Author Topic: Building an English Fowler FINALLY FINISHED  (Read 46736 times)

brokenflint

  • Guest
Re: Building an English Fowler
« Reply #150 on: April 13, 2018, 08:12:31 PM »
Dave,

I want to thank you again for taking the time to go the extra mile and producing this tutorial.  Just showing build progress of this awesome fowler would have been cool, but a tutorial, you da man!   Only better would be to see / handle this in person, good job my friend  :)

Offline Joe S.

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1958
  • the other Joe S.
Re: Building an English Fowler
« Reply #151 on: April 13, 2018, 08:54:23 PM »
Dave,Taylor pretty much said what im thinking,a fine job indeed.Your attention to detail takes it to another level.Somebodys going to be a mighty lucky fellow to have such a fine fowler.

Offline smart dog

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *
  • Posts: 6814
Re: Building an English Fowler
« Reply #152 on: April 15, 2018, 02:05:03 AM »
Hi Friends,
Today I continued shaping the fore stock back to the lock.  The fore stocks on British guns are egg shell thin.  However, on the original fowlers I own and those in collections and museums that I examined, those thin fore stocks were often cracked and broken along the barrel channel. Slimness has a price over time.  In addition, I cannot go that thin because of the inlet barrel bands. They demand a little extra thickness.  Consequently, my stock will be very thin but a little thicker than the originals I own.  For final shaping the fore stock, I use a large coarse file that I hold most of its length against the wood when filing to smooth out any irregularities.  After the file I scrape the stock with razor sharp flat scraper. I will still leave extra wood along the top of the barrel channel. That will get rounded into the barrel as one of the last jobs to prevent damage to the edge as I work on the stock.


The muzzle shaping needs some comment.  The Brits did not obsess much over this.  They simply rounded the end of the stock over to meet the barrel.  They did not usually install muzzle caps or bands unless the gun had a military application. They often did shape a subtle "schnabel" but I find many modern makers do that to excess when trying to make a purported English fowler. Some of those makers do it to extreme such that you can see daylight under the ramrod at the muzzle.  On every British fowler I've examined that had the original ramrod or a good fitting replacement (mostly), you do not usually see daylight under the rod at the muzzle. In my case, my rod will swell near the muzzle and have a trumpet-shaped horn tip that will tuck precisely into the curve of the stock at the muzzle, much like that on my English rifle shown below.

The "schnable" at the muzzle is subtle.  There were rarely moldings or incised lines along the ramrod channel and the step from the walls of the channel and the muzzle was gradual and the walls just faded away.


There was no special treatment at the rear ramrod pipe.  The stock just tapered down to meet the edges of the thimble and it stood out like the prow of a ship in front of the wood.



On my gun the fore stock tapers fairly narrow on the bottom rather than being a wide round.  Other fowlers had a wider round profile.  As the fore stock meets the lock area, you have a distinct "knuckle" for the lock panels as the bottom flattens for the trigger guard and trigger.  This is very easy to form with a large rat-tailed file and requires just a few strokes of the file to get right.


More to come,
dave         
« Last Edit: April 15, 2018, 02:08:00 AM by smart dog »
"The main accomplishment of modern economics is to make astrology look good."

Offline SingleMalt

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 613
  • One day I'll be considered a good builder.
Re: Building an English Fowler
« Reply #153 on: April 15, 2018, 05:36:04 AM »
Dave, this is clear, concise, and well illustrated.  I can see myself following this in the future for my own fowler.
Never drink whisky that isn't old enough to vote.

"The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men."- Plato

"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms."

Offline smart dog

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *
  • Posts: 6814
Re: Building an English Fowler
« Reply #154 on: April 19, 2018, 11:43:23 PM »
Hi,
I got a lot of work done on the fowler.  As Jim Chambers commented on this thread, British guns are sophisticated compared to concurrent American-made guns. However, based on my research and experience, much of that sophistication actually made these guns easier to produce. British makers in the mid-18th century did not fuss overly about lock moldings, symmetry with respect to lock panels, moldings along ramrod grooves, or muzzles.  The gun stockers seemed to have a basic formula that they adhered to and that formula was well developed, elegant, and easy to reproduce if you understand it.  Those are a combination of features that should appeal to the heart of a private businessman seeking profit.  They appealed to the fashions of men who were not living by the fruits of their guns unless they were soldiers. The maker had a general formula for a gun.  If the client wanted something different or more ornate, the gun maker simply farmed out the decorative work to the silversmith, wire inlayer, and engraver. The maker was more of a general contractor than a working gunsmith.  This is born out by a legal case brought by John Hirst in 1747 against proscriptions by the gunmaker's guild of London.  Borrowing from Blackmore:
"Matters came to a head in 1747 when the Company brought John Hirst before the court of King's Bench for using the art, mystery, and manual occupation of a gun-maker contrary to the terms of the Elizabethan statute (defining a guild supported by 7-year apprenticeships and other restrictions in London).  Hirst argued before the court saying, the Gun-Makers business in and about London was now divided into 21 different branches and looked upon as so many distinct trades; barrel forger, breech forger, barrel filer, barrel polisher, barrel loopmaker, lock forger, lock filer, lock polisher, lock hardener, trigger and nail forger, trigger and nail filer, stock maker, furniture forger or founder, furniture filer and cutter, tip and pipe maker, side piece and thumb piece repairer and polisher, engraver, bluer, stick maker, flint maker, and mounter or screwer together. John Hirst then asserted that the Master Gunmakers in London after they receive the several parts of the gun from the respective makers, only screw those parts together."
Hirst, who eventually was very successful in the business, then produced a fine gun which he forged, filed, stocked, and completed himself from beginning to end, proving his qualifications and challenging his London colleagues to do the same.  Needless to say, he won his case.
Panels or moldings surrounding locks on British guns during the mid-18th century were narrow. They were almost vanishingly small if a large round-faced lock was used. The flats generally were a little larger if the lock was flat-faced but that was usually because the lock dimensions were a little smaller. The edges of the moldings outline the beaver tails and often most of the rest of the panels but they do not necessarily go all the way around the panels.  In my case, I cut the moldings to encompass most of the panels but they fade out on the bottom before reaching the front curves of the panels.  That is how my original brass mounted fowler was done.  On my Heylin fowler, the edge of the molding only outlines the beaver tails and extend just a little forward before fading out.  Occasionally, you will find a British fowler with carved moldings, perhaps even with some volutes or leaves incorporated in the design.  On some there are also the aprons or shields surrounding the front of the panel like we find on many German and American rifles.  However, in most cases, the moldings appear to be pretty simple and the gun stockers did not fuss a lot in carving them. Typically, the moldings are small and slightly concave, flat or slightly rounded over.  On my gun I cut them a little larger than they will likely be when finished. There will eventually be almost no flats showing around the lock except at the front and rear. Another detail to understand is that that British makers were not fussy about making the side plate panel be the symmetric mirror image of the lock side panel. They shaped the panels to fit the object encompassed so that my side plate panel is shaped to fit the side plate, not to match the lock side, and the side plate really fills up the space. Even solid side plates tended to fill the space.





After shaping the lock panel moldings, my next job was to carve the rococo shell around the standing breech tang.  If you viewed 100 British fowlers from this period, probably 75 would have some sort of shell carving around the tang.  This was usually the only location on the gun with carving although there certainly are exceptions, and the British did not seem to be a very creative lot because the carvings generally follow a few formulas. The Griffins usually carved a weird folded shell, which I don't find particularly appealing.  Some carved shells that looped or folded in from one side or the other, and then there was the classic symmetrical shell, that looked like a shell with flowing tendrils bordering the sides of the tang.  This is the design I use and I am copying the tang carving on my English rifle.  After drawing the design on the wood, I use my micro chisels to stab in the outline and then use my palm chisels to relieve the background.  I won't carve the details yet until after I finish the final shaping and scraping of the rest of the stock. That final detail is one of the last tasks I will do before applying stain and finish. 


I wet the wood again to see the figure.  The gun is starting to look like something now.


More to come.

dave                 
« Last Edit: April 19, 2018, 11:46:01 PM by smart dog »
"The main accomplishment of modern economics is to make astrology look good."

Offline Tim Crosby

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *
  • Posts: 17989
  • AKA TimBuckII
Re: Building an English Fowler
« Reply #155 on: April 20, 2018, 12:22:15 AM »
 Another well done installment Dave, you make it look easy and the Hirst story is fascinating, Great research.

  Tim

Offline D. Taylor Sapergia

  • Member 3
  • Hero Member
  • *
  • Posts: 12524
Re: Building an English Fowler
« Reply #156 on: April 20, 2018, 04:51:05 AM »
Just a sweetie!
D. Taylor Sapergia
www.sapergia.blogspot.com

Art is not an object.  It is the excitement inspired by the object.

Offline SingleMalt

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 613
  • One day I'll be considered a good builder.
Re: Building an English Fowler
« Reply #157 on: April 20, 2018, 05:02:19 AM »
That's a fantastic piece of wood!
Never drink whisky that isn't old enough to vote.

"The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men."- Plato

"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms."

Offline Pukka Bundook

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3342
Re: Building an English Fowler
« Reply #158 on: April 20, 2018, 08:02:05 AM »
Lovely work Dave.

The shell and supporting pieces is one of the most attractive elements of guns of this age.

Richard.

n stephenson

  • Guest
Re: Building an English Fowler
« Reply #159 on: April 20, 2018, 05:24:30 PM »
Dave, The history is a welcome addition to your already GREAT! tutorial.  I really like how you are constantly referencing your originals on hand ,as well as your other sources. This English fowler tutorial is bound to become " the standard" for fowler building. For years I have viewed these guns , and admired the subtle features that you have painstakingly covered in detail! I can`t wait to see this thing finished!!!!   Nate

Offline smart dog

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *
  • Posts: 6814
Re: Building an English Fowler
« Reply #160 on: April 23, 2018, 03:24:41 AM »
Hi,
Thanks everyone for the kind support.  I hope this thread is filling a need.  I finished cleaning up, chiseling, and engraving the wrist plate.  I am pretty happy with it.  The photos show the plate as it came out of the mold and then the finished product.  Eventually, I will engrave my initials on the shield, which will cover over the old engraving shown. Tomorrow I inlet it.

dave


 
« Last Edit: April 23, 2018, 03:26:22 AM by smart dog »
"The main accomplishment of modern economics is to make astrology look good."

Offline smart dog

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *
  • Posts: 6814
Re: Building an English Fowler
« Reply #161 on: April 24, 2018, 02:23:05 AM »
Hi Folks,
I back at it today.  I cleaned, cut, and polished up the wrist plate.  I am pretty darned pleased with it.  I honestly did not think it would turn out as well as it did and it really is very close to the original.  Chiseling and engraving it was pure fun.


After preparing the plate, I inlet it.  The plate is held in place by a screw that is anchored at the end of the trigger plate, securing the end of the plate, going through the wrist and screwing into the round boss on the bottom of the wrist plate.

Obviously, the drilling has to be precise.  I locate the plate where I want it on the wrist and drill a shallow hole for the boss.  Then I drill the trigger plate where I want the bolt to go using a bit the diameter of the bolt.  I install the trigger plate and put my locator point in my drill press vise jaws. I mount the same drill in the drill press and line up the drill with the point.  Then I place the stock with the locator point inserted in the boss hole and the drill going into the hole on the trigger plate, and then drill the hole.

Next install the plate in the boss hole, and trace its outline with a sharp pencil. Then I use my micro chisels to stab in the outline just on the inside edge of the pencil line.  Where there are tight corners where the pencil cannot reach, I use my outlining knife that I described when inletting the side plate. A word of warning.  Once you start inletting a wrist plate, if you botch the job, you are screwed.  That is particularly true when the plate is as large as the one I am using because you can't easily just make another plate that is larger. You will have a hard time fixing a bad inlet unless you fake a wrist repair type of thing.  This task requires sharp tools and good sphincter control.  Don't fret much about little gaps particularly along the sides of the inlet. A little secret, when you squeeze the plate into the inlet, the curvature will flatten and the plate will fill any gaps along the sides. There you go, a little tidbit probably known to Barbar, Griffin, Hadley, Heylin, Twigg, Bailes, Harman, Freeman, Pickfatt, etc., and now you.


The plate inlet but inletting black has not been cleaned off making it look a bit messy.

Once the plate is inlet to the proper depth, I insert the plate and then drill up through the trigger plate hole to mark the boss on the wrist plate.  I remove the plate and drill the marked hole in the boss for a 6-32 screw.  Using starting and bottoming taps, I thread the hole.  Another tip: I start with a 6-32 screw.  In the process of mounting and remounting the wrist plate during construction of the gun and threading in the screw, the threads in silver, which is softer than steel, may wear and strip.  By starting with a 6-32 screw, I can redrill and tap with an 8-32 thread if I need to. A little detail that I learned through experience.  Well the plate is in and I am ready to finish the wood.  After most of that finishing, I start the decorative inlays and silver wire.  My inspiration for the wire is this gun but to a lesser level so the figured wood is not obscured.


dave
"The main accomplishment of modern economics is to make astrology look good."

Offline Pukka Bundook

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3342
Re: Building an English Fowler
« Reply #162 on: April 24, 2018, 04:55:28 PM »
Very good work and advise Dave!

Now, I must say I didn't know anyone else used the locater like that!   (Thought it was my idea LOL!)  But mine I clamp in position and don't use a vise.

That silver-work is perfectly executed!

W'm Bailes had a V good man for this job.

Offline smart dog

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *
  • Posts: 6814
Re: Building an English Fowler
« Reply #163 on: April 24, 2018, 06:38:48 PM »
Thanks Richard,
I love doing the silver inlay, sculpting, engraving, and wire work.  However, on this gun, I have such a nice piece of wood, I want to make sure I don't obscure it.  But I need to do something that ties all of the shiny bits together.  Without that, I feel like the current silver bling looks like gaudy, overly upholstered Victorian chairs around a plain Shaker table.  If you can imagine the fowler I show above with just the main tendrils and a few of the flower inlays, you get an idea of what I have in mind.  The wire work on the baluster wrist will also be simpler and more restrained but tie in the shiny lock, wrist plate, and side plate with the butt stock and shiny butt plate. 

dave
"The main accomplishment of modern economics is to make astrology look good."

Offline James Rogers

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3106
  • James Rogers
    • Fowling Piece
Re: Building an English Fowler
« Reply #164 on: April 24, 2018, 07:13:07 PM »
Hi Dave,
That wrist escutcheon came out lovely! That was one of my favorite parts of the Heylin gun. Absolutely stunning.

Offline Justin Urbantas

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1331
Re: Building an English Fowler
« Reply #165 on: April 24, 2018, 08:01:33 PM »
Hey Dave. Do you have the wrist area wood  finished before you inlet the wrist piece? I imagine it would be hard to finish with the inlay in place. Also how deep does it go, flush with the surface or proud a bit?

Offline smart dog

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *
  • Posts: 6814
Re: Building an English Fowler
« Reply #166 on: April 25, 2018, 02:33:37 AM »
Hi Justin,
It goes in as deep as it must.  My photo of the mortice shows that.  Here is a side view.

dave

"The main accomplishment of modern economics is to make astrology look good."

Offline smart dog

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *
  • Posts: 6814
Re: Building an English Fowler
« Reply #167 on: April 26, 2018, 04:14:04 AM »
Hi,
I finished the shell carving today.  I am going to stain the stock with my own mix of colors to really bring out the figure in the wood.  I use water soluble aniline dyes.  I painted the stock with a dilute solution of the stain I intend to use as part of my whiskering and wood finishing process. As I do the final carving and scraping, I remove the stain, which shows me where I have scraped and where I missed.  It also shows me dents, scratches and tool marks that are not easy to see. My shell carving is inspired by the carving on a turn-off pistol by William Turvey and a fowler by William Bailes.  It is not a copy but definitely of similar style. Now to design the wire inlay and get that done so I can finish the fowler.
dave     

"The main accomplishment of modern economics is to make astrology look good."

Offline SingleMalt

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 613
  • One day I'll be considered a good builder.
Re: Building an English Fowler
« Reply #168 on: April 27, 2018, 02:08:16 AM »
Your idea of staining with dilute stain, whiskering, and sanding is great.  I'll have to try it.
Never drink whisky that isn't old enough to vote.

"The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men."- Plato

"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms."

Offline smart dog

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *
  • Posts: 6814
Re: Building an English Fowler
« Reply #169 on: April 27, 2018, 05:43:54 PM »
Hi,
Based on some questions I've been asked about shell carving as well as posts on ALR, I thought I would add this little bit describing how I go about it.  Rococo shells carved on British guns generally show 3 forms, (1) a shortened shell folded across its width and wrapped or folded under tendrils extending on either side along the breech tang.  The Griffin family used this style.  Then there are asymmetrically shaped shells that curl in over a tendril from one side or the other (2).  I show rough sketches of these designs below.

Then there are the symmetrically shaped shells shown below.




In the last few years, I've carved and engraved so many of these shells, I think I could do them in my sleep.  Below are all the tools I use to carve the designs.

The upper and lower knives are chip carving knives that I repurposed for scraping and cleaning up back grounds. The 3 edges on the upper knife are all razor sharp. Then I have several small palm gouges, a micro skew chisel, a micro "V" gouge, and a micro flat chisel, which I use to stab in the outline. I use a "pig's tail", a curved round, and a flat tapered riffler to shape and smooth details when needed.  Finally, I have 3 round scrapers made from hack saw blades that are very valuable for shaping and smoothing concave surfaces of shells.
I first draw the design on the stock and then stab in the outline.  I remove the back ground and clean up the back ground and edges.


Then I use the small shallow palm gouges to cut in the concave surfaces of the shells and refine the shapes with the scrapers. The little skew chisel is very useful for shaping and scraping the convex surfaces of the shell.


It does help to know what a shell is supposed to look like and these rococo shells are supposed to be recognizable as shells unlike some shell-like carvings on some American guns that look like Brown Bess aprons with some radiating lines or divots. The edges of the shells can have a thickened border or not. After the shell is carved, I take a small shallow (almost flat) gouge and subtly undercut the edges of the shell at the ends of the raised or ridge-like parts. That will really give the carving "pop" when stained and finished.

dave
« Last Edit: April 27, 2018, 05:55:06 PM by smart dog »
"The main accomplishment of modern economics is to make astrology look good."

Offline smart dog

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *
  • Posts: 6814
Re: Building an English Fowler
« Reply #170 on: April 28, 2018, 07:03:18 PM »
Hi,
Well, the stock is pretty much finished and ready for silver wire.  After the inlay work, I'll do a final clean up and then stain.
Then finish and while it is drying, I'll engrave the hardware.





dave
« Last Edit: April 28, 2018, 07:04:31 PM by smart dog »
"The main accomplishment of modern economics is to make astrology look good."

Offline SingleMalt

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 613
  • One day I'll be considered a good builder.
Re: Building an English Fowler
« Reply #171 on: April 28, 2018, 11:56:36 PM »
Very sharp, Dave!
Never drink whisky that isn't old enough to vote.

"The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men."- Plato

"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms."

Offline smart dog

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *
  • Posts: 6814
Re: Building an English Fowler
« Reply #172 on: May 05, 2018, 01:37:37 AM »
Hi,
It took me a few days to work out my designs for wire and inlay on the stock.  I want to add the silver inlay wire to connect decorated portions of the gun but I don't want to obscure the fabulous figure in the wood. Most British sporting guns with wire inlay are extensively covered with some exceptions. I am going to use the main lines inspired by original work but restrain the coverage to use the figure in the wood to advantage.  It is a balancing act. First, I work out the design on paper and then transfer the design to the wood using artist graphite transfer paper.  With a simple design, I just draw it on the wood but as a design becomes more complex, I resort to drawing it on paper and transferring it to the wood.

With the basic design transferred to the stock and darkened using a pencil, I inlet the silver inlays first.  Small inlays are hard to trace on the wood and I used to glue them in place with a dab of wood glue and then trace them when the glue dried.  It worked OK, but after moving to Vermont I visited Dave Price. He showed me a much easier way.  Following Dave's advice, I tape the inlay in place and then place a thin metal ruler on top. I tap the ruler with a small hammer and the inlay dents the wood, marking the outline.




Then I just use my micro chisels to cut the mortice for the inlay. Small inlays will just be glued but larger ones may be anchored by silver pins and glue. I like my inlays to be just proud of the wood when finished like many originals.



More coming,

dave
"The main accomplishment of modern economics is to make astrology look good."

Offline Justin Urbantas

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1331
Re: Building an English Fowler
« Reply #173 on: May 05, 2018, 02:14:18 AM »
nice Dave. What glue do you use for inlays?

Offline Craig Wilcox

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2440
Re: Building an English Fowler
« Reply #174 on: May 05, 2018, 02:38:58 AM »
Dave, you are off to an awesome start, and I see your minions have some hard work ahead.  Bless you for   taking the time for the photos and posting them.
I am just starting on my first flintlock, a Herman Rupp from 1793.  After building more modern hunting rifles, and AR's for coyote hunting, it is all an educational experience for me.  Love learning new things, and doing my best to become fairly good at them.
One question, probably off topic, but I am inletting a Chambers lock, and filed the mold marks away, and provided a slight draft.  Is it customary to smooth off the slightly rough texture on the face of the lock, and the other outer parts?  I would eventually like to do a small amount of engraving on them.

Many thanks - Craig
Craig Wilcox
We are all elated when Dame Fortune smiles at us, but remember that she is always closely followed by her daughter, Miss Fortune.