Pappy,
Nah.....no kits either...we've two of the best making those (R&D, Kirst), and besides, I 'd need a manufacturing license and I don't want to get into all that paper work. I haven't shot it as yet, I'm waiting for the Ivory grips to get here, fit them and send it to be nickled......I'm going for a dull nickle finish, I don't recall any of the first model Richards in a bright high luster nickle finish....(Fox Creek, help me out here??, Bill)
Will52100....
No, no gas ring....I'll let it headpace like the originals.....I'm not into all that new fangled gun stuff, and I like to keep things as close to original as possible, that why I won't line the bores to .429, preferring to shoot heeled and or hollow based bullets instead. Personally to me, that is part of the authenticity, romance and realism in shooting these old style guns.....
Seth,
Any machinist worth his salt can take McDowells book, make his own drawings (provided he knows how to use a CAD program), and make his own fixtures, and should have all the equipment in his shop to do a conversion...lathe, tooling, such as reamers and boring tools, mill, with tooling, indexer, and turn table. The next 1860 I do, I plan on taking photos of the process and posting them here.
FCK,
You're right!!! If I used a four screw Colt for a Richards, I would weld the extra holes closed and also weld the recoil shield area where the dettachable stock locks in...
Bill