AmericanLongRifles Forums
General discussion => Gun Building => Topic started by: t.caster on October 29, 2021, 06:07:57 PM
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I haven't posted anything for awhile, been having internet server problems for some time now but I've been very busy building though. This Christian Oerter rifle has finally progressed to the recognizable stage so I thought I would post some pics. While my customer has been busy at Mike Brooks class this week I have been doing wire inlay on his "1774" .50 cal rifle. Still have some wire work to do around the rr tang. Some of the silver doesn't show well with stock in the white, but it will stand out when stained.
(https://i.ibb.co/HFS58zn/20211026-151335.jpg) (https://ibb.co/M2vF0VM)
(https://i.ibb.co/W0TDcqv/20211028-152002.jpg) (https://ibb.co/0KwBf8y)
(https://i.ibb.co/XsKNpv2/20211029-102313.jpg) (https://ibb.co/PhP34fm)
(https://i.ibb.co/cDxfWQx/20211007-133632.jpg) (https://ibb.co/TmrjQtr)
private image upload (https://imgbb.com/)
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Hi Tom,
That is looking GREAT!
dave
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Looks super!
Looking forward to seeing it complete.
Jeff
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Tom; what kind of silver wire are you using? i can see it sterling silver but is it soft or hard?
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yip, that's 16 ga. sterling silver wire from Rio Grande, rolled to a flat .008-.010". It is stiff, the rolling process work hardens it, so it has to be annealed.
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Man Tom That is going to be a beauty, look forward to seeing more.
Tim
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The wire does look terrific!
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Tom; your work is beatiful and the best i've seen, do you roll this wire yourself? i ordered wire fro TOTW and it soft, having trouble with quilting, maybe to soft. help!
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That's some real nice work. Great job capturing Oerter's work. She going to be something special when complete.
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Yip, can you explain what you mean by "quilting"?
Dennis Priddy (25 mi. away) has a hand cranked roller we used to flatten the round wire.
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That's going to be a beauty. Is that short cheek piece indicative of Oerter?
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I agree - that silver is going to "POP" with a darkly stained stock.
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That's going to be a beauty. Is that short cheek piece indicative of Oerter?
Yes, they were quite short.
(https://i.ibb.co/MMvD6Qg/20210820-151220.jpg) (https://ibb.co/9sD9tSp)
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Very nice.
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That's going to be a beauty. Is that short cheek piece indicative of Oerter?
Yes, they were quite short.
(https://i.ibb.co/MMvD6Qg/20210820-151220.jpg) (https://ibb.co/9sD9tSp)
Needed room for all that wire work or as in the pic, for that beautiful wood carving
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Congrats Guy on getting such a fine rifle! Having an original or contemporary master's work in your own shop to be able to handle as a study piece is invaluable. There is so much nuance in architecture, lines, transitions and how they all blend together that much of it does not get conveyed in a picture from a book. Also, depth of carving, engraving, and their composition. Being able to pick it up and see how it should feel and if the Oerter you're building in your shop feels the same way. Keep them calipers and a ruler handy when you're doing it, it's surprising how tiny little inaccuracies can throw the whole look and feel of a rifle off.
I'm sure it'll be a great shooter as well.
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Tom; by the iterm quilting i mean it rolls over while seat the ribbon. being new to the wire inlaying i guess there's a learn curve. got a dvd of James Turbin and he uses german silver for the new guy, maybe its the way to go
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WOW, that is beautiful work! I can only imagine how great the finished rifle will look.
Percy
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Great job on the star. It will be stunning once the wood is finished.
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Very nice Tom, it’s going to be a beauty when you finish.
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Beautiful work as usual sir. God Bless, Marc
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Yip, I always called that #*&%$*, now I know better! I use this little tool to stand it back up. Tap it very lightly with small hammer. It also corrects my curves & volutes if the get flat spots.
Yes, GS wire would be cheaper.
(https://i.ibb.co/BLVfmYj/20211101-131413.jpg) (https://ibb.co/rkGQgXM)
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German Silver wire is stiffer and not nearly as bright as sterling silver wire. It is harder to make a bend on a curvature of the stock like in the wrist or forearm because it is so stiff. Sterling can be bent much easier in these areas.
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Your "wire" work is excellent and I really like the star....is that your and Oerter's design? The wire work is extensive....not familiar w/ Oerter's work but did he have that much "wire"?....Fred
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Flehto, That's an Oerter star that also shows up in Lehigh and Bucks county rifles. Yes he did a lot of wire work, some were much more complex than this one!
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I've built quite a few Bucks County LRs and the cheek star on my BCs isn't as "leafy" as yours and Oerter's. ....never saw such a "leafy" star on a BC.....although I really like that star and would have used it on a BC, but I no longer build so it won't happen....Fred
(https://i.ibb.co/0stNnWV/OLYMPUS-DIGITAL-CAMERA.jpg) (https://ibb.co/vXY5crv)
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Fred, your star is quite nice and leafy too. I have always admired your work and I'm sorry you have stopped building rifles!
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Beautiful work ! I'm not a real fan of german silver wire as it just doesn't look 'right' to my eye.
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Tom; by the iterm quilting i mean it rolls over while seat the ribbon. being new to the wire inlaying i guess there's a learn curve. got a dvd of James Turbin and he uses german silver for the new guy, maybe its the way to go
You're having one of two problems, maybe both. You need to either widen your groove or deepen it. Just light taping should seat the wire. I use dead soft sheet sterling and cut my strips off with scissors. I find anything harder than dead soft is difficult to work. If i'm using brass wire I still cut it off of a sheet wit scissors. At that point the strip is so hard you can't straighten it out. I anneal it when it's in the curl from cutting off the sheet then it works fairly well but not as good as dead soft silver. I use a multitude of home made tools...bits of broken off hacksaw blades and little screw drivers sharpened and shaped to my needs. Sometimes I do some fair wire work, sometimes not so much. ;)