Hey Jeff, maybe I can help a tad since I have "assembled" quite a few of these kits and also several rifles from "scratch" and with the help of my late mentor Doug Knoell learned how to get one done reasonably well. There are some tools which I don't know if you have or not?
- Chisels....NOT the Harbor Freight ones but great ones made in Japan or even Some Chinese ones are good now and they have to be soooooo sharp they can shave the hair on your arm and need to have a dedicated sharpener to be used every few hours when carving any hardwood. I bought a sharpener that uses a turning disk with different pads.
- Inletting stuff....I use a tube of red lip stick although many videos show "smoking" which I am not crazy about.
- Preassembly items....Make sure the trigger assemble will "set" and trip at about 2oz, the hammer assembly so it works at half cock and full cock. If the trigger is not smooth, knock apart the pins and polish where any parts rub together since most triggers are made of cast parts.
- Use "super glue" and glue the tang assembly to the hooked breach AFTER you make sure there is 100% contact (red lip stick). Once the barrel has been fully inlet that joint is easy to break apart.
- Fit the barrel by hand using channel scrapers such as the ones made by the same folks that make checkering tools. That will take days of removing a little at a time. Once the barrel seats well, slide it back to seat the tang fully into the stock. Then put on the "under lugs" and cut their openings. You will need a way to measure the fore end for the pins or whatever holes are used to hold the barrel down and I used a 6 inch piece of aluminum angle stock that one side fits on top of the barrel the other side goes down the side of the fore end.
- Buy NEW files, especially a large very fine flat file to smooth the barrel flats which can take several days before it will be ready for browning or bluing. I usually finish with 600 to 1200 sand paper to make the finish as smooth as possible.
- Use a bore scope to make sure the barrel is clear from muzzle to the breach plug where you can see the light shining in the fire channel. Many people like to polish the inside so the inspection will show if it is needed.
- The butt plate is usually well fit so if it is then fasten it to prevent a chipping of the wood when you test it.
- Fully assemble the rifle before you finish the wood or the metal and test fire it several times making sure the gun goes bang! By this I mean the barrel, tang, hammer assembly and trigger assembly. Worry about the under lug and any parts that attached the cleaning rod later. Make sure the hammer contacts the nipple 100% so you'll get a bang. Now is when you have to move things back and forth or in and out, not after the gun has been finished.
- When use a blue or brown finish use a "gun" degreaser such as that by Beechwood Casey. I bought a gallon of it a few years ago after trying it and then other de-greasers which none worked as well.
As you noted the hook on the breach plug and how it fits into the tang are required to be worked on. That is almost normal now days unless you get a kit by Jim Kibler or one or two others. Many times parts are made to a default and may or not fit right in easy.
Here is a picture (posted before?) of a "kit" I made of an underhammer 45 caliber slug gun that shoots less than 1 MOA at 300 yards. I bought the parts from Pecatonica River and it took me 3 months to finish it completely. Part of that time was doing the 25 coats of clear gloss lacquer.
John
