AmericanLongRifles Forums
General discussion => Antique Gun Collecting => Topic started by: Blacksmoke on March 27, 2013, 06:25:54 AM
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I've just finished a complete restoration/ re-conversion of a"attributed to Wolfgang Haga" rifle. This was a truly "closet find"- it had not seen the light of day for 50 yrs. The project took about 6 months - over 650 hrs. of bench time. The gun has been brought back to what it should look like if it had not been badly abused and busted up. I have taken a number of photos - "before" and "after".
Wanted to post them here but have no idea how to get them from photobucket to here since they re-organized their site. I have tried everything I can think of but nothing seems to work! Any help would be appreciated - thanks, Hugh Toenjes
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Thanks Rich, for the help - still I can only post one photo it seems. But I have 10 photos of "after" and 8 of "before". Do I have to link each in seperate posting?
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The next set of postings will be the "before" photos. In the mean time please feel free to ask any questions about the restored rifle if you wish. At this time I wish to thank several KRA members who had some input on this project - Louie Parker for general advice, Steve Hench for giving me specs. on lock dementions and Brad Emig for doing the sand casted side plate. Thanks guys!
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Hi Hugh,
You don't have to use separate postings. Open ALR and then in your browser menu at the top of the screen, click on "File" and then "Open New Tab". Then open photobucket and you have both websites running simultaneously. In ALR, just start your post and add the image. After grabbing one from photobucket, click on another in your library and add it to the same post using the image function in ALR. Keep going until you have added them all in the same post.
dave
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Hugh
I fixed it for you.Thanks for posting the pics.While i know it's hard to tell if the finish is original but is it as red as it seems in the pictures.
Mitch Yates
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Now for the "before" photos
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NOW I have the hang of it! Just goes to show that an OLD dog can learn new tricks!!??
I added paragraph breaks between the photo links to keep the page normal wifth (RP)
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Mitch' If you are referring to the finish on the rifle after it was restored - there is only a new finish on the added wood. The rest of the gun still has the original hand rubbed patina. However I gave the whole gun a good coat of "Renaissance" wax which might give the look of all being refinished. Thanks for asking, Hugh Toenjes
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I was refering to where it was original in the before pics.Sometimes pictures don't tell the true story just wanted to know if it was that red in person.Thanks again for the pics and great restore,I'm fond of Reading guns so glad to see this on get the restore it deserved.
Mitch
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Hugh, I really enjoyed seeing what you accomplished with this rifle. The workmanship looks great.
Can you elaborate on the story of it being tucked away for 50 years. Thanks for saving this one from
the point of no return and sharing it. 650 hours is alot of time and well worth it.
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Beautiful work Hugh!! That is scary!! Thanks for posting it.
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Wow great work.
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Superb work, Hugh. Amazing what you did. You saved a good gun from future neglect and as a potential 'parts gun'. As it happens, I have the 'almost' twin of this piece, with the exception that mine is in untouched original condition. The finish on mine is a little blonder than this one and mine has no toe plate; the patchbox side plates are overshot as well. They do not terminate at the lid hinge. Same box though and probably identical carving. Likely, the same maker.
The best compliment that I can give you is that in the 'after' photos, my eye cannot detect the work you did on this old girl to bring her back. A fine artistic effort!!!
Dick
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Awesome! thank you for sharing it.
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Very nice, well done Hugh. I am curious as to what method you used to fill the hole left by the old drum. I have one to deal with some day and there isn't much material left there to work with. Scares my welding guy. Thanks for sharing your work. Jack
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Hi Hugh,
Very nicely done. What a save! I hope we can put those images in the ALR library.
dave
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Hugh,
That is quite a nice piece of work. Posting the after before the before made the "resurrection" much more dramatic.
Thank you for the post.
Larry Luck
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Thanks guys for all the great comments! I also want to thank Mitch for his help in separating the photos once I got them posted and to answere his query about the color - yes this gun was quite red to begin with, as you can see in the "before" photos and it was stocked in red maple. To Dave- thanks for walking me through the new photobucket procedure - I learned a new trick today! As to the other questions: this gun is belongs to a client of mine and the story he tells me is that he inherited the rifle from his Dad 50 yrs. ago and it has been in the closet ever since. The conversion to percussion took place when his great uncle had it and that is when it was badly abused. Anyway the client wants to pass it down the following generations. Along with the rifle comes a very nice original powder horn from Berks Co. as well! I will post photos of it as well as soon as can get them into Photobucket. Art DeCamp and Louie Parker have authenticated the horn as it is not signed or scrimmed. The percussion drum hole and breech flats of the barrel had to be "tig" welded by a very delicate welder. Then I dressed down the welded area and rusted and carded and rusted and carded until I got the antique look that would blend in with the rest of the barrel. There are a lot of features about this rifle which were a surprise to me. However I will have to save those for another time as I am running out of steam here. Suffice it to say at this point that I considered it a supreme honor to apply my artisanship to that of Wolfgang Haga's! This rifle can "speak" again if the opportunity ever arises. Which reminds me - the client tells me that the original owner ( one of his ancestors) was a "rifleman" in the Colonial Militia during the Rev. war. More at another time. Hugh Toenjes
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Nice job!
Do you have any more pictures you could show us?
John
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Amazing
Tim C.
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Hugh
Thanks for the info.One last question if I may.Under the ugly percussion era side plate was there any evidence of the old side plate for you to follow or did you make a pattern following other related rifles.
Thanks!!!
Mitch
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John & Mitch: Yes I have more photos and will post them soon - both before and after. When I removed the percussion era side plate low and behold there were the stab in marks from inletting the original side plate. Now I had the exact profile of the original from which I took a tracing and sent the pattern to Brad Emig to have him do a sand casting. So the one you see in the "after" is identical to the original and it matches others associated with Haga. Of course I had to do some "aging" to match it with the other brass furniture on the gun. Also Brad used the old brass recipe for pouring the sideplate as contemporary brass is of a different mix than what was used 200 yrs. ago. Something to keep in mind when doing a so called "bench copy" or restoration work. Hugh Toenjes
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Thanks Hugh
That's an important part of the puzzle for me.Appreciate it!!!
Mitch
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Thanks Hugh, I kind of figured that a Tig was used. One thing my welder is not is delicate (big dude). I think he can handle it. Appreciate the information. Jack
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OK; here some photos of the old horn which came with the "Haga" rifle. The only restoration on the horn was to repair the "button" on the nose of the butt plug which was broken in half. The butt plug is turned out of American black walnut. The spout is a "screw tip" with an old violin peg cut down for a stopper. I added the violin peg to replace a tapered dowel of modern make which was adding to a split in the spout tip.
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Hugh Toenjes
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Hugh, that is one great job you did on that rifle. A very beautiful rifle. Thank you so much for posting it.
topknot
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Here are some more photos of the "Haga" rifle and several of the hand crafted flintlock made from solid stock and some heavily modified Siler parts using some "micro welding" to alter things to fit the profile of a 1700's Germanic lock.
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That's all for now, Hugh Toenjes
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Thanks Tim for the comment. Hugh Toenjes
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Mr Toenjes, Are the lock parts with the "nicks" the replacements? If so is this common practice to identify restoration work? I was curious to know in case I get the chance to examine a original some day. Very, very nice work, Mike New
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Very nice save Hugh.
Dan
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Mike : The "nicks" which you refer to are "assembler's" marks - historically these were used to distinguish which lock the separate parts belonged to whilst being assembled in a shop with with multiple makers. I copied this tradition for the entire replacement lock to give it an "original look". The same idea is applied to contemporary but historic military arms by stamping them with fake "proof marks". All of my restoration work has been documented and will accompany the rifle and it's owner. Thanks for the positive comment,
Hugh Toenjes
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Mr. Toenjes, Nice resoration. Like Mitch and others here, I am detail oriented and I am curious about the trigger plate.
It appears that the tail is bent into the stock rather than having a sharp tail simply driven into a mortise. What does the tail of guns plate look like out of it's mortise? Is there a double bend?
Thanks for sharing. Enjoy, J.D.
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J.D. : Thanks for the enquiry regarding the trigger plate. I was quite surprised when I did initial examination of the entire gun how long the sharp tail of the trigger plate is. Yes it has quite an abrupt reverse bend about 1/2" long which is received into a recess that was stabbed into the stock with a sharp chisel and mallet.
The front of the plate has a bolster about 1/4" thick into which the tang screw is threaded. Hope that answeres your question and thanks for your positive comment, Hugh Toenjes
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Thanks, butI'm not clear about this reverse bend. A little confused is all.
Is it a double bend in the shape of a "U" or an "S" or is it just bent at a right angle and driven up into the wrist?
Thanks again, J.D.
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JDK: First the trigger plate is bent slightly to conform to the crescent shape of the wrist. Then when it comes to a sharp tail at the rear it is bent in the other direction rather abruptly for about 1/4" of an inch and embedded up into a stabbed in recess. It is that configuration that holds the tail of the trigger plate in place. Hope that makes sense. Please keep asking if it doesn't - perhaps I can draw a sketch. Hugh Toenjes
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Think I got it. Thanks again, J.D.
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Great save. Thanks for taking the time to post all those pics!
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Ken: Thanks for looking and the kind comment! Hugh Toenjes
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Hugh, that is a really cool rifle and must have been a fun project.
I was curious if it has any markings on the barrel, such as barrel maker marks or stamps of any kind underneath? Thanks for posting your photos!
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Dave: Thanks for the question and the kind comment. In the first post I mentioned that this rifle is " attributed to Wolfgang Haga" this means that the gun is unsigned and there no other revealing marks or stamps. All we have to go on is the style of the rifle, decoration and the workmanship. All of these are then compared to other surviving specimens which match the rifle inquestion and we can "attribute it" to a maker.
Hugh Toenjes
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Hugh
The top lock bolt seems rather lower than usual. Is that just my imagination or does the bolt go through at an angle?
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Another question – The original inletting for the lock (if that’s what it is) suggests that the original lock had a tail on it similar to the Durs Egg lock, yet you replaced it with a lock with a symmetrically tapered tail. Could you comment on that?
It would also be interesting if you would comment a little on what you did and how you did it. As always, your craftsmanship is outstanding.
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Joe: Thanks for the comments and questions. I will try to answerer them as best I can. The top lock bolt goes through the same hole as the original so it is in the original position. As far as the replacement lock is concerned I fashioned the lock plate from an original Germanic lock that dates to the same period as the age of the rifle. The percussion lock plate was quite a bit oversize ( measured well over 5" long) and it had a tail on it as shown in the 'before" photos. This was not consistent with the Germanic locks that Haga used for his guns of the Rev. War period. Steve Hench of Lancaster PA, who is considered to be one of America's leading authorities on "early" long rifles sent me an exact tracing of an old Germanic lock from the period. I used his lock profile to design and fashion the lock which you see in the "after" photos. Also I had to add some wood to the rear of the old lock mortise - however you cannot see the joints as they are hidden by blending them in with the existing wood using careful sanding and heavy staining - then applying a hand rubbed finish. Hope that helps in answering your questions, Hugh Toenjes