Kit Flintlocks?

If you must buy a kit, Jim Chambers is the way to go. Jim uses quality parts and good wood. The inletting for the barrel is perfect and you need only fit the tang portion of it to get it to rest flush with the stock. Jim's Siler locks are the best production locks in the industry and if there's a problem, Jim will replace it (unless you messed up the lock yourself). I bought a Chambers kit and will probably buy another (English Rifle) in the near future.
 
I ordered mine without a patchbox because I was going to make a wood one.

Patch box inletting isn't all that different from inletting thimbles (pipes), sideplate or the lock since the same skill is involved. You basically put inletting black on the backside of the patchbox and press it down on the stock. Where the black is, your chisel goes. You start with the hinge portion as it's the lowest point.

Once the hinge is down and the box is where you want it (not canted up towards the comb or down towards the toe unless the original was that way), then use a sharp knife and scratch a line along the profile of the patchbox. Cut within the line and apply inletting black again. Chisel away until the box is flush with the wood.
 
Flintlock kits?

Heck yeah! I love kits. They let me play gunsmith after someone else does the hard part.:D

I have never put together a flintlock kit per se, though. (Lots of percussion kits). A friend of mine always wanted one, but never found one. When he mentioned it to me one time I suggested converting one of his caplocks. I found a flint lock that would fit and then altered the barrel to accept a flint liner in place of the drum and nipple. It was an interesting project.

Inletting is fun, but go SLOW! It's easy to make a mistake that you can't hide easily.
 
Pyrodex in a flintlock

I think you might still need to use FFFF (black) for the priming pan and Pyrodex for the main charge.

I have used CleanShot successfully for both priming and main charges.
 
WildAlaska, Jim can fit you with a sliding woodpatchbox lid when you order your kit. Final shaping of the lid is up to you. The older rifles had them and then some clever American gunsmith figured out how to make a hinged brass or steel one. Problem with the sliding wood lid was that it could be lost and with the hinged patchbox, well, it stayed there.
 
chambers kits

They are very good kits. But be prepared to do some work. It will be work that is well worth the trouble.
I haven't used those but I can tell you that Chambers is one of the most respected gun makers in the blackpowder shooting world. Friends of mine have used them and they are excellent kits. I have put together two kits. One was a Homer Dangler kit and the other came from Gun and Mold shop. They were a real challange but they are well worth the trouble.

Good Luck
 
Wow, these are beautiful kits. I've been wanting to do one myself, but really don't want to start with a high end kit like this. I'm not sure I have the required patience!

Is there any more reasonably priced kits out there, like for under $400, for a first project?

Thanks

Frank
 
WOW! I haven't heard Homer Dangler's name for 30 some years. we both used to be members of the Three Fires ML Club in Michigan. That was before he started selling kits. He was selling parts and wood at the time and I think he was building rifles too. We went to the Southern Ohio Rendevous at Fort Hill Ohio, Homer showed up with an original Jacob Dikert Rifle from the Golden age. he was afraid it would draw moisture, so I told him he could wrap it in the edge of my blankets for the night. He did. And I slept with that old rifle by my side. He shot it the next day and I think he won some blanket prizes. Not the nasty Billy Goat we took as a blamket prize, but something.

Riding in an old Chrysler with a mad billy goat in a pen on the roof from Hillsdale Michigan to Fort Hill, Ohio is a story for another day. Yep we really were crazy back then.
 
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