Author Topic: What books should I get?  (Read 6430 times)

jamesthomas

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What books should I get?
« on: December 15, 2012, 06:01:37 AM »
 I just recieved a Southern Mountain Rifle kit from Matt Advance at T.V.M.  So which books would be good to buy or borrow to help me finish this up. It does'nt have the lock inlet cause I plan on putting a L&R Bailes or Durs Egg on it. It's .40 cal. with a 13/16th Dehaas barrel with a plain maple stock. It will be my first one. I will probably have my brother help me with it (he has made two).

Offline WadePatton

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Re: What books should I get?
« Reply #1 on: December 15, 2012, 07:06:44 AM »
I've not had access to anything printed (yet) beyond Recreating the American Longrifle and a 6.5 buck Plan from Track-but think that they are both worth their price tags as manuals de fabrication.

I'm ordering another plan, getting the Greasy Cove book and probably will soon own the revised edition of The Gunsmith of Grenville County.

I don't see how any of those wouldn't be fine money spent, but i'm a rank amateur in this particular endeavor. 
Hold to the Wind

whetrock

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Re: What books should I get?
« Reply #2 on: December 15, 2012, 08:42:52 AM »
I'm sure everyone has their own opinion about this, but for what it's worth, here's mine:

Buchele's Recreating the American Longrifle is a classic, but it can be hard to understand at points. (Maybe there is a later edition? I've only seen the 4th ed.) It does have some good photos of longrifles, but even the photos can be confusing, since they represent several different antique styles (schools) of gunbuilding.

Peter Alexander (who along with G. Shumway helped coauthor the 4th ed. of  Recreating the American Longrifle ) later went on to write The Gunsmith of Grenville County. I think Peter's book is easier to understand. It is based on many years of articles that he wrote, and so it has the strength of accumulated time and lots of opportunity for editing. (Alexander's focus is on brass mounted PA style rifles, but the basic techniques are the same as you will need for building a S Mountain style.)

The Art of Building the Pennsylvania Longrifle (by Dixon Muzzleloading Shop) is full of helpful sketches, but I think it is best as a companion to the others. I wouldn't try use it by itself.  

I think if I was only going to buy one book, I would probably buy Alexanders The Gunsmith of Grenville County. It covers a huge amount of detail, and it also includes some colored photos (which can be really helpful when thinking about stain).

One other thing I would definitely do, is get a copy of Hershel House's video Building a Kentucky Rifle (by American Pioneer Video), and watch it many times (20 might be about right, including a few times in slow motion :)) before cutting wood. If you are working with a kit, Hershel’s video will include a lot more than you need to start out, but it will give you a fairly comprehensive view of major elements. And the fact that it is a video will help you get a 3 dimensional feel for what he is doing. Books study alone tends to contribute to a 2 dimensional view (no joke), and rifles based on book study sometimes come out a little too flat. (I’m not making a joke here. I’m serious. Squareish wrists and forearms, in particular.)

One word of warning, though. Hershel doesn’t measure very much of anything, and he is very fast. He has the experience to work that way. Don’t let that intimidate you, and don’t let it persuade you to hurry. Take your time, and measure and compare sketches frequently. Learning to sketch out what you hope to produce in metal or wood is a very helpful technique, worth the time it takes to develop.

If you buy the House video from the publisher, it also comes with a booklet. (Many other excellent videos are also available through American Pioneer Video, but I’d start with the H. House video. It’s basic and fairly comprehensive.)

Have fun!
« Last Edit: December 15, 2012, 08:48:10 AM by whetrock »

Offline Pete G.

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Re: What books should I get?
« Reply #3 on: December 15, 2012, 05:28:41 PM »
+1 on the Alexander book. He touches on design elements that the others do not.

One thing he does do is use a lot of layout lines. This can be especially important to a beginner. There are very few errors more glaring than a crooked buttplate or a mis alined lock. An experienced builder may not need all those lines, but using them to begin with can avoid some errors that are unseen until too late.

I did find that I had to sometimes re read passages to figure out what he was trying to say, and sometimes even then was still confused. I could come back later after muddling through a particular task and then read a passage and only then realize what he meant. The Dixon book is much simpler and can help with some of these places.

A couple of heads up on the TVM. The web between the barrel and ramrod is usually too thick and needs thinning so that there is not a gap between the rod and nosecap, and the lock panels need to be thinned considerably in height. Also pay close attention to the transition from the barrel to the wood at the breech. Too many beginning builders leave a hump of wood there that is not correct. The Alexander book covers this well.
« Last Edit: December 27, 2012, 05:56:58 PM by Pete G. »

jamesthomas

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Re: What books should I get?
« Reply #4 on: December 19, 2012, 02:42:02 AM »
 Well, I just ordered the book The Gunsmith of Green County, $45.00. Sure am glad they started to reprint it!! I could'nt afford the 300.00 bucks some folks wanted on Ebay!. Now to see what kind of files I would need to have. After reading 60+ back pages of this forum I'm sure glad I decided not to have the lock inletted on my Southern Mountain precarve from T.V.M. . I'll have the lock in by friday (I hope), I got a L&R Bailes cause I'm a lefty.
« Last Edit: December 19, 2012, 02:43:43 AM by james e »

Don Tripp

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Re: What books should I get?
« Reply #5 on: December 19, 2012, 09:30:40 AM »
Don't overlook the DVDs that are available either. Ron Ehlert's Kit building DVD from American Pioneer is money well spent and so is Jim Turpin's DVDs if you are starting out with a pre-carved or semi pre-carved stock. You can't go wrong with Recreating the American Longrifle or The Gunsmith of Grenville County .

Offline Eric Smith

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Re: What books should I get?
« Reply #6 on: December 19, 2012, 09:32:55 AM »
Don't overlook the DVDs that are available either. Ron Ehlert's Kit building DVD from American Pioneer is money well spent and so is Jim Turpin's DVDs if you are starting out with a pre-carved or semi pre-carved stock. You can't go wrong with Recreating the American Longrifle or The Gunsmith of Grenville County .
D

Sound advice
Eric Smith

Offline Gene Carrell

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Re: What books should I get?
« Reply #7 on: December 19, 2012, 04:59:34 PM »
DITTO!
Gene

Offline G-Man

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Re: What books should I get?
« Reply #8 on: December 19, 2012, 06:56:31 PM »
Everyone has their own opinion but if it were me since you are starting with a precarve, I would get the simplest basic book with good assembly diagrams that i could find.  To me, either Chuck Dixon's book or the very simple, but extremely clearly illustrated "Building the Kentucky Rifle" bu Jim Johnson (sells for about 10-12 bucks) are the clearest with regard to basic what goes where and in what order, that i am aware of.  The other books mentioned are good but probably way more than you need for going from a precarve and what you really need is easy to lose in the weeds in some of the more detailed books.   

Then get the best source of information you can for what the originals in that style looked like.  The Gunmakers of Bufffalo Valley and Greasy Cove - by David Byrd  (not sure of the exact title) as Wade suggested is excellent  Also there are many fine examples of these types of rifles in the ALR virtual museum.

Lots of little things can make a big difference on how your gun looks in the end - finishes, etc. - you can get some fantastic advice from some the best builders around right on this website on how to approach the little details.

Good luck

whetrock

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Re: What books should I get?
« Reply #9 on: December 19, 2012, 09:44:41 PM »



... since you are starting with a precarve, I would get the simplest basic book with good assembly diagrams that i could find. 

For those interested, I just posted started a new thread with some tips on making your own lock placement layout diagram. http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=24632.0

Hope those tips are helpful.

Whetrock



Offline WadePatton

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Re: What books should I get?
« Reply #10 on: December 21, 2012, 07:09:04 AM »
The Gunsmith of Grenville County arrived today.  no sleep tonight.

'Twixt Recreating and this one, i'm pretty confident now that I have all the _printed_ info i need on brass-mounted, engraved and carved longrifles.  But i tend to overdo everything.

  I do prefer the "do it from scratch" instructions so that one can at least see how it's done, even if he chooses to buy pre-made parts or pre-shaped wood.

Now to practice!!!
« Last Edit: December 21, 2012, 07:40:22 AM by WadePatton »
Hold to the Wind

paa

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Re: What books should I get?
« Reply #11 on: December 21, 2012, 07:57:24 AM »
Hey Folks,  Sorry, but in the revised edition of my book, I did not cover the Southern Mountain rifle, particularly, the long breech plug tang.  I thought everybody could figure this out, based on how to inlet the rear ramrod pipe tang - the technique is the same.  If need be, soft solder the tang to the breech then follow my instructions in the REVISED rdition of my book for inletting the tang of the rear pipe: only scribe and inlet where the bottom of the tang touches wood.  And do use alot of transfer colour!
I do beliee that the present revised edition of my book, is the best that I can do for all of you.  My 70th year birthday happened this past Hallowe'en, so I really doubt there will be another revised edition.....though I am already seeing better ways....  My son, Andrew and I are hard at work on a series of DVD's which, naturally, will be far. far ahead of the last out-of-print 5 videotape set.  We hope to produce the first - or more in 2013,  Check out my website, gunsmithofgrenvillecounty.com   REgards,   Peter A. Alexander

Offline WadePatton

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Re: What books should I get?
« Reply #12 on: December 21, 2012, 08:05:00 AM »
Thanks for the note Peter! 
Hold to the Wind

jamesthomas

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Re: What books should I get?
« Reply #13 on: December 23, 2012, 12:38:20 AM »
 Well, I just recieved MY copy of the Gunsmith of Grenville County and just thumbing through it I really like the way it describes how set triggers should be in relation to the sear arm of the lock. (where's the smiley of the thumbs up?) Glad I did'nt have to pay what some folks on Ebay wanted for it. Maybe I'll be able to get one cheap since this one  does'nt have the Southern Rifle in it. Now it's time to buy a vise to install on the workbench. I wonder how much one of those kind that you can adjust the angle on costs?. Oh,well it will be the first one the year before I'll be able to get one plus some tools that I don't have anymore. :(

Offline Eric Smith

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Re: What books should I get?
« Reply #14 on: December 23, 2012, 10:32:22 PM »
Can't wait to se the Dvds.
Eric Smith