Speaking of flintlock pistols...

[tony ennis]

My son wants to buy a flintlock pistol kit. Anything to be aware of? Any bad brands?

Here's looking at this (https://www.dixiegunworks.com/product_info.php?products_id=967&osCsid=746c7a64a25c94fc2ef48f71d590f9d3) one.

[38_Cal]

Dixie Gun Works has some nice items, but I would stay away from their kits. Instead, take a look at these from Track of the Wolf: http://tinyurl.com/mxxuzj. Much better quality, options available, and good folks to help with advice if needed. Also, this book will help, even though it's about flintlock rifles. http://tinyurl.com/n644wk.

David Kaiser
Montezuma, IA

[JCHannum]

Dixie and Pedersoli are both good to deal with. The kit will probably require minor fitting, with most of the effort being in finishing the wood and polishing the metal pieces.

[Al Messer]

Buy the book first. DGW has always had good products and customer support. Good luck!

[JCHannum]

Dixie Gun Works has some nice items, but I would stay away from their kits. Instead, take a look at these from Track of the Wolf: http://tinyurl.com/mxxuzj. Much better quality, options available, and good folks to help with advice if needed. Also, this book will help, even though it's about flintlock rifles. http://tinyurl.com/n644wk.

David Kaiser
Montezuma, IA

I agree that TOW is probably a better source for true kits, I believe their prices are significantly better as well. The kit in question is a Pedersoli parts kit, that is a basically an assemble and finish kit.

[tony ennis]

...that is a basically an assemble and finish kit.

That's what he's looking for. We're not ready for much more.

[tony ennis]

The kit arrived yesterday. The stock is walnut and is a little rougher than I had hoped. We'll see how well it sands out. The brass "thimbles" will need some file work to remove the casting flash though they said as much. I was surprised how long the barrel is. It'll take a man to hold it on target for very long. I can't tell if the barrel is rifled or not, lol. Since there's a breech plug so I can't really look into the barrel. When I shined (shone?) a laser in there and I thought I could see some rifling.

There's a 'Rosetta Stone' manual of general safety, use, and assembly instructions and a photocopied diagram of parts for this specific model of pistol.

The kit also came with a pamphlet of serious primitive rifle pr0n. It made for excellent dinner reading material.

(I find it amusing to use a laser to do diagnostics on a flintlock...)

[RPease]

If it has rifling, you should be able to see the ends of the lands at the bore end. However, assuming you can't see them, shining your laser into the nipple hole at the breach end should give you enough light inside the bore to see the lands by looking down the bore muzzle. If you were shining the laser into the muzzle end, the glare might be too high to detect them..........

Shooters have been doing the same basic thing for years with semi-auto rifles, except we just lock open the ejection port and stick our thumb into the breach area and let the light reflect off of our thumbnail. Works like a charm............Will work even better with a small scrap of white paper..............JMHO

[tony ennis]

He did a good job sanding today, the stock is looking nice.

Now, the octagonal barrel has some scratches on it, looks like from the grinder. Also, some brass needs to have some minor blemished polished out. What's a good method of doing this? I have some wet-dry sandpaper, but I am not so sure this is the right tool for the job...

[Ken_Shea]

Wet or Dry is good, you can bet they didn't have that when these type guns were first made, probably used Pumice and water to polish.

Depending on the severity of the blemishes start with 180/220/320/400 maybe up to 600 for a real polish then use and chemical paste polish like Mothers or Flitz for the final polish.

Ken

[tony ennis]

Thanks for the info. Nothing says the barrel is - or isn't - blued. Though if he files then sands the barrel it will surely need it again.

Cold Bluing looks easy enough. Anyone have any favorite types?

[Ken_Shea]

Tony,
Arguably, the best cold blue is Blue Wonder.

What ever brand you decide, be sure and follow directions carefully.
Warming the metal up also improves the depth and result of cold bluing.


Ken

[JCHannum]

To be period correct, the barrel should be browned rather than blued. There are a couple of manufacturers, Birchwood Casey Plum Brown is one.

I would also recommend the Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil stock finish products for a good finish on the wood. The sealer & filler, Tru-Oil and stock wax produce a very good finish. The wax is a good protectant for the whole gun, it is a mixture of beeswax & silicone.

[tony ennis]

We filed the inlaid brass side plate today so it is flush with the stock. It had been pressed in so hard we couldn't get it off - there was nothing to grab it by.

We draw-filed it with a fine cut file - now it is ready for steel wool.

[davidh]

pictures of progress would have been really nice tony. . . . but at least get a couple of it finished. . .

[tony ennis]

My son has taken a few though none before the first sanding. I'm sure he won't mind me posting some.

It's still apart and unfinished. Right now he's contemplating the finish. A period firearm would have been varnished I'm sure. Maybe we'll use a surface finish. He says he doesn't want it shiny. Given this pistol will never be in a museum, it could be a matt polyurethane is best as it is impervious and easy.

The next part of the project is to figure out how to buff the 'thimbles,' Which are the cast brass widgets that the ramrod slides into for storage. Their shape is not file friendly. We don't have a buffing wheel.

The barrel has tool marks in it. They don't make the gun less functional. I am not sure if he's going to remove the sights and file the barrel. I would, but I'm anal that way. The sights seem to be slid into dovetails. I don't know what's holding them in unless it is friction.

(More To Come)

[tony ennis]

Here are some pics. We're putting an oil finish on it now. I think he's going to follow it with polyurethane. Aw c'mon, if the ancients had had it, they would have loved it.

http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae339/tony_ennis/Parts1.jpg

http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae339/tony_ennis/parts2.jpg

http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae339/tony_ennis/parts3.jpg

[38_Cal]

You may want to re-think poly over oil. Most of the time you won't get a good bond between the two, and may get peeling.

Flint era pistols have been observed in brown, blue or in the white, polished. All are original finishes, though the brown and blue used would have been rust brown, or rust brown boiled to convert the surface to a hard black. You're best off not polishing past 400 grit on the steel if you'll be using any of the cold blues or heat activated browns. Too bright a surface, and the blue will not wear well, and the brown may not take.

David Kaiser
Montezuma, IA

[Tony Ennis]

One thing led to another, and we just now got to the chance to fire the weapon. We found a group of enthusiasts who took us in...

lame blog post (http://tony-stormcrow.blogspot.com/2009/11/day-at-range.html)

[andy_b]

You're really trying to force me to buy one, aren't you? :)
That came out great and it looks like you and your son had a good time firing it.
About how many hours do you figure it took to finish? Maybe 20? 10?

andy b.

[Tony Ennis]

Maybe 10 or 15. My son did most of the work and he's an inexperienced woodworker. The kit was largely trouble-free. The brass castiing at the end of the barrel broke, possibly when my son tried to force it to fit when more wood fitting was needed. The brass tubular piece holding the ramrod was hard to polish since it was already pinned to the stock. We were afraid if we removed it we wouldn't be able to get it back on or we'd break it.

The only real problem was that the brass plate on the left side had been pressed into a mortise. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, it was canted. We couldn't get it to seat and we couldn't get a grip on it to get it out. We finally filed it flush with the stock.

I'd say 10 hours for someone with a little skill and a few files.