Pistol Grip Hawken rifle- IS FINISHED!! Pictures restored

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I got the idea several years ago at our BC Rendezvous at heffley Creek, from Cody Tetachuck.  He showed me a longrifle he'd finished with bees wax, and I was very impressed with the look and feel of it.  It was not in the least sticky, but very dry, smooth, and sealed.  Water beaded on it, and rolled off.
I'm sure you'll like it too.

[Acer Saccharum]

Heat gun and beeswax. Heat and apply. keep applying wax as long as the wood sucks it up. If the wood gets really hot, the internal moisture causes the wax to foam on the surface. But then as the wood cools, it really sucks the wax in.

[bob in the woods]

I have used that method of finishing as well. I did some carving after finishing, and the wood worked like a dream. Beautifully smooth details. I will bet that you noticed a difference when checkering !  I used a nice amber toned beeswax, and the wax actually soaked all the way through into the barrel channel. Excellent penetration. That was 8 years ago, and the gun is used in harsh conditions [ moose hunting] but still looks great.

[Acer Saccharum]

Taylor, you are putting bad ideas into people's heads.

[bob in the woods]

I got the idea from Gary Brumfield.  He apparently used this finish on a number of rifles.

[Acer Saccharum]

Now everyone will want a pistol grip Hawken.

[Daryl]

Of course they do!
I know just where they could order one, too.

[Acer Saccharum]

I'd like mine in .54, maple stock, chequered grip, lollipop sight, and beeswax finish.

[Vomitus]

  I don't think these cap guns will catch on.

[Daryl]

   

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I finally finished the diopter tang sight to my satisfaction.  I'll rust blue it to match the tang and barrel.  The lateral adjustment screw is  #6 x 40 tpi.  There was no need to make it with a finer thread.  Micro adjustments are possible with it as it is.  I'm not sure how large to drill the aperture - it's at .0625" right now, but I suspect it'll need enlarging, to allow more light.  Recommendations??

[Bob Roller]

Taylor,
I use a small taper pin reamer to enlarge the aperture in the few tang sights I have made.
The size is 6/0.I ream the hole until the fuzz vanishes and then quit.

Bob Roller

[Acer Saccharum]

You can do a test with some scrap. Set up a false sight on similar thickness metal, same distance from your eye. You can use a piece of thin plate set into a glob of modeling clay stuck to the wrist. Experiment with hole size until you get the clarity you want.

An aperture sight of proper dimension will make the front sight AND the bull clear and in focus at the same time.


The aperture itself should be countersunk from the back so that the metal is very thin at the hole. If the hole is thru thick metal, it's like looking thru a tunnel, with reflections and fuzziness as the result.

[Hadden West]

.062 would be about right for target, but probably a little small for hunting in dim light. I think .090 would be better for hunting. An interchangeable aperture would even be better. By the way, great job, so far. I'll be following this all the way. Thanks for sharing.

[jimc2]

Any thought as to the surface next to your eye being too polished and causing a glare?

[Dphariss]

Good morning Taylor.
I would shoot the rifle with the 1/16", if its just a daylight target rifle 1/16 should be good.

For hunting I use a much larger hole once the light drops in the timber etc and the target is something other than black on white seeing the target gets difficult.
This reduces the secondary lens effect but allows enough light to pickup front sight and target.  It depends on the person looking through the sight.  I read a quote attributed to Sam Hawken in which he stated it did not matter what sight be put on the rifle the customer would change it....

One other thing that some here might find interesting is that a "ghost ring" sight requires more light than an 5/8 or larger eyecup  with a hole near .100" in hunting situations since its impossible to see the outline of the ghost ring in low light.  No, I don't hunt in the dark. However, where I live and where Taylor lives there are things that can cause "problems" in the night when out camping or hunting and it might be necessary to use the rifle in self-defense.
I would also point out that given the work in a sight of this sort that the owner take it off while hunting and use it for target only. To encourage this you might leave it 1/16"  

Dan

[Dphariss]

Very nice work on the sight BTW

Dan

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I appreciate the input on the sight.  When I first made the staff and the disc attached, I cut a 1/4" hole.  This was before I installed the slide adjustment with it's 1/16" hole.  With the 1/4" hole in the disc, I was amazed at how clear both the front and rear sight appeared.  Another bonus was I had set the front and rear sight in the centre of the barrel, and the diopter aligned them perfectly.  This means that I got the tang sight installed dead centre and that the adjustment slide is likely redundant.  The rifle is going to Alaska and likely Colorado for big game, and I agree with Dan, that it is likely a smart move to take the diopter off when hunting, to be reserved primarily for target shooting, which is what I believe Sam Hawken had in mind when he designed these pistol grip rifles.

Now to pack harden the hardware, and finish the barrel.

[Daryl]

Taylor,
I use a small taper pin reamer to enlarge the aperture in the few tang sights I have made.
The size is 6/0.I ream the hole until the fuzz vanishes and then quit.

Bob Roller

I have that reamer, I think, Bob. I guess I'll take it over to Taylor - if he gets me to help him sight in the rifle, of course.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I pack hardened the hardware this morning.  I made my crucible out of a piece of exhaust stack from a big diesel truck, and cooked the parts in wood charcoal in a fir and birch fire for two and a half hours.  This was my first attempt and I am not unhappy with the results.  Jerry Huddleston has been a great help in this process, and I want to publicly thank him.  I also want to thank Ron Kole whose fire pit, and firewood I used.  Between the two of us, we got 'er done, and enjoyed a morning of sitting by the fire palavering.  I have some more experimenting to do but I think I'm on the right track.  I got a lot of greys with occasional blasts of blue surrounded by other rainbow colours.  When I was done, I baked the parts in a toaster oven at 375 deg F. for one hour, and that amplified the colours and provided a nicer background than the light grey.  So here's the result:

This is prior to oiling, right out of the oven.



The nose piece.  those are not scratches but lint from the oil rag.





Trigger guard:



Breech plug:



..and butt plate.

[greybeard]

WOW!!!!!
    Bob

[Bob Roller]

OUTSTANDING!I KNOW all on this forum want to see the finished rifle when
you put it back together.

Bob Roller

[Daryl]

and - I'M GOING TO SHOOT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[KLMoors]

Those look great Taylor.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

This rifle is finally finished.  I started it in September, and it's been quite a project.  But I am happy with the outcome, and now I get to sight it in.  There's a new thread started about attaching hollow underribs, and as you may recall, this one is hollow and riveted to the barrel.  I am happy to report that it has not loosened in the least from the building process which included running the rod hole drill through the pipes.  Here's some pictures of the finished rifle...