AmericanLongRifles Forums
General discussion => Gun Building => Topic started by: X62503 on February 19, 2023, 04:40:20 AM
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Hello, I am a middle aged man working in the health care field in Vermont. About 26 years ago, I started building a flintlock smoothbore, starting with curly cherry lumber that I sourced from a man in the Mid-Atlantic region (I cannot remember his name) and let sit in the shop for a couple of years. John Getz made a 48" swamped barrel and breech plug for me in .50 smooth. I was a farrier at the time, and made my own chisels. I inlet the barrel and breechplug tang, installed the barrel lugs and drilled for pins, but I can't remember the size (3/32"?). I cut the ramrod channel and inlet the rear ramrod thimble, then inlet and pinned the muzzle cap. I bought a blue spiral bound book on rifle making, and learned a lot on the old Message Hide board. I have most of the cast brass furniture, the lock (Jim Chambers made it), and trigger. I hope to re-start the project soon, and will be lurking about this forum, learning as much as I can along the way. Here are a few pictures! Thank you.
(https://i.ibb.co/z2cGr6r/IMG-0796.jpg) (https://ibb.co/t2f84L4)
(https://i.ibb.co/3TVxc8n/IMG-0799.jpg) (https://ibb.co/kGzLXrt)
(https://i.ibb.co/34Dk8cW/IMG-0800.jpg) (https://ibb.co/TYVrntR)
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Welcome to the forum. Looks like you have a good start with quality parts.
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Welcome.
Looks like a good start.
Good luck with your project.
Jeff
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Nice job, so far. Welcome to the forum. ;D
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Looks like you are well on your way. Pictures as you work would be cool, if you have the time..
Matt
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Welcome to the club. You will definately find tons of tips and tricks here from the many talented builders frequenting this forum. Your project looks great! Best of luck with it.
Hank
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Welcome to Vermont! There are several of us in the hobby here. I’m in Southern Vermont and Dave Person is in central Vermont. Good to have another Vermont builder!
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I’m in Southern Vermont and Dave Person is in central Vermont. Good to have another Vermont builder!
Thank you all for the welcome. I am near Windsor, in the Upper Connecticut River Valley.
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I’m in Southern Vermont and Dave Person is in central Vermont. Good to have another Vermont builder!
Thank you all for the welcome. I am near Windsor, in the Upper Connecticut River Valley.
We are in Andover, near Chester, same county.
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Go for it. However, bases on experience. I recommend that you pull the breech and check it. Its mostly likely sloppily breeched. Again based on my experience and that of others. Expect a fouling trap at the breechplug face.
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Expect a fouling trap at the breechplug face.
I don’t understand the term “fouling trap.” This, on a new Getz barrel? Thank you!
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lookin good . keep at it.
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Expect a fouling trap at the breechplug face.
I don’t understand the term “fouling trap.” This, on a new Getz barrel? Thank you!
Fouling trap. Someplace in the breech of the barrel that has gaps and crevices that collect fouling, moisture, oil etc. Note the photos. Note how far down the threads the fouling has penetrated. This not as bad as it would have been had the rifle been shot with a virulently corrosive “substitute”. If well oiled real BP fouling will not usually rust much. He may have cleaned it with something like Hoppes BP solvent. Never asked. This rifle had not been shot much. The only reason I let it in the shop at all was that I got to hunt on the owners ranch.
Not gonna bother mentioning whose name is on it since it’s endemic in the “industry”. Factory mades and “custom” barrel makers as well. The one pictured was scrapped and the rifle rebarreled with a properly breeched GM due to excessively deep dovertails in the waist. The last one I had in the shop, a percussion “patent” breech took me about 1 1/2 hours of lathe work to fix.
In one photo one you can actually see down into the threads if you look in the grooves. This was after I cleaned it and reinstalled the breech for the photos. The rebate on the face of the breech actually enters into the bore. Everyone I know who bothers to check has found something similar. Usually the tapped hole is deeper than the breech plug threads. Making a gap.
When the fouling is not removed and is oiled and then the process repeated, shoot, clean, oil. The heat and pressure will turn the petroleum soaked fouling into something like black concrete.
(https://i.ibb.co/fdvCHGq/EEBBCB9-A-3306-450-E-A439-F4-F66384-CCAC.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Zzmhx1G)
(https://i.ibb.co/thqJpxQ/E382-A50-A-2-B34-49-B6-A365-DFB6045-AFEAC.jpg) (https://ibb.co/GJW5Qtn)
(https://i.ibb.co/n0x135j/61-EB1772-E859-4175-A3-F0-9-FCA0-D19-F61-D.jpg) (https://ibb.co/RSR6hVc)
(https://i.ibb.co/GRYT8CK/BAD91-B0-C-5-D8-F-4-E2-D-B913-93-AAFEF55601.jpg) (https://ibb.co/hVQf42P)
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdtWeUWl08E
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Well you certainly have some quality parts to work with. Best of luck on completing your build.
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Simplifying the issue with the statement that the " breach threads run deeper than the plug" is a great way to describe this . That was exactly what I found when I removed the plug from my Colerain barrel. I ran a patch down the barrel and it was catching at the bottom of the breach, which is why I pulled the plug. The gap was more than 1/16th inch. That was 25 years ago. My more recent Rice barrels have been fine, but I still check them when they arrive.
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Simplifying the issue with the statement that the " breach threads run deeper than the plug" is a great way to describe this . That was exactly what I found when I removed the plug from my Colerain barrel. I ran a patch down the barrel and it was catching at the bottom of the breach, which is why I pulled the plug. The gap was more than 1/16th inch. That was 25 years ago. My more recent Rice barrels have been fine, but I still check them when they arrive.
I pulled a plug on a Rice barrel that one of my “apprentices” received and it was OK too. Kinda refreshing.
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I’m in Southern Vermont and Dave Person is in central Vermont. Good to have another Vermont builder!
Thank you all for the welcome. I am near Windsor, in the Upper Connecticut River Valley.
When I was a kid here in WV, during the summer we would sign up to travel to Broadbrook Connecticut near East Windsor and pick tobacco for the Consolidated Cigar Corporation for 8 weeks 44 hours a week at $1.10 and hour. Spent two summers there. A really cool place for a young hillbilly...............Bob
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A little emery or wet/dry 320 and that crown will be perfect.
(https://i.ibb.co/g94WcYf/Thumb-and-Emery-or-Paper.jpg) (https://ibb.co/fFDNTJy)
(https://i.ibb.co/NtL5jYF/100-4477.jpg) (https://ibb.co/vVJpPzc)