Author Topic: Forged brass butt plate  (Read 2897 times)

Offline B.Barker

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Forged brass butt plate
« on: February 22, 2019, 05:07:21 AM »
Thought some guys might want to see this. I forged up a butt plate for a rifle I'm building for myself. Thought about leaving the butt bare then decided to go ahead and put on a plate. I made a swage out of maple since brass is soft. Since my stock was pretty much shaped I made the part of the plate a bit big but not the heal return. Brass work hardens pretty quick when beating on it with a ball peen hammer so I annealed it several times while forming it. Don't try to pound the brass into the swage form all at once. Gradually work the heal and butt together. If you try to work one part than the other you will get frustrated and won't get a piece that looks right.









virtual dice rolling


« Last Edit: February 22, 2019, 06:52:18 AM by Ky-Flinter »

Offline Bigmon

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Re: Forged brass butt plate
« Reply #1 on: February 22, 2019, 05:20:27 AM »
how thick was that sheet brass when you started?
Did you make that pattern that you cut out or find it somewhere?
That is a nice job

Offline Elnathan

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Re: Forged brass butt plate
« Reply #2 on: February 22, 2019, 05:28:13 AM »
I made a couple, with varying degrees of success, using the eye of a sledgehammer as a swage block. Apart from the advice to anneal frequently and go slowly, with which I heartily concur, I think the biggest key to success is getting some good soft 260 cartridge brass. I went through a number of pieces of unknown alloy from some knife supply company that would crack almost immediately before I got some decent brass from another source.

By the time I got a result I liked, I had learned to only put about 30 degrees of bend at the heel before starting peening. It tightens up pretty fast if you are doing it freehand like I was.

Bigmon,
You posted while I was typing. I used 1/8" thick brass and hammered it out a bit to save material and weight on the finished product, leaving the heel at full thickness before peening in the cup. Patterns aren't hard to come up with, but remember to measure around curve of the tang, not across. Otherwise the tang will end up too narrow.
A man can never have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition -  Rudyard Kipling

Offline B.Barker

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Re: Forged brass butt plate
« Reply #3 on: February 22, 2019, 05:29:27 AM »
Made the pattern to fit the butt of my rifle. I'm not sure of the thickness but guessing its a 1/16".

Offline B.Barker

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Re: Forged brass butt plate
« Reply #4 on: February 22, 2019, 05:34:55 AM »
Elnathan 1/8" brass is too thick. I won't use anything over .082" and prefer thinner stuff. If you take you time you won't thin it out much and the tinner stuff works much better. You are right 260 brass works the best.

Offline Eric Kettenburg

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Re: Forged brass butt plate
« Reply #5 on: February 22, 2019, 05:47:33 AM »
I've done a lot of those but never in a wood pattern like that - that's pretty cool.  I've always used a swage block, as noted above just a bit of a bend at first then the hammer work will close up the bend very quickly.  With 260 type brass you can easily do it with 1/8 in an iron swage block but you have to anneal constantly.  I just got a smooth rifle back for a fix that I made about 20 years ago, made a long fowler type buttplate in this way (swaging) with 1/8 really soft stuff.  Since it's still here if I get a chance I'll pull it off and take some pictures.  Most times, doing this, folks want a fairly pronounced and well shaped heel, and that takes a combination of extremely soft brass as well as multiple annealings.  If you push it too far it will start to crack, primarily in the bulbous heel region.

I've seen at least 3 old rifles with very thin swaged brass plates that appear to have been swaged right onto the butt of the rifles themselves.  I tried a couple that way and it's a gigantic pain in the a**.  It also pretty much guarantees a crooked buttplate, which fits right in with the originals but will get you the stink eye nowadays.
Strange women lying in ponds, distributing swords, is no basis for a system of government!

Offline Richard

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Re: Forged brass butt plate
« Reply #6 on: February 22, 2019, 06:53:40 AM »
Brian, thanks for posting. I've started down the rabbit hole of building my own furniture and was wondering about how to do a butt plate.

Richard

Offline jim alford

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Re: Forged brass butt plate
« Reply #7 on: February 22, 2019, 07:12:22 AM »
Where does one purchase the proper brass . I have in the past attempted to forge brass butt plates and in spite of frequent annealing , I failed due to severe cracking . I believe I was using the wrong type of brass . Tanks

Offline rich pierce

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Re: Forged brass butt plate
« Reply #8 on: February 22, 2019, 07:22:03 AM »
I made one a week or two ago from some 1/16” brass that was originally a door kick plate.
« Last Edit: February 22, 2019, 07:08:30 PM by rich pierce »
Andover, Vermont

Offline Elnathan

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Re: Forged brass butt plate
« Reply #9 on: February 22, 2019, 02:27:00 PM »
Where does one purchase the proper brass . I have in the past attempted to forge brass butt plates and in spite of frequent annealing , I failed due to severe cracking . I believe I was using the wrong type of brass . Tanks

I bought mine from some knife company down in Florida that specified their alloy. These days I'd get it from Mcmaster-Carr.

Quote
Elnathan 1/8" brass is too thick. I won't use anything over .082" and prefer thinner stuff. If you take you time you won't thin it out much and the tinner stuff works much better.

Your mode of forming and mine were quite different, I think, and I was shooting for a bit more cup in the heel than yours. I think I ended up with about 1/16" thick everywhere except part of the tang.

If I ever make another one I might try your method and thinner brass.
A man can never have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition -  Rudyard Kipling

Offline B.Barker

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Re: Forged brass butt plate
« Reply #10 on: February 22, 2019, 05:30:24 PM »
I buy most of my metals from Alro steel. I think they have several places to order from around the country. I pick mine up from Ann Arbor Mi every time I go to see family.

Offline Tim Crosby

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Re: Forged brass butt plate
« Reply #11 on: February 22, 2019, 07:01:07 PM »
I nadenin a week or two ago from some 1/16” brass that was originally a door kick plate.

 Ok, I gotta ask what the heck is "nadenin" ???

Offline rich pierce

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Re: Forged brass butt plate
« Reply #12 on: February 22, 2019, 07:09:26 PM »
Phone too small. “Made one”
Andover, Vermont

Offline B.Barker

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Re: Forged brass butt plate
« Reply #13 on: February 23, 2019, 11:48:05 PM »
Well, I tapered the heal return a little to much. However I like it.




« Last Edit: February 24, 2019, 01:29:32 AM by Ky-Flinter »

Offline rich pierce

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Re: Forged brass butt plate
« Reply #14 on: February 24, 2019, 01:42:25 AM »
Looks good to me!
Andover, Vermont

Offline Telgan

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Re: Forged brass butt plate
« Reply #15 on: February 24, 2019, 01:56:53 AM »
Brian - What size hole ya got in the front end of that thing?

Offline Daryl

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Re: Forged brass butt plate
« Reply #16 on: February 24, 2019, 02:25:07 AM »
Well done!
Daryl

"a gun without hammers is like a spaniel without ears" King George V

Offline B.Barker

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Re: Forged brass butt plate
« Reply #17 on: February 24, 2019, 03:33:19 AM »
Same as yours Tom, .54. Hope to take it hog hunting some day.

frenchymanny

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Re: Forged brass butt plate
« Reply #18 on: February 27, 2019, 01:05:34 AM »
Hog hunting is so much fun!
What would be your load in a .54?

Thanks,
Manny

Offline B.Barker

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Re: Forged brass butt plate
« Reply #19 on: February 27, 2019, 03:03:48 AM »
Don't know yet. Probably around 90 grs. or so with a .530 ball.

Online sqrldog

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Re: Forged brass butt plate
« Reply #20 on: February 27, 2019, 03:11:05 AM »
Load sounds fine to me about what I use in my .54 for hogs and deer. Get it done and come for a hog hunt about the first part of May. Tim

Offline Cory Joe Stewart

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Re: Forged brass butt plate
« Reply #21 on: February 27, 2019, 07:02:10 PM »
That's a neat trick.  Thanks for sharing. 

Cory Joe Stewart