Virginia Long Rifle build

[St8LineGunsmith]

Hey Guys I am having to put off my build for a while due to a build which I will be paid for.

although I have built many other kits this is my first Virginia Long Rifle build but i have done a good bit of research on the Klette School to make This rifle look as authentic as possible.


my goal is to make this rifle look as authentic as possible in order to make the customer A very Happy and Proud owner of a Beautiful Virginia Klette School long rifle however I also want this to turn out very well that I might start to develop a reputation professional kit builder who can be trusted to do high quality work.


I have been commissioned to build a Virginia Riffle for ARyan AKA Creature who is a fellow Forum Member And I thought I would post the progress of the build in the form of a build log which I will post illustrated progress of the build. as far as the story how i ended up with the rifle I will let creature tell that part if he wants. All I know is I am thrilled to get the opportunity to reproduce a piece of Colonial American history
in a thread on another forum Ryan mentioned he had this kit he wanted to sell because he would never build it where I replied back That I did not want to buy the kit but I would build it for him for a reasonable fee this is where we started discussing this build which developed into a client to builder relationship which has now grown into an internet friendship
this build will take me two to three months to finish because there is a lot of work and research involved in this kit and the more time that I put into it themore authentic i can make it and all around better end result.

Here are some of the pics that Ryan took of the rifle kit in its raw condition of how i received the kit.




















Here are a few pictures of my start up of the build.
I will take a littlemore wood out of the ram rod channel to get it just right pinning the barrel and pipes will be the last step.

the RR pipes are all inletted now I have to trim off the pin tabs.


I know I said I was going to leave the block for last but since i was already in that spot I went ahead and roughed the transition in so I can go ahead and draw all the carved designs at once.


I roughed in the nose end a little more but has a little farther to go.

I have the patch box and lid in and had to do a little inlet repair.
every thing is looking real good.


here I have the recess partially cutso I can use the end of the butt for support to fit the lid


here I have the lid fitted and clamping the inleted side cover plate to allow the epoxy to set.

 

[St8LineGunsmith]

i have the lid and side plates fitted filed, sanded and a wet sand with WD-40 still needs a final sanding and polish before engraving. After engraving it will get a final polish.


Here I have the btton hole drilled then I used a smaller bit to drill through to the patch box recess for the push rod.
note that the button hole is offset from the center of the plate, this will keep the rod and button from binding.


Here i have the plate off to counter bore the stock for the larger section of the push button.


checking for fit..


here the assembly is completley installed minus the catch post on the lid.


another view of the assembly for refrence.


here is another pic of the lid on the stocknice and shiny


it is not very noticable in the pic but I have the pyramid flats cut on to the comb of the stockthis feature really looks good on these long rifles


theinletting of the lock was done before I got it and was dug out a little to deep and had a couple of deep gouges that dug through a couple of cavities that can weaken that area of the stock considerablyso i decided to replace the wood with JB Weld Epoxy which is the best type of filler for this kind of bedding work.
some people might think I am being a little fussy and going a bit over kill to bed the recess but these stocks are very thin to begin with and are prone to the stocks cracking in that location if it is not well fitted and solid in that location. therefore T think it is worth the extra effort to make it right.


when doing bedding all cavaties and voids must be filled in with modeling clay or putty so the glassing compound will not fall or flow into any inletting or cavities this pic shows where i filled the inletting cavities.


here is what i use for filling holes for bedding jobs
plumbers putty it works better than the modeling clay and last forever.and is easier to remove when the epoxy has cured it will get kind of crumbly when you start digging it out which will makes the task of removing the putty easier.


here I have the JB weld applied to the area to be bedded


once the JB weld is appliedI dust the top of it with a even layer of fine saw dust so i can move the mixture around to where it is level across the whole area, the saw dust prevents against the epoxy mixture sticking to your hands or any parts and generally makes it easier to work with bedding epoxies while it is still wet.
then I use prussan blue on the back of the lock parts to mark any high spots on the area i bedded and to lube the part to keep any epoxy from sticking.
I like this stuff much better than inletting black.


I dont know why this pic turned out so fuzzy but here is the finished bedding which turned out very well.


I also have the lock plate and hammer all polished up and ready for rust bluing.
i will now move on to inletting the side plate and drilling the bolt holes that fasten the lock to the stock then I have a couple of embellishmentsto inlet then I can begin the carvings.

The more I work on this wood the more I am liking the natureal blond color of it. In the sunlight it has a golden blond tint to it.
Mighr have to talk to you creature about considering keeping everything in the white with just one coat of rust blue to give the steel a slight patina look to it. and a good scraped in tung oi or lynseed oil lfinish.
we can discuss that when it is time to finish

I will make some more updates later in the week.
hope you found this update enjoyable.

Be Back soon ;D

 

[BADUNAME30]

Wow St8, i was jist 'bout to git some shut eye and found this post.
I'm glad you posted this here. I think i saw this in Greybeard ? Or maybe another site. But couldn't find my way back there.Is there any particular reason why you bed with JB instead o' Acraglas ?
Super post and a great one to end the day with.
Thanx again. I'll be watchin this one close.

 

[St8LineGunsmith]

Jim

IMO Acraglass is more brittle and will crack out just plain old not good for this type of bedding.
acraglass is good for bedding a barrel where a barrel will just sit on top of the glass but not good for the purpose of structural reinforcement.
the JB weld bonds better to the wood and will expand and contract with the wood and will not break out when put under stress.

even when I am glass bedding a rifle barrel I don't use acraglass I use 30 minute epoxy it works just as good, in other words In my opinion Acraglass is overrated and since it is a Brownells product naturally it is overpriced.
I am sure others will disagree with that opinion, YMMV.

I just now noticed I will have to modify the side plate in order to make matching mounting bolt holes so they will line up right.
I don't know why the manufacturers don't just go ahead and drill and tap the mounting holes on the lock plates, they all have to be located in the same place any way this is probably the most critical part of building one of these kits because of the close tolerances, the front mounting hole has to be carefully placed so not to drill into the ram rod port and the middle bolt goes behind the breech plug and under the barrel tang and must be drilled through the stock at a perfect 9o degree angle so the two plates match up

you can fudge a little with larger clearance holes on the side plate to get the bolts to properly align with the lock plate. there is no fudging the lock plate because those two holes have to be drilled and tapped dead nuts in the right place.

the plate that came with the kit is a Jager side plate but a fowler side plate probably would have been a better match.

from the looks of some of the rifles I have seen on the net by other builders who are using the Jager side plate are forming the plate around the center hole location and shortening up the front tang a tad.

not a big deal just have to do some grinder work on the side plate for a proper fit. I get this out of the way I can move on to drilling the barrel pins and ram rod pipe pins which is another tedious part of the build the rest will be gravy.

I will take some pics of this mod for reference because I am sure I am not the first person to run across this problem.

 

[Creature]

Yep, my "Klette" rifle is in good hands. I am very happy with build progress so far!

 

[brushhippie]

Damn fine work Sir!

 

[BADUNAME30]

I jist never ever used anything other than the 'glas' St8.
Never ever had any issues whether it be for bedding or structural.I've allways found it be all they claimed it to be and more. Timing and followin mixin directions was allways the key.
Anywho. I can see yer dilema with the lock and side plates.
I'm sure you allready have a course of action figgerd out.
I think i would drill the lock plate, after inletting is finished. And before tapping, color, dykem or whatever you use, the inside of the side plate.I'd then tape or hot glue the side plate to the stock. Of course it would take some layout to git it positioned. I'd then git it all secured square to the bit in my drill press and then go down thru those drilled, untapped, holes in the lock plate with a smaller diameter bit and jist 'mark' the sideplate.Then jist drill those marks for proper hole placement.

Could the non drilled lock plates be because they give the option of different triggers ? I'm not familar with the kinds of rifles that you build or thier various components.
.

 

[St8LineGunsmith]

Thanks Brushhippie

Jim
ya it is good stuff just a bit too expensive especially when you can use epoxies that will work as good if not better for a fraction of the cost this is just my opinion so not to turn this build thread into a train wreck of debate about bedding compounds.

anyway I will drill the holes on the lock plate on my drill press. then match up the holes on the side plate by transferring them with the holes on the lock plate I will then set the lock plate in its mortise on the stock and drill the holes into the stock with my drill press to make sure they are drilled square then I will tap the holes on the lock plate after I i have drilled through the wood.

there is no reason why the holes cannot be drilled because they are all located in the same place the hole locations has nothing to do with how the trigger group mounts to the stock. both the trigger group and lock plate are totally separate parts the only relation to the trigger and lock mechanism is the trigger bar on the sear.
Anyway I will take pics of the procedure once I get rid of this freaking back ache.

 

[duelist1954]

That's going to be a beautiful rifle...making me want one...bad!

 

[jimrbto]

That's a fairly decent looking kit. Who made the kit?
Thanks .....Jim

 

[Creature]

I purchased the kit several years ago from Brad Emig of Cabin Creek Muzzleloading.

Specifically, it is the 'Yorktown' rifle kit: http://cabincreek.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5&Itemid=13

The patchbox is from TOTW: http://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/814/1/PB-KIT-10-B

 

[BADUNAME30]

Well?
How's the progress comin' St8 ?

 

[St8LineGunsmith]

slow right now I am having back, hip, shoulder and neck problems that have me moving sloow.
staying doped up to relieve the pain.

 

[BADUNAME30]

'spect it's not a good time to be whittlin and scrapin then.

 

[St8LineGunsmith]

nope. only reason i am on the puter is cause its a laptop and its easy to use while I am just laying here.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

plumbers putty ..., works better than the modeling clay and last forever.and is easier to remove when the epoxy has cured it will get kind of crumbly when you start digging it out which will makes the task of removing the putty easier.

IMO Acraglass is more brittle and will crack out just plain old not good for this type of bedding.
acraglass is good for bedding a barrel where a barrel will just sit on top of the glass but not good for the purpose of structural reinforcement.
the JB weld bonds better to the wood and will expand and contract with the wood and will not break out when put under stress.

Plumber's putty..., I had to recently repair a small lock mortise on a .40 caliber SMR, and modeling clay didn't work that well..., I had plumber's putty right there on the shelf ..., for plumbing...., never thought to use it.

I used Brownell's bedding compound to make the repair, and the only problem is that when I'm out, I have to mail order it. Never thought that JB Weld would be a good substitute, but I'm not that "up" on the different expoxies, and I use JB Weld for non-gun applications. I worried that some of the hardware store OTC epoxies might be brittle in cold weather or not proper for outdoor use dealing with the sharp impact of recoil from a BP barrel.

:banghead: Mea culpa mea culpa mea maxima culpa

OK! Well now that I know...., this little turtorial has saved me much time and money in my future.

God bless you sir!

LD

 

[St8LineGunsmith]

the only draw back with the JB weld is it has a long cure time.
other than that it is very good to use as bedding compound.