Thanks everyone for your lovely comments. Regarding the time line for this build, I started it immediately after I finished Brian's Rupp rifle, knowing that spring is upon us and summer soon follows. I don't accomplish much in the shop during the summer - winter is my creative time. So I went at it with purpose, although there were several days that I did not work on the rifle. And there are jobs that just cannot be hurried and are tedious to be frank. Polishing buttplate and trigger guard, locks, etc. just seem to take up a lot of time. And when carving the stock, there comes a point when I have to slow right down, removing wood little by little, turning the stock this way and that in the light to catch the spots that need a little more. Still, it went along smoothly without a hitch. The patchbox took some time. It used to take me a week to design, cut out and inlet a pieced brass patchbox, but this one required 3 days including the release mechanism, springs, etc. One thing that has increased the speed at which I work, and will help everyone who does this craft, is knowing when chisels require sharpening, and maintaining that crazy sharp edge. I keep my stones and strop at one end of the bench, ready for touch up sharpening. Also, removing tool marks used to take me more time than expedient, but now I've learned to use scrapers...really makes more efficient use of time. The scraped finish needs very little extra work before finishing...a great time saver.
Ed Rayl uses tough steel to make his barrels, so draw filing is one job that requires time and commitment. In this case, I used my 22" mill bastard file, a 6" bastard cut file, and 180 grit aluminum oxide abrasive cloth, backed with a file. With a rust blue, or a polished brown, one should probably keep going down to say 320 grit, but I didn't in this case, except on the lock and triggers which got down to 600 grit. The extra polish really pays off.
This rifle is several firsts for me. Walnut fullstock with carving, Western PA theme, rust blued furniture on a longrifle, minimal engraving. I'm satisfied with the result, and look forward to shooting it. I'll post some pics of how that goes. Thanks again to all those who commented.
