Ordered a new rifle kit.......

[oldracer]

I have jumped into the "making my own" area and ordered a kit for a Lehigh/Allentown percussion kit from Muzzle Loader's Supply. It will have a full figured curly maple full length stock, all brass hardware and a .50 cal Colerain round bottom rifling barrel. I am having them cut the dovetails for the sights and the underlugs and also fit the breech plug since the price for that is near impossible to beat. The stock is nearly full inlet for the barrel and side lock so there is still a bunch of work to do including the barrel flats, etc.

I built a TC Hawken kit several years ago and had a lot of fun with that but this is a bit more so I'll post updates and picts as I go so you all can see how it is going. For finishing I'll probably use a stain that will bring out the grain and Tung oil as a preservative top finish. I used it on the Hawken and it sure came out very well.

[405]

Have never seen any of the ML Supply stuff. Probably about like Track, TVM, etc. You shouldn't have any trouble putting together a nice rifle. Likely they indexed the lockplate and trigger by partial inlets. If not, pay close attention to those alignments to each other and to the nipple location. The rest is pretty straight forward. Go slow and have fun. The stock stain color is a matter of taste and all woods take a different tone--- you can do sample staining on small out of the way hidden parts of the stock to see how it looks. I like Laurel Mtn's 'Lancaster Maple' stain for figured maple.... but that's just my preference. Some like natural wood without stain and just the final finish.

About the handiest tool in the shop for putting these together is a good vise with thick leather jaw pads for holding the barrel and stock. There should be a good pile of wood filings and dust on the floor at the end of the final shaping. Patience is your friend :)

[waksupi]

When you think you have taken off enough wood, take off some more! Especially on the fore end.

[RhodeHunter]

Is this the website you got your kit from?

Muzzleloader Builder's Supply

http://www.muzzleloaderbuilderssupply.com/riflekits.html

[waksupi]

I can tell you those roman nose rifles ware going to kick the dickens out of your cheek bone.

[oldracer]

Thanks for the replies. Yes, that is the site and I had searched around for a few months before settling on them. The main reason, besides good looking stuff was the people as I called one afternoon, about 20 minutes after their stated close time and the owner took about 15 minutes to answer my questions and I figured they must be pretty fine folks. Not many places will do that now it seems!

[Fly]

Oldracer keep us up dated with pic's.Those are really good looking rifles.I have made
about six kit gun's & really love doing them.

Fly

[Boerrancher]

I can't wait to see the progress on this gun. I hope you will take plenty of pics and keep us posted as the work progresses. I have built many custom bolt rifles over the years, including hand cutting the stocks from a block of maple or walnut. I have always wanted to build a muzzleloader but never knew where to start or how to go about it. I am hoping you will inspire me to start a project of such magnitude over the summer.

Best wishes,

Joe

[405]

Nice! Those are classic design.

A couple more ideas-- for stock figure enhancing another option is aqua fortis. It's a mild acid that can really bring out the figure in maple BUT it is a little tricky to use to get the best results. Another "secret" maple stock figure enhancing agent is chromium trioxide. Have about 1/4 of an 8 oz bottle left. Should have bought a gallon 40 years ago- now it's nearly impossible to get ahold of.

Don't know if the assembly instructions will show this but many if not most of the original MLs had a forend of more or less oval cross section. Also, the transition from the mid section of stock (area of flats that have the lock/side plates) to the nose is a critical part for aesthetics. Should be a smooth and easy transition of lines. Sounds simple enough but for me anyway is one of the trickier areas to get right.

And keeping the edges crisp and defined is another thing to watch for as those areas are very easy to round off too much when sanding. The wrist is yet another area that deserves attention- I think most had a fairly thin, slightly longer (in the vertical axis) oval cross section. Good luck with the project!

[StrawHat]

...And keeping the edges crisp and defined is another thing to watch for as those areas are very easy to round off too much when sanding...

Instead of using sandpaper and a block or backing, consider using a sharp scraper for your final wood preparation.

[JeffinNZ]

When you think you have taken off enough wood, take off some more! Especially on the fore end.

Yeap. I left far too much up front on my Isaac Haines. That said I do shoot rather well with it so not a drama and no one from the US can see it so it's my secret. :smile:

You'll love that Colerain barrel. I have two in .40cal and they are fantastic.

[Omnivore]

There are several books out on the subject. I have "Recreating the American Longrifle" by Buchele, Shumway, and Alexander. I like it. Lots of good insight there, for percussion and flint. Track of the Wolf sells it.