I had the thought one day that it might be interesting to list out all the tools I had out on my benches. As I worked on the project, I thought that it might be a better idea to expand the list to not only those tools that are normally out on my benches, but all the tools I generally use in gun building. That is what is listed here; all the tools normally employed in the creation of an iron mounted flintlock rifle. I say iron mounted because I build a lot of those guns and that pulls in the forge more than a brass mounted gun. Only hand tools are shown or listed. 
However, I do use a few power tools for gun making. They include a 14″ bandsaw and a floor standing drill press. I also couldn’t get along without my trusty DeWalt 18V Li-ion drill/driver/hammer-drill, the greatest tool since the invention of the brace. I also use an electric heat gun for whiskering, and turning aqua fortis; and an electric heat treat oven. I use a 2″x72″ belt sander for grinding off pins and the like. I also use a flex shaft grinder with an abrasive cutoff wheel for cutting music wire for pins. That is pretty much it for the power tools, and I am in the process of eliminating the band saw, substituting a rip saw for trimming the forearm of the stock.
Abrasives
- Small homemade sanding block for roll abrasives
- 120 grit 1″ roll of emery cloth
- 320 grit 1″ roll of emery cloth
- 400 grit silicon paper
- 600 grit silicon paper
Adhesives
- Titebond III waterproof wood glue
- Thick & thin cyanoacrylate glue
- 5 minute epoxy for holding engraving work
- Bondo for holding engraving work
Boring Tools
- Antique metal body brace w/1/4″, 3/8″, & 3/4″ spur bits
- Gimlets: 5/64″ – 3/16″
- Twist drills: 1/16″-1/2″, 1-80, A-Z
- Hand held 3/4″ 82 degree countersink
- 1/2″ 82 degree countersink for power drill
- 11/32″ ramrod drill bit – I only use this size for 40-54 caliber even though I have other sizes. I have two this size; one sharpened with a conical point to do most of the work and one with a flat cutting edge to start the hole.
- 3/8″ couter-bore with #8 and #10 pilots for side plate screw holes
Chisels
- Bench: 1/4″, 1/2″, 1″
- Morticing: 1/8″, 3/32″
- Stamping: 3/32″
- European No.(sweep/width mm) Gouges: 1/2, 1/3, 1/5, 1S/5, 3/16, 5/8, 5/12, 6/14, 7/6, 7/10, 8/3, 8/4, 9/2, 9/5, 9/7, 12/1, 12/3, 21/6
- Nylon brush for cleaning carving
Clamps
- 4X 6″ Quick Clamps
- 4X 12″ Quick Clamps
- 2X 18″ Quick Clamps
- 10X parallel jaw machinists clamps
- 6X 4″ “C” clamps
- 2X 6″ “C” clamps
- Grooved hard maple block and leather strap for holding down the ramrod drill
- Shop made clamp of spring steel for holding down sights/lugs for soldering
- Shop made clamping jig for holding butt pieces together for riveting
Files
- 6″ rat tail bastard round for ferrous metals
- 8″ square rat tail bastard for ferrous metals
- 6″ rat tail bastard round for non-ferrous metals
- 8″ square rat tail bastard for non- ferrous metals
- 6″ knife edge bastard for ferrous metals
- 10″ half round bastard for ferrous metals
- 10″ half round bastard for non-ferrous metals
- 10″ half round bastard for wood
- 10″ flat mill for ferrous metals
- 10″ flat mill for non-ferrous metals
- 10″ flat bastard for ferrous metals
- 10″ flat bastard for non-ferrous metals
- 10″ flat bastard, worn, for breaking forge scale
- 10″ #49 & #50 Pattern Makers rasps
- 6″ slim taper triangular for ferrous metals
- 8″ round bastard, bent tang, broken tip for wood
- 6″ round smooth, bent tang, for wood
- 8″ round bastard for wood
- 8″ round 2nd cut for wood
- 8″ round 2nd cut for ferrous
- 8″ round 2nd cut for non-ferrous
- 8″ round chain saw file for non-ferrous
- 8″ Extra Slim triangular for non-ferrous
- 8″ square #1 for non-ferrous
- 8″ #2 pillar x 1/4″ for ferrous
- 8″ square bastard, bent tang, broken tip for wood
- 8″ square bastard rat tail for wood
- 6″ #2 warding for ferrous
- 6″ #2 warding for non-ferrous
- Two sets (ferrous/non-ferrous) 5 1/4″ #2 Swiss needle files
- Two sets (ferrous/non-ferrous) 6″ #1 Swiss needle files
- Two sets (ferrous/non-ferrous) 8″ #1 Swiss Habilis Pattern Makers files
- 6″ Extra Slim taper triangular file for saw sharpening
- 4″ XX Slim taper triangular file for saw sharpening
- S21 & S24 slotting files for cutting rear sight slots
- #2 sight base file for cutting dovetails
- Bronze brush and small piece of brass sheet for cleaning files
- Chalk for preventing files from clogging
Forge Tools
- NC Tool Model 2 propane forge
- NC Tool Calvary 112 lb farriers anvil on steel stand
- NC Tool 60 lb swage block on wood stand
- antique 4″ post vise
- small offset jaw tong
- medium straight jaw tong
- old needle nose pliers
- old lineman’s pliers
- old 10″ flat bastard file
- 1 lb ball pein hammer
- 2 lb, 2 1/2 lb, 3 lb, 4 lb cross pein hammers
- ramrod ferrule mandrel
- welding test rods
- wire welding brush
- can of borax and boric acid
- large popcorn tin of Perlite for annealing
- 1 gal can of quench oil
- 10 qt bucket for quench water
Hammers/Mallets
- 16, 8, 4 oz ball pein
- brass/nylon head
- rubber/acrylic head
- round beech carving mallet
- lignum vitae mallet
- 1 oz chasing hammer
Jigs/Fixtures
- 2x shop made barrel guides for cutting in side walls of barrel channel made from 3/8″ x 48″ square steel bar stock
- Shop made steel mandrels for forming thimbles along with wood form for thumbnails
- Shop made iron mandrels/swages(or hose clamps) for forming nose pieces
- Shop made jig for forming patchbox hinges
- Shop made hard maple form for shaping patchbox lids and finials
- Shop made jig for holding trigger guards for filing
- Shop made jig for holding butt pieces for filing
Measuring/Marking Tools
- 6″ .001″ dial caliper
- 6″ fractional dial caliper
- 1″ .001″ micrometer
- 2x 12′ tape measures
- 18″ stainless steel rule
- 24″ stainless steel rule
- 3X 6″ stainless steel rules
- 48″ T-square/straight-edge
- flat depth guage
- wire depth guage
- scratch awl
- carbide scribe
- antique compass/divider
- antique outside caliper
- antique marking/morticing guage
- 6″ machinist square
- 12″ machinist square
- 2X homemade golden mean dividers
- Right and Left hand marking knives
- Beeswax candle in holder
- Magnum Magic Marker
- Lots of fine, extra-fine, and ultra-fine black Sharpies
Miscellaneous Tools
- Picks for removing tight parts
- Dembart checkering tool
- Beeswax for lubricating saw blades and screws
- Optivisors with #3 and #4 lens
- 10X Loupe for sharpening gravers
- 3/32″ cobalt steel square gravers ground square and flat in handles made of 1/2″ hex aluminum bar stock
- China white block (tube of China White watercolor is the same thing) for engraving layout
- little metal tin with oil(Breakfree) impregnated felt pads for lubricating gravers
- 2x 1″ roll painters tape
- Lots of #2(HB) and 4H(engraving layout) pencils
- Couple of Pink Pearl erasers
- Sketchbook with all my designs and templates
Planes & Other Edged Tools
- antique ~10″ straight draw knife
- 2″ antique wooden spoke shave
- 2 1/2″ antique wooden spoke shave
- Stanley #20 block plane
- Record #4 smooth plane
- Stanely #7 jointer plane
- antique 3/4″ round gun stocker’s plane
- antique 3/4″ gun stocker’s plane reworked to cut 3/4″ octagon
- Lie Nielson flat and convex model maker’s planes
- 11/32″ shop made ramrod channel plane
- 3/8″ shop made ramrod channel plane
- Shop made scratch stock with blade that cuts forearm and butt stock moulding
- Modified Swedish knife for carving background removal and cutting in long moulding lines
- chip carving knife
Pliers/Cutters/Wrenches
- 9″ Vise Grip staight jaw
- 7″ needle nose Vise Grips
- 6″ needle nose pliers
- small round nose pliers
- small flat nose pliers
- small diagonal cutters
- compound diagonal cutters
- serrated parallel jaw pliers
- smooth parallel jaw pliers
- 12″ Adjustable wrench with jaws ground to a taper for breech plugs
- Straight aircraft type metal shears
Punches & Cold Chisels
- Pin punch set – 1/16″ – 1/4″
- Auto center punch
- 1/2″ cold chisel
- 5/8″ cold chisel reground to raise dovetails
- 1/8″ die sinkers chisel to cut waste out of dovetail slots etc…
Saws
- Shop made barrel channel saw (resembling stair tread saw) made from a dovetail saw blade (~20ppi rip) with left hand set removed for cutting in barrel channel walls
- 8″ tenon saw (~22ppi cross-cut)
- jewelers saw with Swiss, Antelope brand, steel cutting blades, size #1 and #3
- 26″ cross-cut hand saw, 8 ppi
- 26″ rip hand saw, 5 1/2 ppi
- hacksaw with 14, 24, 32 ppi bi-metal (hss teeth – don’t bother with anything else) blades and 14ppi with stop (1/32″) for cutting dovetail slots
- Shop made saw benches required for using hand saws to cut out stock blank
Scrapers
- homemade ramrod scraper
- Jerry Fisher stock scraper set
- Shop made stock scraper per Kit Ravenshire design
- scrapers made from utility knife blade
- Shop made scrapers for barrel channel (octagon – 3/4″, 13/16″, 15/16″) and ramrod groove (round – 3/8″)
Screwdrivers
- Brownell’s Magna tip set
- 10 in 1
- 1/4″ flat
- 3/16″ flat
Stones/hones
- ceramic stone set
- 2″x 6″ DMT Dia-Sharpe 200/325 grit diamond stone
- 2″x 6″ DMT Dia-Sharpe 600/1200 grit diamond stone
- homemade leather strop
- course, medium, fine diamond hones
Taps/Dies
- “T” handle tap wrench
- standard tap wrench
- 6-32, 8-32 & 10-32 tap sets
- 1/4″-32, 5/16″-32 & 3/8″-32 taps for White Lightning liners
Vises
- Woodcraft carvers’ or pattern makers’ vise
- Woodcraft “VersaVise” type vises with plywood jaw liners and a custom made tilt adapter
- 4 1/2″ machinest’s vise with lead and plywood jaw liners
- antique watchmakers vise
- antique hand vise
- main spring vise
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