Your fastest, slowest, average build?

[Berks Liberty]

I don't know if this was brought up before but while reading some posts I thought about the time frame which folks on here take to build a rifle.  So how long?  From the first cut to the final coat of finish.  And for those who build more than one a year, what was your highest number in a year?  I thought this would be interesting.   

Jason

[Acer Saccharum]

I generally take a year a gun. Some guns take five years to complete, others have taken as little as six months.

There are usually two or more guns going at any given time. Two in progress, maybe another one sent out for inletting, and another one or two on the drawing boards.

I now get my barrels inlet for me, I used to do the whole thing by hand, after routing a rough channel. This saves a lot of time.

I must add that I don't do this for a profession, that would be another story entirely.
Tom

[northmn]

I used to crank them out at about 2 a year.  Last year I put one together in about 4 months depending upon whether you count the drying time for the stock I cut which of course took longer.  That was a very interesting gun for me to build.  I have 2 going on their second year.  One I pick away at, but do not like to rush as I plan on making it a little nicer.  The other I may just finish up this year so that I can use it for deer hunting, but delay the final finishing.  I am in the process of final finishing my squirrel rifle as I completed it enough to use last fall (left plenty of wood to take off).  It will take about a year to finish up.  The shotgun I finished in 4 months and the squirrel rifle were very plain guns also.  In a way I kind of regret the poor boy design I used on the 25 and wished I could have made it a little nicer.  Usually I find building something to a deadline, for use, to be kind of frustrating and would rather not do so.  Its better to pick away at them and I prefer the years time.  I put together some parts for a 40 with a swamped barrel that I will not even start this winter.  It will take some time to build. 

DP

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

It's a valid and interesting question, and I too am curious to know how long the professional builders - Mike Brookes, Allen Martin, Mark Wheland, etc., take to build a rifle.
Talking about scratch built rifles, that is from a plank, the fastest for me was a John Armstrong rifle, with carving, hand made pierced patch box and toe plate, engraving, that I built in six weeks, but I worked non stop without days-off averaging 14 hour/day.
It took me five and a half months to build the Kuntz rifle, again, working fairly steadily, but accomplishing some career work too.
For a "parts set" from TRS, which includes building the lock, I just did a Baker in exactly one month. 
The most I have built in one year is five rifles, and some of them were from pre-carved wood..

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

I am waiting to see Don's numbers..... I have a hypothesis about what drives speed...and it ain't just making a living!! 

[Mike R]

Holy cow!  one to two rifles per year!?  I assume you are working only an hour a day or so?  The 1st rifle I built, under tutelage from a local builder, took me ~166 hours.  The stock was not precarved, but did have the barrel channel roughed out and rod hole drilled.  It was, however, a relatively plain rifle with only a minimum of incised carving.  I treid using only hand tools as I imagined the old timers did, but did use a drill press on the stock pin holes. I worked pretty slowly as I was learning and not a skilled wood or metal worker. 

[Stophel]

Fastest..a "barn gun".  About three weeks, and I didn't break my neck working on it either.

Slowest...the one I'm working on now.  A fight all the way.  I honestly don't know how long it has been (though I am FINALLY just about to put the top coat of varnish on it!!!)

Average....generally 3 to 4 months, though that has been lengthening of late.

[Tom Currie]

Last 2 took about  year a piece for me.  Started a new one here right after Christmas and think I can do this in 6 months, from blank, inletting barrel and rr hole myself.( both completed )  . I think the trick is to get very close to where you need to be quickly and efficiently. Then spend the majority of time on the detail work and finishing. We'll see how it goes.

needless to say, I'm obviously a part time hobby builder.

[Roger Fisher]

I would not call myself a 'rifle builder' on any level.  I build for myself and to keep active.  Plain rifles (I know most of my limits) One rifle a year out of blanks mostly with channel cut and hole drilled... I like to start late Nov and try (not too hard) to finish by late March or some such...!

One work in progress now setting in the main spring.  I scratch at it maybe 2 hrs or so a day except shoot days.  Til I get the headache from the magnifiers....

I will admit building them and not shootin them is like only looking at a pretty lady!
I'd rather shoot em than build them (another admission)  I do respect and admire those folks out there that build those works of Longrifle art. It is in fact an art.

[ehoff]

Like Roger I  head to the basement mainly during the winter months. Usually takes 8 months to a year for me to whittle one out. I'm sure I could go faster, but between the honey do and other interpurtions its the best I can do.

[flehto]

 Before retirement I built 2-4 LRs per year in spite of 45-50 hour work weeks and shortly after retiring  and w/ all the "time in the world", my production lessened to 2-3 per year. Now after 16 yrs  from my retirement date, it seems my motivation has also retired and I'm down to two and then, only if one is a precarve.  Usually turn down 2-4 requests a year  for builds and that might just be the reason for the low output....no deadlines and under no pressure  to get more done. On the other hand, the few, daily relaxed hours in the shop working the current build are the best physical and mental therapy for me and it's all  free.  Coming from a toolmaking/engineering background, my "needs" are fullfilled w/ my modest attempts at building MLers.....Fred

[Don Getz]

I did six last year, but didn't touch anything after November l......darn bursitis, which I still have, by the way.   I could
easily build a barn gun in less than two weeks if I wanted to, and those are not long days.  A carved gun with a patch box would probably take a month............Don

[wvmtnman]

Whenever I am doing something new it always takes me a lot longer.  Like making a nose cap  or patch box. If I work steady, working evenings and weekends, I can crank out a plain jane fullstock in 5 - 6 weeks.  Halfstocks a little less.  That is going from blank to finish.  I also inlet the barrel and ram rod channel by hand, which takes about two or three evenings.  Usually after that is is an evening per part.  Lock one night, buttplate the next, etc. 
My current build, an early Lancaster, I have been on it for over a year, with other builds going on at the same time. However, with the Lancaster, I am making the ram rod pipes, nose cap, side plate and set triggers.  However, I also do a little work each day during my lunch break.  I file the buttplate, make ram rod pipes, stuff like that.  (It's nice to work in a shop) Besides the rifle I had to stop working on becasue I went to Iraq, this is the longest I hanve ever been on one. 
                                                                                   Brian

[Pete G.]

I seem to get one done in 100-150 hours, depending on carving, engraving, etc., but my work is about on a journeyman level. I always seem to rush the carving.

[rsells]

I am a novice as well, and the time depends upon the type of rifle and what is going on at that time.  When I first retired (6 years ago), I built a southern mountain rifle and calculated the time to see approximately how long it would take if I worked at it as if I was on the job.  That turned out to be 45 hours for a plain rifle from scratch (barrel and ramrod grove alread cut in the rough blank).  This time frame has gone away for some reason which I can not account for!!!!  I don't know if I have gotten picky, or because my eyes have changed and I can not see the full length of the rifle clear now.  Currently, it takes me about 120 hours to build the same type rifle.  It takes much longer for a Hawken rifle, and a bunch longer to build a rifle with relief carving.  I have put as much as 350 hours on a relief carved early rifle in the past.  That type of work is not as enjoyable and burns me out a bit.  On that rifle, it took a bit over a year to finish because I had to make myself work on it!!   Since retirement, I have been running from 2 to 4 rifles per year depending on type of rifle and what is going on with my family during that time.  I am trying to spend as much time as possible with my family to make up for the time I lost because of travel while I was working for a living.
                                                        Roger Sells

[ken]

I can put together about three a year. Speed depends on if I like what I am building. Also if it is not fighting me.But on an  average two months.

[Daryl]

I assisted Taylor (somewhat) when he built my 14 bore rifle, starting with a plank.  Once we had the parts, it took only week to build with me doing some of the final sanding and the finish.  I think that was the fastest one, maybe not.

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

When you guys say X many per year, how many hours per week are you dedicating to these projects?

Is the general assumption here that these projects begin with a plank of wood?  Or are these kit-type projects such as Track of the Wolf sells?

[Acer Saccharum]

I assisted Taylor (somewhat) when he built my 14 bore rifle. It took a week to build with me doing some of the final sanding and the finish.  I think that was the fastest one, maybe not.

I can see it now: 'are we done yet?' or, 'hey, let's drill the touch hole and try it out'

[Acer Saccharum]

Jacque, that is an important distinction, the difference between a pre-carve and a plank.

But I don't keep track of my time, so even tho' my guns are built from a plank, I could not offer information that would be useful.

By getting my barrels let in for me, I save about two weeks of part time fussing.

Tom

[Mike Brooks]

I build 15 to 20 a year these days. Really depends on what I'm building. I have 5 Carolina guns on my list which I can get out the door in about two weeks each, only about a week of that is actually building time, the other week in applying finish and antiquing.
 In my wasted youth I held down a full time job, a wife, three kids and still managed 10 guns a year....don't know how I ever did that. Of course the marriage only lasted four years, so maybe I spent a little less time with the family than I should have...no great loss as it turns out....
If I put more than about 60 hours in a gun I really get bored with it, which sends me out to the chicken yard or to the shooting range which I find far more enjoyable than the work bench.

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

If I put more than about 60 hours in a gun I really get bored with it, which sends me out to the chicken yard or to the shooting range which I find far more enjoyable than the work bench.

Shooting chickens sounds enjoyable.   

[rich pierce]

My fastest build from a stick was a little schimmel I made for my son.  Straight barrel, percussion, etc, took about 40 hours.  My slowest build took 12 years.  I inletted the barrel and drilled the ramrod hole then went and got my PhD, did a postdoc, got a faculty position and put my nose to the grindstone.  Then 12 years later I came up for air, took the gun out of the closet, sharpened my tools and got to it.  Now the flint making keeps me from averaging more than 2 hours a week on the bench, so it is taking me forever to finish a single gun.  Still enjoy every minute.

[Stophel]

A LOT of my time goes into the lock.  Every lock I do is built by me or heavily modified.  Takes a lot of time to get the lock looking and working like I want it.

[Artificer]

If I put more than about 60 hours in a gun I really get bored with it, which sends me out to the chicken yard or to the shooting range which I find far more enjoyable than the work bench.

Wow, that's lightning fast, but with experience like yours, it means everything to how fast you can build a rifle.

Gus