For the past week I've been consumed with planning the underhammer build.

Yesterday I finished the final revision of the last revision of the final design of the action, and made cardboard cutouts of the breech block, striker, sear bar, sear, and trigger. After a jack-leg clearance and function test with the cutouts pinned to a board, things are looking good. I have full confidence it will work as I envisioned.

Today I started collecting the items needed for the build. Those included various pieces of scrap steel and aluminum scrounged from friends or found in my garage, several items ordered on-line, and a pretty good assortment of nuts, bolts, and such from Ace Hardware. I have only two things left to find; a four-inch by five-inch piece of 3/4" thick steel plate, and the stock wood.

I have a .54 caliber 1" octagon barrel that I bought a loooong time ago and never used. Don't even recall the manufacturer. It has a little surface rust but nothing severe, and will be used for the prototype barrel.

Right now my estimate of the cost of the build is in the neighborhood of $160 plus whatever the stock wood cost (which shouldn't be much as I only need a twelve inch long piece). The estimate excludes the cost of a barrel, but includes a 4X ProDiamond scope, a DNZ scope base, and a Limbsaver recoil pad. Ironically, those three items contribute over $140 to the cost.

Sometime on Monday I'll be visiting a scrap yard about a mile from my house in search of the 3/4" steel plate.