Author Topic: Antique Rifling machine (Read 51637 times)

Shreckmeister · « **on:** July 04, 2012, 04:57:34 PM »

Finally the quest for an antique rifling bench for my Shreckengost
gunsmith shop is over. I was only able to find the cylinder and indexing head, but coming up with and old plank, legs and making the other parts should not be difficult. The best part is this rig seems to have been very well done.
Can anyone tell me what the "44 to 35 G" might mean. I wondered if it was
44 to 35 inches per revolution in a progressive twist? Any guesses on age? The cylinder is said to have come from a gunsmith shop in northern PA.
Happy 4th to all!

omark · « **Reply #1 on:** July 04, 2012, 05:22:23 PM »

could it mean 44 to 35 gauge?? mark

JDK · « **Reply #2 on:** July 04, 2012, 05:55:15 PM »

Can't tell if the pitch increases in the picture but could be 44-35 Gain Twist. Enjoy, J.D.

JWBlair · « **Reply #3 on:** July 04, 2012, 07:29:30 PM »

A very nice find and in nice condition.I would hazard a guess it is for gain twist rifling too.For those knowledgeable about rifling twists would that have been for a round ball gun or a picket bullet type?

Dennis Glazener · « **Reply #4 on:** July 04, 2012, 07:30:59 PM »

Quote

Can't tell if the pitch increases in the picture but could be 44-35 Gain Twist. Enjoy, J.D.

I suspect that's what it is. I appears to me that the spiral grooves get a little steeper toward the end.
Dennis

okieboy · « **Reply #5 on:** July 04, 2012, 07:41:18 PM »

Exceptional piece of equipment. Congratulations!

Paul E. Wog · « **Reply #6 on:** July 04, 2012, 09:30:24 PM »

Rob,
Very nice

Yup, gain twist, or he got tired making those repetive, close grooves

Who was this 'smith in PA

if you know?
Shreck

Don Getz · « **Reply #7 on:** July 04, 2012, 10:48:40 PM »

Rob...........beautiful piece of equipment. I don't think it is gain twist. You can check this by taking one groove, place it
at the top, then follow that groove around until it once again is at the top..........should be about 35 inches (just a guess).
Then do the same thing from the other end, if they are about the same length it eliminates that gain twist thing...Don

Curt J · « **Reply #8 on:** July 05, 2012, 06:04:08 AM »

I too, am inclined to think that it is gain-twist. It seems to be a fairly fast twist for a round ball, whether gain-twist or not. It is a a very nice piece, well made and in great condition.

Shreckmeister · « **Reply #9 on:** July 05, 2012, 06:07:17 PM »

I'm thinking that semicircle with something of an arrow on it is not a letter but is
representative of twist. I'll measure the rate on both ends when it gets delivered.
Right now it's somewhere between me and the seller.

rick landes · « **Reply #10 on:** July 05, 2012, 09:57:26 PM »

I am also inclined to think it is for a given range of calibers.
All I know is the carving of the info pretty much matches my own

Don Getz · « **Reply #11 on:** July 06, 2012, 02:13:29 AM »

Rob..........when you get it, check the twist as I have explained above. To me it does not appear to be a gain twist, I'm willing to bet that it is somewhere around 35" twist. If it is, it must have been done to shoot a bullet of some sort.
Most of the old roundball guns were made with a 1 in 48", and that worked good........Don

Daryl · « **Reply #12 on:** July 06, 2012, 06:25:05 PM »

If at around 35"- perhaps it is for rifling picket bullet barrels of .44 cal. down to 35? Or it's for .44 cal. barrels, that barrel makers standard and has a 35" twist. Specualtion is just that. Like Don, I do not see a 10" increase in the rate of twist - it appears even to me, visually.

Shreckmeister · « **Reply #13 on:** July 06, 2012, 08:10:36 PM »

I just did some measurements from the picture and the twist rate does not appear to change.

doug · « **Reply #14 on:** July 07, 2012, 08:12:51 AM »

Quote from: Suzkat (Rob) on July 06, 2012, 08:10:36 PM

I just did some measurements from the picture and the twist rate does not appear to change.

you beat me to it, I just measured the length one groove took to go from bottom to top at each end; they are the same. Assuming that the wooden guide is about 4 feet long, the numbers also do not appear to represent the twist rate

cheers Doug

Daryl · « **Reply #15 on:** July 07, 2012, 06:10:50 PM »

It does appear to be a fairly fast 'bullet' twist for that time period - roughly 24" to 30"- just a quick estimate if it's a 48" guide.

okieboy · « **Reply #16 on:** July 08, 2012, 06:04:53 PM »

Rob, I wanted to let you know that in Dave Byrd's new book, on page 50 there is shown rifling equipment from the McInturff gun shop. One of the two guides shown is of similar design to yours. It however is obviously a gain twist guide; as the fast part of the spiral is near the handle, the barrel when mounted in the bench would have to have been with the breech closest to the guide and the muzzle pointed away from the guide.
The head block with the three guide teeth is the one that goes to this guide. the handled thin rod appears to be for pushing a float, either to frisch or lap; the very bottom "rod" appears to be the remains of either a drill or a reamer, but the picture is not clear enough to tell which.
P.S. Thanks again to Mr. Byrd for a significant step forward in documenting the Tennessee long rifle with his new book.

Daryl · « **Reply #17 on:** July 08, 2012, 06:23:34 PM »

Nicholas Hawk's rifling machine, we assume:

Rifling rods, floating rods, reamers, etc:

Tools:

Frank House facing the camera, on the front porch of the Hawk shop:

okieboy · « **Reply #18 on:** July 08, 2012, 07:37:57 PM »

Greay pics Daryl. Could you elaborate some on the tools in the second picture that have the crank style handles?

Daryl · « **Reply #19 on:** July 08, 2012, 09:00:27 PM »

I would expect them to be floaters and/or reamers- maybe a deep hole drill, hand turned with wooden shafts with scraping cutters for 'floating' or smoothing. It's been 3 years since I took those pictures and too much water has run past my ears- washed away some memories, I'd guess.

Shreckmeister · « **Reply #20 on:** October 23, 2014, 07:07:24 PM »

I posted this rifling machine a couple years ago. I was able to find out that it was once owned by a Maryland collector named Dr. Hugh Benet. He has passed and I tried to reach his son without success.
I am wondering if anyone knows the family. I would like to find out where this machine came from.

jamesthomas · « **Reply #21 on:** October 24, 2014, 02:47:47 AM »

Did you ever find out what the twist was?.

Shreckmeister · « **Reply #22 on:** October 24, 2014, 04:53:36 AM »

Yes, it is a gain twist as suspected.

smokinbuck · « **Reply #23 on:** October 24, 2014, 05:43:54 PM »

Robb,
Nice find. That equipment looks 50 years newer than my Brammer machine, are you going to get it working?
Mark

Shreckmeister · « **Reply #24 on:** October 24, 2014, 05:55:23 PM »

Yes the condition is excellent. I can't put a time period to it, but it was well made. The machine is actually almost black. The photographs are nothing like the actual colors. I plan to make it part of a display in a recreated 19th century gunshop.

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Author Topic: Antique Rifling machine (Read 51637 times)

omark

JWBlair

Paul E. Wog

Daryl

doug

Daryl

Daryl

Daryl

jamesthomas