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Wallace's Computer is in the shop and we wanted to get started with this thread before this weekend's TN/KY Rifle show. (being held in Knoxville TN) Wallace gave me his text so I have a backstory to this thread as we follow along as Wallace builds this rifle. In the days ahead I will be posting photos here as the building of the new rifle progresses.
Statement from Wallace
The following photos are of a rifle Wallace Gusler is making. Its style is based on the two long rifles attributed to Hans Jacob Honaker (from Switzerland, the shop that was located near the Shenandoah River, between Strasburg and Front Royal VA 1764 - 1791)
The brass barreled rifle is dated 1771 by Honaker (RCA VOL II #103). The second rifle dates to 1775 - 1780. It has a side plate that was replaced in 1789 "A Moode Sept 15 1789".
In Augusta County VA 3 Andrew Moodys are cited 1768 - 1790s. One of these men moved to TN in 1789 and had this rifle updated by adding a hook beech and draw loops (see Shumway VOL II pages 610 and 616.
Photos begin by making a butt piece pattern for casting, it is made from a juniper limb I grew in the backyard.
Both rifles will be at the TN KY Rifle show this weekend (Friday 4/19 - Sat 4/20/24) The Rifle being made will also be there (all will be on Wallace's table).
(https://i.ibb.co/wrk7TZZ/post-1-1.jpg) (https://ibb.co/NnvrXgg)
(https://i.ibb.co/Lv8VhS5/post-1-2.jpg) (https://ibb.co/6NmjJYB)
(https://i.ibb.co/fDmtHcS/post-1-6.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Sfq0BLx)
(https://i.ibb.co/ctT6Rs3/post-1-7.jpg) (https://ibb.co/vmz3fMq)
(https://i.ibb.co/X56NLxm/post-1-5.jpg) (https://ibb.co/09182yP)
(https://i.ibb.co/qm0dZgZ/post-1-4.jpg) (https://ibb.co/HGNVJPJ)
(https://i.ibb.co/GpqPP7r/post-1-3.jpg) (https://ibb.co/nmFkkrK)
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pattern for casting, it is made from a juniper limb I grew in the backyard.
Well, how cool is that! :D
John
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Thanks Dennis. I am sure the rifle will be amazing.
I didn't know that some castings were made from wooden patterns. Was this an old traditional technique?
p.s., that's a very pretty piece of wood he's carved!
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that is awesome.
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surly one to follow :)
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Thanks Dennis. I am sure the rifle will be amazing.
I didn't know that some castings were made from wooden patterns. Was this an old traditional technique?
p.s., that's a very pretty piece of wood he's carved!
Sand castings has been used for thousands of years and wood patterns were most likely being used from the very start. Wooden patterns carved well and were stable and tough enough to be used repeatedly without drastically changing the measurement of the product being cast. The pattern had to be made oversize in order to allow for the shrinkage of the metal being used in the casting.
Dennis
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Thats so cool .......
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Wood Pattern making was a skilled trade/profession that had to be learned in America. Shrinkage rates are different for brass, iron etc.
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This is wonderful news. It will be great to follow along and watch Wallace's work. He has been and continues to be an inspiration to our community. Looking forward to his sharing of his wealth of knowledge.
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The detail of that wood pattern is fantastic. I would think there is some kind of coating on it to prevent sand from adhering to it during the molding process and also absorbing moister from the air.
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This will be an interesting thread to follow and I wonder if George Suiter is still working there.He got his start with Bill Large and me years ago.We went to the Log Cabin Shop in Lodi Ohio and got snowed in by a blizzard and had to wait until the next day before we could get on
I-71 again and spent the night in a small camp trailer that was heated.Any info on George would be appreciated.
Bob Roller
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Wallace,
If your watching, it's so nice to see your work. Thanks. Hopefully I'll catch up with you sometime soon. I might make a trip to Bowling Green come seminar time. I have your fowler and a few other things I'd like to return to you and others. It would be nice to see everyone as well.
All the best,
Jim
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I look so forward to following this project. I don’t think I’ve ever talked to Wallace for very long that I didn’t learn something.
Bob
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If that wood is the pattern, the name is going to be backwards on the finished casting, am I right?
Regards,
DGB
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I think the sand will be backwards, but the brass will be right.
I'm looking forward to seeing this progress.
Ron
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Thanks Ron, I was wrong.
DGB
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Yes, thank you Dennis for doing this
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Following!
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Also following
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And I am also following.
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If I was ordering this rifle from Wallace, I think it'd be neat to have the "W. Gusler" on the outside of the plate. :-) This will be a super cool thread. I talked with young Eric at Williamsburg a few years back and he showed me a wooden pattern he'd carved for casting. I believe it was a triggerguard. This buttplate that Wallace is doing tells me he passed that legacy along to later generations. God Bless, Marc
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I had a chance to see the rifle Wallace is working on at the TN Show and it is going to be a wonderful rifle when he finishes it. I will be looking forward to his post on the progress, for sure.
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Following with interest as I am most interested in the early rifles.
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This is the second bunch of photos that show the progress of the gun.
Dennis
(https://i.ibb.co/Xj6sWK0/post2-1.jpg) (https://ibb.co/WG7yHM8)
(https://i.ibb.co/mby6rgn/post2-2.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Xj5SfMn)
(https://i.ibb.co/9WRXFcs/post2-3.jpg) (https://ibb.co/dDn9djG)
(https://i.ibb.co/qygk5c0/post2-4.jpg) (https://ibb.co/6ntgBTv)
(https://i.ibb.co/HKgWsC9/post2-5.jpg) (https://ibb.co/qD1tfC2)
(https://i.ibb.co/s36Zpv2/post2-6.jpg) (https://ibb.co/0JFxpjc)
(https://i.ibb.co/mXKjL3z/post2-7.jpg) (https://ibb.co/0FL7gxJ)
(https://i.ibb.co/2YYf2vd/post2-8.jpg) (https://ibb.co/844S3r9)
(https://i.ibb.co/sKWNSSf/post2-9.jpg) (https://ibb.co/481Xyyq)
(https://i.ibb.co/CsCWCgL/post2-10.jpg) (https://ibb.co/dJC7CFZ)
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Wow! To cool
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Wow, look at that inletting! He’s not a young man anymore but still has it.
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Several of you asked about the juniper that Wallace made the buttplate pattern out of so he sent me a couple of photos.
(https://i.ibb.co/Bsbd9GF/IMG-8681.jpg) (https://ibb.co/XJ1NqDM)
(https://i.ibb.co/2MDN8JX/IMG-8680.jpg) (https://ibb.co/vd7Ys92)
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Below are 2 photos of a simple Trigger Guard holding devise
(https://i.ibb.co/30H3Bjv/IMG-8677.jpg) (https://ibb.co/YtGCp1X)
(https://i.ibb.co/1bVfnyM/IMG-8678.jpg) (https://ibb.co/7bcJzMQ)
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Some more photos of the butt plate area
(https://i.ibb.co/pKcc1yB/butt-1.jpg) (https://ibb.co/M1rrg6x)
(https://i.ibb.co/dm5sLHT/butt-2.jpg) (https://ibb.co/wczZw2k)
(https://i.ibb.co/RSmRxyY/butt-plate-1.jpg) (https://ibb.co/6Zxj3Br)
(https://i.ibb.co/jHXxfGS/butt-plate-2.jpg) (https://ibb.co/SJC1y0z)
(https://i.ibb.co/JdwZkXN/butt-stamps-1.jpg) (https://ibb.co/b3Mtdpx)
(https://i.ibb.co/5sc7qTN/butt-stamps-2.jpg) (https://ibb.co/bNdfp1S)
(https://i.ibb.co/4MFkyrQ/butt-stamps-3.jpg) (https://ibb.co/tcHRfrd)
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Photos of Lock by Chris Laubach, modified by Wallace.
(https://i.ibb.co/x8V8YJ8/chris-lock1.jpg) (https://ibb.co/k6Y6JQ6)
(https://i.ibb.co/6RnRsZr/chris-lock2.jpg) (https://ibb.co/VWjWBNJ)
(https://i.ibb.co/WnPqCRb/chris-lock3.jpg) (https://ibb.co/jhWBtjc)
(https://i.ibb.co/bWmgh2K/chris-lock4.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Fx3bv0D)
(https://i.ibb.co/WxQ3c6V/BP-orig-pattern-casting.jpg) (https://ibb.co/LkMPC8N)
(https://i.ibb.co/hgG0zvh/brass-inside.jpg) (https://ibb.co/3TxKZHG)
(https://i.ibb.co/bRmpCTv/cheek.jpg) (https://ibb.co/JFtXGVp)
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A few more photos as the build progresses
(https://i.ibb.co/rvc1TFs/IMG-8709.jpg) (https://ibb.co/6N1fVrB)
(https://i.ibb.co/Wk4R3N0/IMG-8710.jpg) (https://ibb.co/X7rG4fD)
(https://i.ibb.co/312sZzX/IMG-8711.jpg) (https://ibb.co/wyVLmsH)
(https://i.ibb.co/KX69V7w/1.jpg) (https://ibb.co/7XvGrV4)
(https://i.ibb.co/HxSsLBv/2.jpg) (https://ibb.co/hZ6jxL5)
(https://i.ibb.co/yqZ78PG/3.jpg) (https://ibb.co/WfMjc5q)
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Hi,
Really nice to see how Wallace works and also to see he is using one of Chris Laubach's locks. Pretty good endorsement for Chris.
dave
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(https://i.ibb.co/CQVK4ng/IMG-8798.jpg) (https://ibb.co/GRCQGVy)
(https://i.ibb.co/1rXz7Py/IMG-8797.jpg) (https://ibb.co/pfKhbMV)
(https://i.ibb.co/SPvMjRZ/IMG-8796.jpg) (https://ibb.co/7XyZf20)
(https://i.ibb.co/WxkKS0R/IMG-8795.jpg) (https://ibb.co/smK3LCX)
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Really enjoying this thread.
What is the corncob used for?
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Incredible thread, thanks Dennis!
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Wallace and I seem to have one thing in common, tools laying around on the bench where I can quickly find them ;D
Dennis
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Wallace,
Looks like your getting after this and making some progress. Beautiful work and so nice to see.
Jim
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Corn cobs make good file handles. On the workbench there is also a piece of smooth-barked tree branch, another convenient tool handle.
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Surely a distinctly one-of-a-kind & impressive method of signing a lock.
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Yes, I too liked the signature on the lock.
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Great to see the progress on what I am sure is going to be a great rifle. Dennis, I agree with you, I like my tools close at hand. My only problem seems to be the tool that I need is always at the bottom of the pile! :-\
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(https://i.ibb.co/F8n7C90/IMG-8999.jpg) (https://ibb.co/6DNsL21)
(https://i.ibb.co/G7CLxZn/IMG-9001.jpg) (https://ibb.co/NxWPV0t)
(https://i.ibb.co/QD3DKJV/IMG-9002.jpg) (https://ibb.co/FHLHDh1)
(https://i.ibb.co/TTwWZtQ/IMG-9003.jpg) (https://ibb.co/ZJf23xQ)
Pictures of brass barrel longrifle I am making. It is a combination of the original two rifles made by Hans Jacob Honaker (1718-1795) at his land near the small community of Waterlick on Fort Valley Narrow Passage Creek of the Shenandoah River, roughly between Front Royal and Strasburg, Virginia. The brass barrel rifle is dated 1771, and the second rifle (ca. 1775) was upgraded in 1789 (dated Sept. 15th 1789) on the replaced side plate. At that time the hook breech and draw loops were added, replacing the conventional breech plug and loops and pins.
My carving process: cut down the background in narrow strips to regulate the depth; leave small islands to witness the depth; leave a small strip adjacent to the stamped-in carving and moldings—this reduces the resistance when cutting up to the relief. The setting in by stamping needs to be refreshed as the depth increases. The setting-in creates a space by compressing the wood—this space is where the leading edge of the flat chisel corner passes without scarring the wall of the relief. Yes, I hit the wall of the relief far too often; minimizing and controlling this cut is the objective. Later I will address this issue after all background is complete.
PS: The corn cob is a file handle. I use these as a reminder of my Appalachian mountain background from the Gusler family of timbermen, who ran saw mills and made moonshine (the latter before my generation.)
Wallace Gusler
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Thanks Wallace, this project is coming along nicely. Will you have it at the KRA show?
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Yes, I plan to take this gun to the KRA, along with the two originals on my table with Jay Hopkins, with six or eight early Virginia rifles. I may need to have it under the table under the table because of room, so if you visit my table and are interested, please ask about it. Thanks.
I'm giving a lecture on 17 schools of rifle making in the Valley of Virginia. It starts at 2 on Friday afternoon for approximately one and a half hours. The second part will be on Saturday morning at 11.
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Wallace, I'm looking forward to seeing your display, lectures and you.
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Wallace,
I’ll be at the KRA show. Look forward to your presentation. I’ll bring your Fowler and stock/barrel. Look forward to seeing you.
Jim
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Thanks, Jim. I look forward to seeing you, too.
Wallace
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A few more photos
(https://i.ibb.co/0jny5mf/IMG-9083.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Z6fz9Gh)
(https://i.ibb.co/Tr4TRDs/IMG-9084.jpg) (https://ibb.co/hCBMHxS)
(https://i.ibb.co/BCKNTWL/IMG-9085.jpg) (https://ibb.co/LZh59jS)
(https://i.ibb.co/98mNyGF/thumbnail.jpg) (https://imgbb.com/)
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What delightful design and wonderful skills at work. Thanks for these updates, Dennis!
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This a great post!!! I especially enjoy the history aspect as well, along with the build.
The corn cob used for a file handle is pretty cool. Very educational!
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Added more photos below:
(https://i.ibb.co/8cpxQG2/liza1.jpg) (https://imgbb.com/)
(https://i.ibb.co/Tt8m1hS/Liza22.jpg) (https://imgbb.com/)
(https://i.ibb.co/93wKpRV/Liza21.jpg) (https://imgbb.com/)
(https://i.ibb.co/T01P9sC/Liza32.jpg) (https://imgbb.com/)
(https://i.ibb.co/87ktBW2/Liza33.jpg) (https://ibb.co/5RZw9Nv)
(https://i.ibb.co/8DzFrW0/Liza31.jpg) (https://imgbb.com/)
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This is very valuable for a student of the craft like myself. Thank you for taking the time to photograph and post this Dennis and please extend my thanks and appreciation to Mr. Gusler.
Jack
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The Brass Barreled rifle is so unique and unusual in it's stocking. I can only imagine how difficult it's been to really capture the original form. Beautiful work and great to see.
Jim
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IF these guns were being made to fight a war they could have made 3 or 4 plain rifles instead of taking time to carve the ones they did use.
Several years ago I met Jud Brennan at the CLA show in Lexington and he had an elaborately carved rifle to a customer who was there.
I commented that he could have made 6 plain,useful rifles in the time he took for that one. His reply was "More than that"
Bob Roller
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Hey Bob, carvings on a gun adds character, which makes them more interesting this way than just plain guns! 😊 But yes plain guns do not take near the time, I'm in the middle of carving a gun now and hopefully another one soon.
It was the original Gunmakers signature or advertising back in the day.
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I have seen Rev. War Militia muskets that have a patch box and some tang carving. Now, I will agree that it was not elaborate carving but it was carved. The Brown Bess has tang carving, elaborate no, but it's there. The sense of style did not go away.
Bob's is correct in they did not take the time to make an elaborate gun during the war. Most militia muskets were rapidly made and produced in a hurry. I have seen some made by Moll, they still had graceful lines, patch box and tang craving. Most had Belgium barrels, quite attractive guns, in a rugged sort of way.
I applaud Wallace for this post and appreciate his efforts to share his talent. He has had and is still having a impact on the Long Rifle Culture.
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IF these guns were being made to fight a war they could have made 3 or 4 plain rifles instead of taking time to carve the ones they did use.
Several years ago I met Jud Brennan at the CLA show in Lexington and he had an elaborately carved rifle to a customer who was there.
I commented that he could have made 6 plain,useful rifles in the time he took for that one. His reply was "More than that"
Bob Roller
However, at the time of the American Revolution rifles were expected to be carved. For example, the British started importing rifles for their native allies during the Revolution. They made three grades, one with a metal box , one with a wood box cover and one that its not sure what it was since they sold very few of them. But the others were carved. I suspect that the natives would not buy them otherwise. Even the Brown Bess of the time had carving around the barrel tang. Now in England by 1770s/80s carving was disappearing from gun, furniture and other wooden items. But it hung on here for decades. We have to not look at the past with modern ideas.
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I have seen Rev. War Militia muskets that have a patch box and some tang carving. Now, I will agree that it was not elaborate carving but it was carved. The Brown Bess has tang carving, elaborate no, but it's there. The sense of style did not go away.
Bob's is correct in they did not take the time to make an elaborate gun during the war. Most militia muskets were rapidly made and produced in a hurry. I have seen some made by Moll, they still had graceful lines, patch box and tang craving. Most had Belgium barrels, quite attractive guns, in a rugged sort of way.
I applaud Wallace for this post and appreciate his efforts to share his talent. He has had and is still having a impact on the Long Rifle Culture.
They would make what the customer wanted. And not all makers were making muskets. For one thing the people on the frontier had less use for one than did the Continental Army wanting to fight the war on the British terms and usually getting whipped. There were too many rifle armed British allied natives for the Musket to be all that effective in that style of warfare.
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You have to keep in mind a "plain" 18th century rifle has moldings, carving and engraving. It might not be much but that would have barely, if at all, altered the price. That was only labor not materials, and materials were far more expensive than labor. Now the brass barreled rifle would have been the polar opposite.
Darrin
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Wow! Beautiful. I love the patchbox as well. Will it be engraved?
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I am adding new photos I received from Wallace.
Dennis
To: Dennis Glazener
From: Wallace Gusler
Re: Making tailpiece (rear thimble) for Hans Jacob Honaker rifle, ca 1773. The “Brass barrel rifle gun” is dated 1771. The second rifle from his shop was made about 1775. My new rifle is designed from these two originals.
The tailpiece is in its hammered state—te bottom with pin tenon is filed and the ends of the barrel section and perimeter of the tang are filed—all flats and the flanking ends of the pin tenon of the barrel are heavily hammered into shape.
After cutting he brass out flat, it was annealed. From that point no more annealing. The hammering work hardens, making the tailpiece very stiff. The hammering of the flats pushes metal out (the mandrel acts as a dull wedge) to the corners of each flat. A cold chisel was used to “set” in the ring moldings at each end of the barrel section. After filing these with a triangular needle file, I will set dividers for the next parallel ring molding. I set these in with light cuts with the cold chisel, and then file to finish. Since around 1965, I have hammered these thimbles. This is the most extensive and the only example that I overlapped each end. This is a neater product, and it makes holding it in the vice much easier, as the various flats, etc., are being filed (with mandrel in place.)
I have included a photo of the major tools and wood swages used to make this example.
W.B.G.
(https://americanlongrifles.org/images/ALR%20Photos/IMG_9634.jpg)
(https://americanlongrifles.org/images/ALR%20Photos/IMG_9635.jpg)
(https://americanlongrifles.org/images/ALR%20Photos/IMG_9636.jpg)
(https://americanlongrifles.org/images/ALR%20Photos/IMG_9640.jpg)
(https://americanlongrifles.org/images/ALR%20Photos/IMG_9641.jpg)
(https://americanlongrifles.org/images/ALR%20Photos/IMG_9642.jpg)
(https://americanlongrifles.org/images/ALR%20Photos/IMG_9643.jpg)
(https://americanlongrifles.org/images/ALR%20Photos/IMG_9644.jpg)
(https://americanlongrifles.org/images/ALR%20Photos/IMG_9645.jpg)
(https://americanlongrifles.org/images/ALR%20Photos/IMG_9653.jpg)
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The last picture is comparing the new brass barrel rifle tailpiece with my first one, 70 years ago. W. Gusler
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Re: engraving on patch box of brass barrel rifle: the short answer is yes, it will have engraving, however, it is quite simple--single line border on the door sides and an astragal arch on the finial that arcs across paralleling the scalloped edge. Each of the small scallops will have two or three lines of shaving, emulating fluting that is found in the carving on the second Honaker rifle just in front of the box. Later we'll try to post a photo of that original's carving in front of the patch box finial.
The brass barrel rifle is dated 1771 and is attributed to Hans Jacob Honaker, a Swiss-born and trained carpenter and gun stocker. He settled on the banks of the Shenandoah River in 1764. In 1790, in the tax records, he had 25 free white males above the age of 16 in his household. So far, at least 14 gunsmiths succeed him over three generations. The second rifle from his shop dates to about 1775-80. The rifle I am making in these shots uses features from both, simulating a bench rifle of about 1773 or '74.
One the years, I have located three trigger guards in iron that match his cast guards on these two rifles. They were on old pieces that had been restocked and assembled in the middle of the 19th century. One was found in TN, two in Hampshire Co., (now WV), both directions where his work would have logically travelled.
More later. . .
W.B.G.
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Regarding the flintlock, sometime back someone commented that "it was good for Chris Laubach," and I'm all for that. Jon Laubach, Chris's father apprenticed to me in 1970. Chris was apprenticed to me (informal), working in my shop at the turn of the century. At this time, if I didn't make the lock personally, I don't sign it, and never have. If I do finish work and engrave it, I sign it as this lock is signed, in the 18th-c style, "W. Gusler sculpt." I signed Chris's name when the piece is at half cock, exposing it around the arc of the breast of the cock. Many years ago, I owned an early American long rifle dated "1771" in three places. It had been made with a French lock, circa 1690, that was signed in this fashion. I believe it's wrong to sign a lock in the maker's location if you did not make it by traditional methods.
W. B. G.
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(https://i.ibb.co/ZmDYcT0/rr3.jpg) (https://ibb.co/pyFR4XS)
(https://i.ibb.co/RTV08VK/rr4.jpg) (https://ibb.co/XxvsHvP)
(https://i.ibb.co/M554hZF/rr5.jpg) (https://ibb.co/S778x5F)
Wallace made this tool to shape the ramrod from an old barrel. Hacker Martin, an old time Virginia gunsmith that Wallace got to know in the 1960s, taught him this technique.
(https://i.ibb.co/DV7TmpG/rr1.jpg) (https://ibb.co/j6LsqRV)
(https://i.ibb.co/S5VgRtv/rr2.jpg) (https://ibb.co/fqrW4k0)
Wallace cut the wood for this ram rod blank out of his front yard. The above photos show how much wood had to be filed down before the little “lathe” could be used, pretty neat little tool!.
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Is there any way to get the thimble pictures I got all the other pictures. But the thimble pictures are all blank.
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Is there any way to get the thimble pictures I got all the other pictures. But the thimble pictures are all blank.
Ditto.......
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Ditto thimble pics.
A big thank you to Wallace and Dennis for the thread.
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Same here, no thimble pictures but a wonderful thread!
I really like this rifle, the stock architecture is very refreshing.
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What's neat about the teeth is that when the rod is driven through they cut on a skew. I've just used a square corner plate and driven rods through, but this is a neat idea.
Jim
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Wallace,
A brief note about the rod-making tool would be helpful. Since the photo doesn't show it mounted in a vise, the photo gives the impression that you may be using it by rotating it with your hand, and that the "mill" or "saw" face on the end of the tool cuts as it is turned onto the rod by hand. Is that correct?
Or is it used by fixing it in a vise and the rod is then pushed into it as the rod is turned, perhaps with the rod mounted in a brace? I'm thinking of the tools for making screw blanks that Gary Brumfield showed on p.41 of his 1985 JHAT article, "The Production of Flintlocks Used on Colonial American Rifles...". (For those who haven't seen that journal article, those tools had a similar cutting face and hole, but the overall tool design was only an inch or two deep, with a wide, flat tang so as to be mounted in a vise.)
It is a fascinating tool.
Thanks.
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I could be wrong, but based on the shape of the shavings still attached to the rod, I question whether it is turned at all. I'd guess the rod is just pushed through.
I'm sure Wallace will let us know.
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Is there any way to get the thimble pictures I got all the other pictures. But the thimble pictures are all blank.
Ditto.......
Same here!
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I could be wrong, but based on the shape of the shavings still attached to the rod, I question whether it is turned at all. I'd guess the rod is just pushed through.
I'm sure Wallace will let us know.
My guess is that it isn't cutting a clean shaving because there isn't any positive rake on the cutting teeth. The cutting face seems about square to the ramrod from the photos.
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The piece of gun barrel is about six inches long. The cutting end is square, perpendicular to the bore. I turn it by hand with a split ramrod in the vise. The cutting teeth are deliberately asymmetrical so that it does not chatter, and I use a file to cut off the shavings in short intervals and then introduce the cutter for the next section. As I pointed out earlier, the tool was shown to me by Hacker Martin about 1960 or '61. I have used a brace and turned the rod, but when the rod stock was considerable bowed, as this one was, that's hard to keep centered. Making split-out ramrods is a lot of work any way you go about it!
The tool is, as some pointed out, similar to the 18th-century screw mills that have a tang to hold in the vise. In 1983, Colonial Williamsburg received a gift of many gunsmiths' tools from Martin Redding. I went out to California and spent a day with him, picking examples for our museum collection, among hundreds of examples. There were also unfinished die-shaped lock parts, screws, etc., for gun making. I was curator of furniture and arms then. Many early rifles illustrate the use of screw mills, and they are often mistaken for lathe-turned examples.
If Dennis does not have the thimble sequence, we will send it again. I intend to submit a sequence shortly on making the rivet for the nose cap on the brass barrel rifle, and I hope that Jim Wright will be able to send pictures of the finished rifle. I delivered it on Friday, the thirteenth of December, at the full moon.
Thanks for your interest. It's enjoyable to follow through on a rifle I'm making. Thanks to Liza, my wife, for sending photos to Dennis, and to Dennis for for kindly posting them for us.
The original brass barrel rifle is dated 1771 by the maker. The patch box ("box") latch was not for ready access. It's basically a lock-down latch that has very little movement. It has never had a kick-open spring; it served the function more like a wooden box. It is transitional in evolution of what later became the patch box. The second rifle from the same shop has a push-button release with a kick-out spring. Clearly, the construction of the push-button latch is not conventional, but shows that he had received an order for it and "invented" the system. The patch box was undergoing evolution in many different areas at the time; it illustrates that the utility of the kick-open spring patch box spread through the back country, resulting in numerous mechanisms to achieve the same result. This is the first time we've had two examples from the same shop to illustrate this evolution that was happening throughout the rifle making areas of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.
W.B.G.
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Can we also ask how you straighten the rod? (I know how I do it, but I'm curious to hear how you do it.)
Thanks.
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In this particular case, the split blank was double-wide in cross section and had several small knots and advantageous buds. I plotted out the straightest section I could get between them, following the overall curve of the entire length. I used a marking gauge at one end and shaped that side parallel to my center line of the ramrod. Then the marking gauge could run along that and mark out both sides of the center piece to form the ramrod. I reduced that down with a very large half round rasp. One of the photos shows the heavily frayed wood from this coarse rasp. I had a lot of material to remove. I did short sections with a small block plane and draw knife, however, this piece of wood was very stringy and was difficult to handle with shaving tools. I reduced it primarily with a very coarse rasp followed by a smoother rasp when approaching the marking gauge lines. Once the center was cut out, the next stage was to rasp it roughly octagonal. From then a double cut bastard to prepare it ahead of the sizing tool. The tool is about six inches long, so as I moved along the rod, I straightened the bow, feeding it into sizing tool that I was turning by hand. This produced a 3/8" round stock with a long bow from end to end. I then straightened the bow by heating it over the eye of our gas range. In better weather, I do this over the forge. I got about 90% of the bow straightened. A small amount of bow is desirable, in that it keeps a tension on the ramrod, preventing it from working and rattling its way out. My thimbles are slightly graduated from large (full 3/8") to slightly smaller. The rear thimble is the smallest point, about 1/16" smaller than the front thimble. In this case, of the brass barrel rifle, the ramrod hole just barely touched the front lock screw and rested on the tenon of the trigger guard. In other words, about as perfect as one would like. The barrel inletting and drilling were done by Richard Sullivan, master of the gunsmith shop at Colonial Williamsburg. The inletting was done with rails and back saw, a process that I discovered in several originals back in the 1960s. (Just after we finished the gunsmith film, I found the first evidence of this on a fine rifle made in Shenandoah Co., VA. I have seen this evidence on 15 or 20 rifles since then. Partly I understand the saw kerf evidence from studying 18th-century cabinetmaking evidence where they used rails to set up the graduated drawer system, cutting dadoes for the rails that separate the drawers and dust boards.
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I'm grateful for your detailed explanations, Wallace. Thanks.
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We cannot restore the images as posted. Sorry.
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Wallace,
Thanks for the explanation. An interesting aside is that some modern milling cutters have irregular cutting flute geometry and spacing as well to help minimize harmonics and chatter. We use them in our shop on a regular basis. I believe in the cutting tool world, these are thought to be a relatively "recent" innovation. Ha!
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Thank you Dennis for the thimble pictures. And you are most welcome.
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How wonderful it is to see this here! I know the gun has been finished and delivered but I sincerely hope you will continue to post these "progress reports" and answer people's questions. Also hope I may get a chance to see the gun some day - great concept , melding features of the two guns.