Don,
I am intrigued with your project. I have been to Robert Snapp's shop a couple of times. However, he would not be my smith of choice. The last I knew, he had a 2 or 3 year backlog. He does do very high quality work, but his services are fairly pricey.
If I were doing the project, I would seek out Dave Hoffman of Owosso, MI. You can find a great article about him in and old Shooter's Bible. I don't remember the exact issue but late '70's or early '80s. If you have a large library in your area, They may well have a file of Shooters Bibles. I know Dave personally, and I know he doesn't take on much work. But his expertise lies in Martini's.
If it were me, I would build the .218 Bee first and see how that goes. Then decide if you still want a .17. Hope this helps...the9.3Guy
