Traditions (Chiappa) Enfield 1853

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  • Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,282
    HoCo
    OK,
    So this is an Enfield 1853 Kit. Purchased through Muzzle-loaders.com and imported by Traditions. My saga started in Early December when I purchased an early Xmas present to myself and planned to work on it over the holidays when I had plenty of "ME TIME" built up to use. Well, first thing that happened is opened it up and I could not believe they shipped the barrel sitting in the stock unscrewed. First thing I did was look at the wood around the tang and sure enough, a chip. Crap, well I'll expect good Customer Service. After a few calls, Traditions said they would work on it. Well, calls and emails continued for over 5 weeks trying to find out when I'd get a replacement stock. I almost started a charge back on my Amex several times until promised I'd get a replacement. All the while "thank you for being patient at our busiest time of the year". Finally in early January, I was given a call tag to ship the whole kit back and yesterday I finally received the replacement.

    Picture of the chipped stock
     

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    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,282
    HoCo
    Pictures of Kit

    Currently IMO, the kit price is high. muzzle-loaders.com has it listed right now for $720.
    I had picked it up on sale in Dec for a little over $600 before I found out it was a rebadged Chiappa/Armi Sport
    Heck, that's pretty much what you will be paying for a finished Chiappa if you look around and shop for pricing.
     

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    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,282
    HoCo
    As I'm working on fitting the parts for the lock, barrel, trigger, I'm contemplating how I will finish it.
    Looking at Chiappa listings, it says its American Walnut.
    First thought was to use a wood conditioner and then stain with English Chestnut stain.
    Followed by BLO or Real Tung Oil.
    I know where my BLO is, but after my move 2 years ago, I have not found what I did with the Tung Oil I used on my last 2 Kit builds (Dixie Cub Flint and Lyman GP).

    One thing I'm contemplating is sanding off the bill boards on the Barrel. The barrel will be blued so it won't stand out like it does not, but the texture is really rough with the laser engraving so that is a big minus.
    One thing I can do is sand them both down till the writing is very faint. Faint enough that it takes a close up look to see them. I say this cause I did this to a Flint pistol and you have to take ALOT of metal off to get it to the point that you can see nothing. Maybe if its just faint, then I can have the utility of the Info being available for future shooters w/o the uglyness. I am not planning a full DEFARB or anything that would in the far future lead someone uneducated to think its an original.
     

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    Pensfaninmd

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 28, 2010
    1,026
    Harford County
    Always wanted to do a kit. Maybe someday, just too many irons in the fire taking my money. Who knows, someone may put one up for sale here that i can afford. Looks like a beautiful rifle. Can’t wait to see the finished pictures!
     

    biermkr

    Ultimate Member
    May 1, 2007
    1,651
    Almost Heaven
    Instead of sanding the barrel, burnish it with a socket extension. I have seen this technique that reenactors use to make their pistols and rifles match originals. I doesn't remove any metal it just pushes it back into place. IF the edges of the markings are raised this should work. You can always polish afterwards too. Search on the muzzleloading and reenactor sites for more info.
     

    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,282
    HoCo
    Instead of sanding the barrel, burnish it with a socket extension. I have seen this technique that reenactors use to make their pistols and rifles match originals. I doesn't remove any metal it just pushes it back into place. IF the edges of the markings are raised this should work. You can always polish afterwards too. Search on the muzzleloading and reenactor sites for more info.

    I'd be interested in this burnishing method. I would think I'd need to get rid of the brown inlet into the laser etching first. I did not immediately find any posts on this yet. Still Google Fu'ing my way though
     

    Ranchero50

    Ultimate Member
    Dec 15, 2012
    5,411
    Hagerstown MD
    Here's a neat link to some defarbing stuff even though you don't plan on going fully that route:

    https://www.authentic-campaigner.com/articles/walden/enfauth.htm

    I will say that after 7 doses of BLO my Euroarms P1853 has gained a nice deep chestnut color. It's been hanging next to the wood stove the past two days soaking up the goodness. I don't think it'll ever get to the aged blackness of the originals but this is OK with me. It looks like your sight is held on with two screws which I wish mine was. Prepping it for some JB weld now as the front spot weld broke free during its past life as a reenactors piece.

    Shot it last Sunday and it was a blast.
     

    zoostation

    , ,
    Moderator
    Jan 28, 2007
    22,857
    Abingdon
    Oh noes. According to Delegate Kathleen Cankles that's a scary ghost gun! Must be banned!!

    But in all seriousness nice work. Looks like it's going to turn out beautiful.
     

    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,282
    HoCo
    Removed some wood and filed some brass to get the lock, trigger assembly and trigger guard to fit. There is some more wood needing to be removed to get the barrel to sit lower and fit to the lock properly. It’s always a trick to figure out what is interfering when it’s underneath.
    Some funny business going on with the stock in front of the rear barrel band that will need a bit of sanding
    b20093b8190e475e6d8a48f6df1dc9c3.jpg

    9597714d7aeb6cda8675301f98f9b3a8.jpg


    13b9114ef0579793fb4293e929b87d9e.jpg


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     

    Biggfoot44

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 2, 2009
    32,881
    I'm not sure if Zoo is quasi- joking , But that isn't a joke . She REALLY does think that way .
     

    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,282
    HoCo
    Oops wrong pic of barrel fitting
    aef1f33e6fe8039df37a1dbc9493f137.jpg


    I removed wood that was above the tang and brass above the butt stock

    Sanded the billboards off of the left and right of the breech end while binge watching a show on Netflix. The Mfg and caliber are still on the bottom. I left the serial number
    c1391465a9ab8d269f58f913c1974019.jpg

    47a4cf85a6fcde6cd085b029a27d2539.jpg

    3874d3dc9caaa4f9655812f049440124.jpg


    After wetting the stock I know it will need a dark stain. It is dramatically lighter on one side
    9917ddc38044af1d7454c46f4194b94a.jpg

    c202d74fca3528f1286fcd332a715a57.jpg



    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     

    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,282
    HoCo
    Work has been continuing a little bit each day.
    I wish I took a pic of the butt plate and full trigger guard but if you look at the back of the butt plate, you can see how it looks when it comes. There is cracking in the casting and it is by no means a smooth consistent surface. big parting lines on the trigger guard casting also. I'm up to 400 grit on the butt stock right now, the trigger guard is still at where it was when I took a 60 grit dremmel to it. What I have been doing is taking a wire wheel to level off the surfaces cause using the dremmel drum puts in divots and waves to the surface. After hitting the wire wheel most of the time is then taken up by a 60 grit on a vibratory sander. then 80, then 120, then 180 then 220, then 320 then 400, 600, 1000, 1200 2000 wet 2000 then likely a polishing wheel. (did I mention, don't ever do kits if you wan to just spend less $? cause you won't in the end, its a section of the hobby unto itself).

    I sanded the wrist so that the metal sticks up a smidge. that will be taken down by most of the sanding up to 120. I will blend it level at 120 and any extra that gets taken off I can just sand down the wood.

    I also put some stains under the barrel area to test how dark it gets.
     

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    CombatAK

    Hooligan #12
    Sep 1, 2015
    1,156
    Cresaptown
    Melnic,
    I am really interested in the progress of your build. This is a rifle that I am very interested in. From what I can see, it is very nice. Have you decided on a stain color yet?
     

    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,282
    HoCo
    I think I will be going with Red Mahogany, Its the darker one in the middle.
    Just FYI to all, you can find Chiappa fully built ones already built for around $750 + shipping if you simply want a Repro.
     

    CombatAK

    Hooligan #12
    Sep 1, 2015
    1,156
    Cresaptown
    Having followed j8064 and you and your rifles, I am seriously thinking this is the way I would like to go. It would be great to have you subject matter experts handy for questions!
     

    John from MD

    American Patriot
    MDS Supporter
    May 12, 2005
    22,734
    Socialist State of Maryland
    If some of you folks are just looking for a good shooter, you should look at the Zolli Zouave two band rifles. I can tell you from experience, they are one of the most accurate out of the box Italian made muskets that I have seen. The nice thing about the Zolli is it has a different sight than the three bands and, having a shorter barrel, it is easier to see the front sight. You can find them in nice shape on Gunbroker for 300-600 bucks. The Lyman 575213OS works great in these rifles.
     

    j8064

    Garrett Co Hooligan #1
    Feb 23, 2008
    11,635
    Deep Creek
    Melnic, your build is coming along beautifully. :thumbsup: I'm anxious to see what it looks like - and shoots like - when you complete it.

    The red mahogany stain looks nice in the barrel channel. In my experience different areas on the stock are going to absorb the stain differently. That's OK. It makes the rifle unique. Next time I build one I'm planning to try an alcohol based stain.

    Please keep us updated on your progress!

    :)
     

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