible work done with the most basic, simple, often hand made tools.  As an example, a while back, I posted the following for another topic on engraving.....

In 1978 I was a junior officer aboard a Navy destroyer on a western Pacific deployment.  We had been in and out of the US Naval base at Subic Bay.  One day as I was on the pier, there was a small boy with a little portable work bench doing something for a sailor from another ship.  I walked over to see what was up and the lad was engraving brass belt buckles.  He asked me if I wanted a buckle.  I asked how long it would take... and he said about 20 minutes !  He had a small vice, a single square (obviously home made) graver, a sharpening stone, and a little hammer.  This is what he engraved for me…..in about 20 minutes.  He wanted $5……I gave him $20.  He smiled a lot.  I asked him how old he was.  He was 9.



To further describe the tools this young boy had...The graver looked to be an old nail set the end of which was sharpened into a standard 90 degree graver point.  The hammer was a short piece of maybe 5/8 inch square steel (looked like part of an old wrought iron fence) with a cross hole in it and a short stick for a handle.  The vise was very small and very old and clamped on the edge of the portable bench made out of old lumber.  And the sharpening stone was a broken piece of a cheap, very small stone like the ones that fit in a pocket on the scabbard of a survival knife. 

As another example, the tool I absolutely love and use the most for stock shaping is a little junky tool that came in a set of Xacto knives I bought as a boy almost 50 years ago.  It is a very cheaply made, die cast frame, miniature spoke shave.



I also, of course, use a much larger Stanley spoke shave and all the rasps, files, scrapers, planes, gouges, etc., but I use this little spoke shave more than anything else, hands down.  It fits in tight places, takes off wood as fast or as slow as I like, and leaves a very nice surface.  And, if the blade is sharpened correctly, it will cut with, across, or against the grain with equal ease.  Since I don't like cheaply made tools, I have often contemplated making a much nicer version just this size out of steel or brass or ? but have never gotten around to it.  This crazy little thing just works great and there is no sense messing with success.

So, if you can afford to buy very good tools, they are a joy to use and make the work go easier.  But even if you can't, you can learn to do some remarkable work with a very few, simple, and often home made tools.




 

[bama]

Here is a list of tools that I recommend that my students bring when they take a kit building class from me. These are the basic tools, nothing is overly expensive but each one will be used in the process of building a rifle, kit of otherwise.

Go to this link http://www.calvarylongrifles.com/classes.php

Good luck and if you need help this is the forum to ask your questions 

Jim

[ddoyle]

approach certain tasks including what appears to be a nightmare...attaching the barrel tenons/pinning barrel to the stock.

Take Mike's advice and look at his exc. tutorial. You might also note that Mike's presecription for drilling tennon pins is to eyeball it while holding his tongue at the right angle. To we with less experience it seems optimistic. Here is the thing though your eyeball can see WAY more then we usually use.  Mike is right it aint that big of a deal if you look- pause- look drill.  By the time you get to it you wont have any trouble worth worrying about- even if you do a 1/16 hole pretty much heals it's self by the time the stock is finished. Only the up/down really matters there is lots of room fore and aft. Most important thing is not the drilling it is the pencil dot that tells you were to center punch/impress the stock.  Trust your eye in good light.

[Tim Crosby]

 Take a look at this:

  http://www.flintriflesmith.com/ToolsandTechniques/tools_carving_class.htm

    Tim C.

PS: Gone to soon, RIP. TC

[Mr. Bubbles]

A year to two is a realistic expectation to create your first piece, or about 200 hours.  It's better to break it in to sub projects though.  Starting with a pre-carve stock, you can expect the following;

Adjustment of barrel inletting bedding depth  6-12 hours
lugs 1-2 hours each
pin drilling 1 hour per pin
tang inletting  6 hours
lock inletting  6 hours
left side plate  4 hours
trigger 4-8 hours (depending on what sort you install
butt plate 6-9 hours
pipes  2-4 hours each
toe plate 3-6 hours
inlays 1-6 hours each
tang bolt drilling 1-2 hours
lock bolt drilling 1-3 hours
patch box 12-30 hours
sights 2-4 hours
trigger guard 3-6 hours
ram rod 1-3 hours
muzzle cap 3-6 hours
stock shaping 10-20 hours
stock prep for finishing 3-6 hours
finishing 1-3 hours per coat or application
final fitting and assembly 4-6 hours

carving and engraving  the sky is the limit

It adds up quick in the time department

Of course, some areas will be on the low end, and some on the high end.  Like anything else, the more of it you do, the better and faster you will become.

[sleddman]

Scott,  pick up the following dvd s.  Building the jim chambers  long gun kits, by james turpin and building kentucky rifles by ron ehlert.  Both can be purchased by chambers flintlocks.   Look at the basic tools they use to finish a rifle.  Of course when at a flea market start buying old quality tools then you come cross them.  I have about 300 of them now and use maybe 6 chisels to finish a gun. Find some fine cutbfiles for metal and wood work.  A drill press would be nice but you can brave it with a hand drill.  Keep it basic untill you actuallynsee the need for other tools.  Hope you drill straighter than me, lol.   Good luck.

[Mike Brooks]

A year to two is a realistic expectation to create your first piece, or about 200 hours.  It's better to break it in to sub projects though.  Starting with a pre-carve stock, you can expect the following;

Adjustment of barrel inletting bedding depth  6-12 hours
lugs 1-2 hours each
pin drilling 1 hour per pin
tang inletting  6 hours
lock inletting  6 hours
left side plate  4 hours
trigger 4-8 hours (depending on what sort you install
butt plate 6-9 hours
pipes  2-4 hours each
toe plate 3-6 hours
inlays 1-6 hours each
tang bolt drilling 1-2 hours
lock bolt drilling 1-3 hours
patch box 12-30 hours
sights 2-4 hours
trigger guard 3-6 hours
ram rod 1-3 hours
muzzle cap 3-6 hours
stock shaping 10-20 hours
stock prep for finishing 3-6 hours
finishing 1-3 hours per coat or application
final fitting and assembly 4-6 hours

carving and engraving  the sky is the limit

It adds up quick in the time department

Of course, some areas will be on the low end, and some on the high end.  Like anything else, the more of it you do, the better and faster you will become.

Really? Have you ever built a gun before?

[Rich]

If you want to develop some gun building skills and see if you enjoy doing it, I would suggest building a pistol. I would build from a blank and buy a plain maple stock. If you screw up the stock so bad that it has to be burned, you'll only be out about $25. You can enjoy the process and not worry about messing up a $300 piece of wood. You can inlet a short barrel with minimal tools. I built my first pistol with a set of Ramelson palm gouges. (Don't do that.) I would buy a 1/4 inch staight Gouge. Buy top quality such as Pfiel. A 7-6 and an 8-7 gouge should do it for a lot of work (excluding carving). I would also buy the full size gouges. You will need a mall to drive the gouges. A square is essential. I like the engineers squares. A pistol is small enough that you can saw it out with a handsaw without feeling too abused.  You're also going to need a vise to hold the work and various other tools and supplies. Buy the tools as you need them.   

[moleeyes36]

Before plunking down anywhere from $15 to $50 for a mallet to drive chisels and gouges, try a hickory handle for a 3 or 4 pound sledge hammer.  You can pick one up in a decent hardware store for about $5.  They are plenty heavy enough to use for driving your chisels and gouges and light enough to allow good control.  You aren't driving nails, just tapping on your chisels enough to move them along.

Mole Eyes