AmericanLongRifles Forums
General discussion => Gun Building => Topic started by: Ed Wenger on May 08, 2016, 05:30:03 PM
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This is an Austrian style hunting rifle I've been working on for a little while, primarily between other builds. I thought I'd take a little "me" time this passed week and finish it up.
The stock architecture was copied from an original. The butt piece, side plate, trigger guard, and wrist inlay were purchased from Ron Scott. The ram rod pipes are generic "Jaeger" cast pipes. The carving and engraving are a mix of original inspired designs, and some I came up with. The brass on the patch box is sheet brass, fit and inlet into the wood. On many European rifles these were cast, but I've also seen them done in sheet. The lock is a Davis Early Colonial. The lock plate was altered just a bit in it's shape. The barrel is from the Chambers English Rifle. It's a .58 cal, 31" long, and has a faux false breech, which screws into the breach like any breach plug, it's not free standing. The stock is English walnut. I didn't stain the wood, just applied several coats of Permalyn sealer, then rubbed back with a tooth brush and paraffin oil & rotten stone.
Be happy to answer any questions if anyone has them... Thanks,
Ed
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WOW Ed. That's simply outstanding. I like everything about it.
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Spectacular Ed ,no other words cover it!!!!!!! That's really a special rifle!!
Mitch
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Truly impressiv work. The ingraving is beautiful. What lock did you use?
Best regards
Rolf
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AWESOME Cant think of any other word to describe it.
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Fantastic Ed!!
I love the carving behind the cheek piece. What a wonderful and pleasing design. Your engraving is excellent and spot on with respect to style.
dave
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Beautiful Ed - Fit for a King.
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You definitely raised your own bar on this one Ed. It is a beautiful rifle. Very well executed.
David
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Your carving an engraving is first rate. I love looking at your guns. Keep em coming
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Wow Ed..... I'd comment, but I'm not worthy!!
Beautiful!
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Elegant. I don't even want to think about doing that cheekpiece inlay.
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Nice work Ed looks great.
Dennis
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Clean... from muzzle to toe. Love your work on this rifle Ed. All of it is top notch in both concept and execution. Beautiful firearm.
dave
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that's some real nice work there,that engraving is very well done!as is the carving
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That's one beautiful piece of work.What an artist you are sir.Thats so beautiful I would be afraid to use it.How long did it take you do build that excellent rifle?
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Wow, thanks everyone!
Rolf, the lock is a Davis Early Colonial, that had some shaping done to the plate. I wanted a "robust" lock, and this fit the bill.
Hours wise in building time, I have no idea how long it took to build, lol. I believe I started it in the late fall. Like I said, I'd work on it between builds, or a couple hours here and there, but didn't keep track of the actual hours. Wish I had...
Rich, the cheek inlay was a little bit of a study, as were the inlays on the box. I probably shouldn't say this, but it's a good "teaching moment"... I had a different design in mind for the cheek inlay, but in shaping the stock, got a little over zealous with a gouge and had a splinter thingy do a deeper than I wanted excavation of wood. It's not much, but it was too much to rasp out. Soooo, I added the curl to the rear of the design, which hides the boo-boo. It's not crazy deep, but it would have made the curve in the cheek piece too pronounced.
Don't think I mentioned it, but the muzzle cap is black horn.
Thanks again!
Ed
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I think I see a little of the influence of Isaac Berlin in the behind the cheekpiece carving. A masterful piece! Your retirement is over grasshopper!
Best wishes
Ron
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Now that is some sweet eye candy. Very nice +
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Stunning! :)
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Very nice. I think that is one of the best rifles I've seen on ALR.
-Joe Stein
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Tht is one fine rifle. Al
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I've just take my first steps toward learning wire inletting so I can now better appreciate how nicely you execute your wire work, Ed. Spectacular.
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Wonderful job, Ed. Such a pleasure to study. Thanks for sharing.
Bob
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Wow! :o
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This is one of the examples of thinking you have some building skills. Even feeling I am pretty good. Then you see this and realize that you don't know squat about serious quality rifle building. Dan
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I love your work. Fantastic engraving and carving. I especially like the detail at the breech and the engraving on the lock. I think I just need to study the pictures for awhile. Outstanding rifle.
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Thanks for all the kind words! Humbly appreciated....
Ron, the carving is definitely baroque in style, and certainly has some Berlinish characteristics. Don't know about the "grasshopper" part, lol....
Phip, thanks. I enjoy wire work, although it can get a little tedious. It's one of the things that draw me to European pieces. Some of the work on original pieces is simply stunning.
Dan, trust me, I know exactly how you feel, and have felt the same way more than once. There are a lot of really talented builders out there to draw inspiration, and learn from, more than a few of which post here on ALR. Thank you.
Thanks once more, and again, if anyone has any questions about anything, I'd be happy to try and explain.
Ed
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Beautiful !
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Ed, I love it! The carving and the engraving on the lock are beautiful.
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Very nice Ed! If you keep up with these old world pieces you will end up being labeled "Euro-trash" as some of us have been affectionately termed! ;D
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Ed: I love the rifle and you deserve all the praise being heaped upon you. There are so many of the gunmaker's arts being demo'd here, and so well executed.
Can't wait to see what's next!!
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Beautiful weapon Ed. It is so humbling to see your work. I really like the finish. I might want to use that on the fowling piece I have under construction. How many coats of sealer did you apply? What is paraffin oil and where can one buy it? Just to make sure I understand, you used a toothbrush to work in the paraffin oil?
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Great gun, really shows off your skills. I wish all you guys with high levels of skill would go Euro to properly illustrate your skills. Hard to do on KY rifles and make them feel legit.
I don't know if it would qualify as a "weapon" though.... ;)
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Holy Cow Ed! That is Beautiful.
Tim
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That is a lovely piece, Ed. What a joy to scroll through the pictures to see view after view, leaving me hungry for more.
Your description of a mistake in the cheekpiece makes me laugh. It's not anything an onlooker would pick up on, unless you pointed it out, and even then, so what? This is a perfect example of a mistake being made into a silk purse. Nice recovery! ;D
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Gumboman, paraffin oil is just a medium many wood workers use with pumice or rotten stone. Plain mineral oil does pretty much the same thing. You can purchase paraffin oil through Woodcraft. I typically use rotten stone or #4 pumice stone for the abrasive in rubbing out a stock.
The technique I use for this type of finish comes directly from Bill Shipman. The stock is stained and allowed to completely dry. Permalyn sealer is then used to soak the stock. I typically use one of those disposable foam applicators, although a brush works well also. Working one area at a time, the stock is soaked with sealer until it barely, or stops soaking in. Move on to the next area and repeat. I typically use darn near an entire can (the little ones) of sealer with a lot of stocks during this process. If there's areas where you get runs, simply wipe lightly with a paper towel. I then allow the stock to dry 12 - 24 hours.
The next step is to soak a small square of cloth with SEALER, not finish,("T" shirt material or a cleaning patch works well) and simply wipe the sealer onto the stock. Just one swipe per area should do it, no need to rub, just swipe. You can get the entire stock done in less than two minutes. Set aside to dry, typically 3 - 5 hours. When the stock is not sticky, and feels "dry", it's ready for the next coat, applied the same way.
Typically, I'll apply four to six coats of sealer.... I like to apply the last coat at the end of the day so I can start the rubbing out process first thing the next day. I don't allow the last coat to cure for days, since it gets harder as it cures, and find a twelve hour or so cure time works well for rubbing back.
Last step is to slather on some paraffin or mineral oil, sprinkle on some rotten or pumice stone, and scrub the stock with an old tooth brush. After you scrubbed for a minute or so, wipe off with a clean cloth to see how it looks. Repeat if needed for the desired look, then do the rest of the stock in the same manner. This works especially well for carving since you can get into all the nooks.
Hope that helps, sorry for the long dissertation, and thanks to Bill!
Ed
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I absolutely love the rifle!!! Clean lines, not overly embellished. The walnut helps marry things together in a way I can’t explain. I love walnut! Your engraving is way beyond any thing I can ever hope to attain. The wire inlay encourages me to include it in one of my next builds. Thank you for sharing.
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Really nice job on the lock Ed! But it needs a flint about 3/16" longer. I'd be afraid of the top jaw striking the frizzen before the flint, or worse, the jaw screw hitting the top of the frizzen. Of course, the flint must not strike the pan either, or the side of the barrel.
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wow, that is some amazing work.
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Ooooh. It's great to see that in its finished state Ed.
That's quite the looker to go along with its nice balance. Well played sir.
I especially like the way you worked the engraving pattern around the stippled panels on the lock and the tang. It reminds me of some favorite leather carving patterns. That is some sweet work.
The carving at the tang and sides of the wrist are exceptionally well conceived and executed.
I am guessing, considering your timeframe, that this was not created for a particular customer. I think you are going to have trouble hanging onto this one.....like a dad with a pretty daughter. I imagine folks are in the que already.
Best wishes, Marc
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That is fine as frog hair! Inspiring for us mortals, too.
In a related report, several red stags have been sighted swimming the Atlantic, all with the goal of surrendering to the bearer of this rifle. ;D
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Gorgeous, Ed, inspirational. Would you please describe what you look for in a walnut blank when planning such a build? I have been so immersed in curly maple and have not yet developed any eye/intuition for walnut planks.
Thanks,
Troy
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Taylor, the flint is at least that too small. I just picked up the closest one I had to take some photos with, thought that would look better than the wood "flint" I had in during the build....
Troy... I think everyone has their own tastes in regards to what they look for in a walnut stock, just like with a piece of maple, or cherry. One of the big things for any stock is the grain orientation through the wrist area. After that, like a maple stock, hardness is desirable for carving. After that, I'd say it's pretty much a matter of taste in regards to grain pattern, burl, or even curl. In general, European walnut tends to be a little harder, not as "stringy" as American black walnut, and typically is more closed grained. There are certainly exceptions to that. I made a rifle a couple years ago from a piece of American walnut that was rock hard and had very tight grain. Hope that helps....
Ed
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Awesome piece of composition and execution, just beautiful!!! Very warm and inviting, makes me want to pull it up and look down the sights.
Robby
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That is one beautiful piece of work, and exactly what I wanted when I purchased one of Pedersoli's Jaeger rifles, mine will never be as nice looking as yours, but I've had the rifling redone, and the simplicity of the stock is what I like. What I find most appealing on yours is the shape of the stock, that is what I was looking for. I have never cared for the shape of the Jaeger rifles with the undercut shape at the trigger guard, this is just a me thing, I would love to have your skill, but just not willing to put in the time to acquire it. Thanks for sharing.
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Ed, I think you have fallen into a rut here.... this gun is better than the last, the next is a little better, and oh, the next is even better yet. What's up with that???? :-\ :'( ???
Oh well, keep it up!
Curtis
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As everyone has already said, it is totally beautiful from stem to stern!
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The pics look super and I would like to see this one in person .. very nice !!
Al
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I feel compelled to add my totally redundant and obvious observation that that's a spectacular piece of work! I love it. Doing the European stuff certainly does allow one to go a step beyond the usual early American work and still stay believable.
Gregg
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Ed,
I just got to reviewing ALR after a week or so.
You rifle is simply stunning! You are rapidly positioning yourself as one of the go-to, top builders out there. This gun certainly deserves all the praise it has received and you deserve credit for making your vision a reality with such skill and attention to detail.
Best Regards,
John Cholin
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Thanks, all....really appreciate it.
Best,
Ed
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Simply fantastic workmanship Ed. You kept raising the bar each time you build a firearm. Thanks for showing.
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I am posting to this thread so that it is near Ed's new post on the Fowler.
Seeing these two guns together this week brought up a thought. Ed's recent work reminds me of watching Michael Jordan go from college to pro ball. It makes me say, "Wow. Was he just holding back? Or is his talent really coming into a new level?"
The pistol he posted in progress I did not see, but the photos of it show some very skilled wire work.
Well done Ed!
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Ed, your rifle goes beyond out of this world beautiful!
The degree of talent one sees on this site is just plain staggering.
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So, why are there no images on this thread?
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So, why are there no images on this thread?
Photobucket is down for some reason and any photos hosted there are not available.
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back-up
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Very nice rifle Ed, love your work.