Home Stretch
I have been working very hard and making good progress over the last month to pull all of the remaining loose ends together on the Southern Mountain Rifle Kit. Since this is a project several years in development, I'm very happy to finally be able to begin production of these kits. All systems are nearly in place.
Making Aluminum Molds for Investment Casting
In order to make large numbers of precise investment castings, aluminum shelled, epoxy filled molds have been made. These take considerable time to make but are a requirement. A quick overview is as follows: Molds must be designed such that the injected wax can be removed. All pieces are dowel pinned together for repeatable alignment. Oversize cavities are cut to accept the master. The master is then orientated properly in the mold and half is carefully bedded in putty. The remaining part of the mold is placed over the part and epoxy is poured through previously drilled holes. After curing, the mold is opened up, putty is removed, the mold is re-assembled and the remaining portion of the mold is poured.
Trip to Arkansas
I had hundreds of waxes that needed to be cast, so last month, I packed them up and drove them to Arkansas. In the past, there has been a large percentage that would break during the trip through the mail, since they are so fragile.
Cutting out Stock Blanks
Before Christmas, Katherine and I made a trip to Pennsylvania for some lumber. This place was in the mountains surrounded by lots of timber and had a great selection. Katherine and I went through every board that met the minimum size standards to hand select for quality and figure. We came away very happy with what we will be able to offer for kits. We loaded up the truck and hauled it home and the next day were lucky with some nice weather for blanking it out. To keep the dust out of the shop, I rolled the bandsaw out into the driveway.
The great part about getting wood this way is being able to lay the wood out as close to the pattern as possible and make highly figured wood an affordable upgrade for those who want it. I was able to fit the stocks in nice and tight and make sure the grain was ideally placed for the layout. Now, we have stocks blanked out and are now able to offer a double upgrade for extra fancy maple for $150. If I were selling these blanks separately, I would be charging much more for them, but I want to be able to offer beautiful wood as part of the kit. We worked into the early evening.
Frequently Asked Questions
A lot of phone calls I have been getting have revolved around whether or not this is something a beginner can do. It absolutely is. This is by far the easiest kit out there and I have been making sure, every step of the way, that I am doing as much of the work as possible to keep it simple and straightforward for the buyer. Also, I am only a phone call or email away if someone does run into questions. Also, I will include some general instructions in the kit in order to help get you on the right track.
There has been a fantastic response regarding the kit gun project and I am so appreciative of all of the support that I have received. I have taken a lot of orders. As of today, the expected delivery of new orders is early May.
Some people have been concerned about the length of the rifle. Although it is 46 inches, it is a swamped barrel which flares at the ends and it is nicely balanced and handles well.
Kit Gun Locks Sold Through Flintlocks, LLC
All of the Chambers locks for the kits will now be purchased through a separate company, Flintlocks, LLC. This company is in house so the lock will be able to be shipped together with the rest of the kit but will be invoiced separately and payment will need to be directed to Flintlocks, LLC. The website will be updated with this new information shortly.
I am very excited to be so close to this project being complete and shipping the kits next month.
Thanks,
Jim
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