I've often daydreamed about having a really "custom" rifle of some kind or other...
More and more, I find myself thinking that it's not as far out of reach as it used to be.  I know more about doing some of the work myself.. I am more aware of some truely excellent wood and metal workers in the trade today than I ever have been before.. and I have a little more money to devote than in years past (or maybe I'm just more willing to make something like this a priority...)

I have a Winchester Low Wall, a Stevens 44, and have a couple other things I could use.. (also have my eye on a Stevens Favorite in "rebuild-able" shape.. maybe for my niece. ).

I'm trying to wrap my brain around the order of operations for a long-term custom rifle project.

See if I get this more or less right;'
1) Major mechanical and metal work... Rebarreling or relining, if necessary, rough polish to remove any pits, dings, etc. Make flat parts flat. Round parts Round. etc. make the innnards work flawlessly. Make any new screws, springs, pins, or whatever. 

2) Inlet and fit new wood, leaving  a tiny bit of extra wood above the metal for later. Put wood aside in safe ding-free place.

these next two steps I'm not sure which order they go in!

3) Send metal off for engraving.  Pace anxiously. Don't bother the nice engraver. Lie awake nights thinking about making "just one phone call".   Get metal back from engraver, wet self with joy.  (that last part is optional...).

4) Send metal for finishing. Color case the reciever, block, and lever... Carbona blue the trigger, hammer, nitre blue the screws.  Develop bleeding ulcer nervously waiting for the parts to come back.

5) Assemble, FINAL careful fitting of wood.  Finishing wood.

6)  First shots on paper... 2-3 years after starting.  Kill the first person that dings it!


So I'm wondering... 
Do I have this more or less right? Particularly steps 3 & 4?

Budget, of course, is also partly unknown to me at the moment... I've been estimating that each step (except the ones I can do myself... most of 1 and most of 5) would cost between $300-500... 
Naturally, this depends entirely on the level of work... 

Now I just have to work myself up to choosing a rifle, a design, a set of specs, and pouring dollars into it like tipping a generously endowed stripper with dimples "just so"... (can I use that metaphor on this forum?). 


Paul F.

Step 1 is to select wood  in advance and set aside to make sure it is completely air dry for five years prior to use.

Step 2 should be to select the bullet mold you intend to use since this is what determines the rifle twist the barrel should be cut to and the lead that needs to be cut in the throat ahead of the chamber. 

Step 3 is to select the sights for the type of shooting you intend to do since the reciever and barrel will need to be modified to accept them before the barrel is mounted or polished.

Step 4 is to obtain the proper extractor for the case you have selected to use. It is best to have this available before you attempt to cut the chamber.

Step 5 is to bush and convert the firing pin to a Neidner conversion if you intend to use smokeless.

Step 6 is to install close coupled or double or single set trigger(s).

Then you should be ready to have the barrel rifled, chambered, throated and head spaced after it has been profiled (shaped).

You may wish to fit the wood before you finish the metal work in case you scratch it in the process.

Then you should be ready for the final draw filing and polishing of the metal surfaces prior to bluing.

And of course the last thing to worry about is if there is enough money in place to proceed.

Paul, I'd suggest only one change to your job schedule...fit AND finish the wood while the metalwork is in the white...that way there won't be any chance of rounding the corners of the inletting during the wood finishing process (or of scratching freshly finished metalwork).  Then, you can send the metal off to be engraved, and the wood off for checkering at the same time.

Greg

PS...if Ken does your engraving, the self-wetting won't be optional! 

Thanks for all the tips!

Think I have to set about selecting an action, and wrestling with details....
And collecting cash, of course!

Paul F.

What about chambering and mould procurement?  Get the chamber cut to fit a mould or buy a mould to fit the chamber?

I would kinda think that answer depended on what you already have...
If you already have a chamber design and reamer, then match the mold, brass and dies to that.

If you have a mold that makes bullets you want to shoot in your rifle, then have a chamber reamer made that fits that bullet.

If you have an off-the-shelf reamer, then you'll need a mold that makes a bullet to fit the chamber.

Just my half-educated opinion... (I've chambered barrels, and even made a couple reamers... but I'm kinda new to this whole makin' yer own bullets thing...  ).



Thanks for the other inputs!

I'm kinda thinking about starting with the Stevens 44, rebarreling or relining back to its present .22LR caliber.  So molds are not as important as chambering it properly for modern match ammo.

Paul F.

Ken;

Many thanks!
Exactly the sort of tip I need!
I'd already picked Classic Guns as my most likely place for color-caseing...  and you've just reinforced it.
I had not really considered having the receiver annealed prior to polishing, but it does make sense.

I'd never touch such a nice flat receiver side with anything BUT flat-block-backed wet-dry. 

I'll be making notes for quite a while about what I want in engraving... You'll probably get a call or email from me at some point with questions. By then I'm hoping the questions will at least be smart ones.

Paul F.

Where as I have used the old cleaning cycle in the past, I now only use Classic for their three day annealinh service -----  and it only cost $30.    The parts are placed in a cyl. and then charcoal is co,pacted around the parts. This is folloed by a 36 hour gradual increase in temp until 1425" is reached. Temp is held for approx. 8 hours and then slowly lowered for the remainder of the time so that the steel is dead soft .  You'll notice the difference in the ease of hand polishing AND, you will get a much better re-color case job.      Ken