AmericanLongRifles Forums

General discussion => Gun Building => Topic started by: smallpatch on September 02, 2013, 09:04:07 PM

Title: Just finished RCA #26
Post by: smallpatch on September 02, 2013, 09:04:07 PM
Well, It took a VERY long time.  Hard sugar maple blank, Reeves Goehring hardware, Gunsmith lock shaped as close to original as I could, Getz 48" 50 cal barrel, this is one SKINNY gun. Very different. Let me know what you think.
 (https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fv287%2FSmallpatch%2FRCA%252026%2FDSC00389_zpsea138699.jpg&hash=4287a7ffb7ed54cdb730d7a585ebe7b868a588ac)
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Title: Re: Just finished RCA #26
Post by: cunninmp on September 02, 2013, 09:08:31 PM
Really, really nice.
What stain did you use? I really like the color you got.
Mike C.
Title: Re: Just finished RCA #26
Post by: Paddlefoot on September 02, 2013, 11:07:45 PM
Now that's a nice outfit. Good work all around.
Title: Re: Just finished RCA #26
Post by: bob in the woods on September 02, 2013, 11:21:04 PM
Very nice.  I really like it. Actually, I like your side plate better than the original. I hope you are going to use this rifle !
Title: Re: Just finished RCA #26
Post by: smylee grouch on September 02, 2013, 11:46:18 PM
Nice job Dane, I like every aspect of the thing. Shur would look good hanging  up at Charlie M. gun makers hall  this coming March out at Ben Avery.
Title: Re: Just finished RCA #26
Post by: tallbear on September 03, 2013, 12:12:01 AM
Very nice Dane!!! Nice job on the lock and your final color and finish please let us know what it is,I really like it.

Mitch
Title: Re: Just finished RCA #26
Post by: smallpatch on September 03, 2013, 12:40:25 AM
Mitch,

The wood is stained with Ferric Nitrate, washed with yellow, then a thinned out brown stain.  Sealed with Chambers Oil, patina is Spar varnish tinted with black, then the whole thing has got 3 coats of spar varnish. ( ala Allen Martin)
 Got a little darker than I wanted.  This is an incredible piece of sugar maple, but the curl doesn't show up as well in the photos as in person.
Title: Re: Just finished RCA #26
Post by: Mark Elliott on September 03, 2013, 01:45:42 AM
Nice and neat all the way around and I like the mellow finish on both wood and metal.
Title: Re: Just finished RCA #26
Post by: Tom Currie on September 03, 2013, 02:05:13 AM
Dane, Something different worked really well for you. . Finish and finish is well done and I like the warm mellow yellow glow on the buttstock.
Title: Re: Just finished RCA #26
Post by: Mike Brooks on September 03, 2013, 03:13:51 PM
very nice! Architecture is great and so is the color.
Title: Re: Just finished RCA #26
Post by: rich pierce on September 03, 2013, 06:21:20 PM
Great looking gun.  A pro builder made a similar gun and showed it at last year's CLA and I loved it.  Great choice and execution.
Title: Re: Just finished RCA #26
Post by: James on September 03, 2013, 07:31:35 PM
#26 is one of my favorite guns. I really like the way yours turned out.
Title: Re: Just finished RCA #26
Post by: RichG on September 03, 2013, 08:17:41 PM
nice looking gun. how did you finish  the metal?
Title: Re: Just finished RCA #26
Post by: Cory Joe Stewart on September 03, 2013, 08:59:39 PM
Whooooooh!!!  I am digging that.  Very nice work.

Coryjoe
Title: Re: Just finished RCA #26
Post by: smallpatch on September 03, 2013, 09:09:40 PM
Coryjoe,

As you all know, Allen Martin is my mentor.  Or, as I like to call him, the Lehigh Jedi, and I am but his humble southwest Padawan.

The steel is browned VERY aggressively, way beyond what you'd normally take it.   Then the hard part.  You sand it all back down again, till all that's left is the pitting from the browning.  At that point the metal is blued, using a cold bluing.  Then steel wooled back with oil to set the whole thing.  Makes a nice, armoury bright that had aged over time.
Title: Re: Just finished RCA #26
Post by: wattlebuster on September 04, 2013, 12:46:13 AM
Very sharp. great work. great color ;D
Title: Re: Just finished RCA #26
Post by: duca on September 04, 2013, 03:06:10 AM
Wow! Thats a SWEET Rifle man. Enjoy... ;D
Title: Re: Just finished RCA #26
Post by: Acer Saccharum on September 04, 2013, 03:11:50 AM
Like! I think your check piece carving is excellent.
Title: Re: Just finished RCA #26
Post by: smallpatch on September 04, 2013, 03:46:09 AM
Thanks Tom. The original is pretty rudimentary, and I tried to keep it that way. It's more difficult than you might think........no place to hide!!!
Title: Re: Just finished RCA #26
Post by: Vomitus on September 04, 2013, 03:58:31 AM
  Very nice rifle.
Title: Re: Just finished RCA #26
Post by: Habu on September 04, 2013, 08:00:21 PM
Very nice, all the details fit together very well. 
Title: Re: Just finished RCA #26
Post by: Dr. Tim-Boone on September 04, 2013, 09:09:00 PM
Dane, It is an awesome gun!!

I know that spar varnish was around and that it was flexible and weather resistant. I have used it for doors and such. What brand/type did you use?
Title: Re: Just finished RCA #26
Post by: smallpatch on September 04, 2013, 09:42:12 PM
Tim,

I think I used Cabot.  It's a brand that Woodcraft handles.  Very old brand, very good product, but a little pricey.
Title: Re: Just finished RCA #26
Post by: D. Taylor Sapergia on September 04, 2013, 11:18:29 PM
Dane - nice work!  Looks like a peach to shoot.
Title: Re: Just finished RCA #26
Post by: McLeanWelsh on September 05, 2013, 08:56:04 AM
Very nice! Love the colour in the wood!
 
Oh funny seeing you here Taylor  :P

Cheers, McLean
Title: Re: Just finished RCA #26
Post by: mountainman on September 05, 2013, 06:06:42 PM
Awesome gun, I keep looking at the picture from time to time, was that spar varnish straight, or was it diluted with something else?
Title: Re: Just finished RCA #26
Post by: D. Taylor Sapergia on September 05, 2013, 06:10:29 PM
McLean...are you the Highlander I just met at Heffley?
Title: Re: Just finished RCA #26
Post by: rick landes on September 05, 2013, 09:18:07 PM
The rifle's wonderful, but I like the powder horn maybe even better!
Title: Re: Just finished RCA #26
Post by: smallpatch on September 05, 2013, 09:48:07 PM
rick,

That's my Sibley horn.  Has two of my favorite slogans on it.

"In His grip"   and "In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king"

Title: Re: Just finished RCA #26
Post by: rick landes on September 05, 2013, 11:04:09 PM
It is a well done piece. Good for you!
Title: Re: Just finished RCA #26
Post by: Tim Crosby on September 06, 2013, 12:58:06 AM
  Nice work Dane, very well done.

    Tim C.
Title: Re: Just finished RCA #26
Post by: smallpatch on September 06, 2013, 03:13:34 AM
Thanks so much for all the complements guys.  So far, the only negative I've gotten was in reference to the thickness of the buttplate. Did I mention just how much I hate filing brass??

I was shown this gun a couple of years ago by John Getz.  He said... look at RCA 26, it's a really neat gun.  Then, last year at the CLA, I got to see the bench copy that the Emigs did, and was smitten.  Between photos of his rifle, and the ones in RCA, I worked it out.  I extended the buttstock just a bit, I believe the original only had a 12LOP, I extended this one out  about 1 1/2".  (I'm short, but not that short)
It became a labor of love.  I've built mostly Early Lancaster's and Lehigh's, this one is REALLY unusual. Shoulder's beautifully.
 I plan on sighting it in this weekend. Not sure if I'm gonna sell it yet..... it will be a tough decision.

Title: Re: Just finished RCA #26
Post by: B Shipman on September 06, 2013, 07:08:21 AM
Very nice. Like it.