AmericanLongRifles Forums
General discussion => Contemporary Longrifle Collecting => Topic started by: cmac on June 11, 2014, 02:27:15 PM
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Wow!!! What a beautiful piece! I love the carving! Outstanding work Jim. http://contemporarymakers.blogspot.com/
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A Tour De Force indeed. The architecture pushes you along to witness each detail of the superb inletting and carving. A beautiful gunne Jim. Jan did a great job with the photography too.
Details please.
dp
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i second the details..
very very nice piece
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I have had the pleasure of knowing Jim for a number of years now. From the first time I met Jim I liked him, my thoughts were that here is a very talented young man that is honest and hard working and I also thought that he would be a standout builder. That was probably 10 or so years ago and my thoughts have been confirmed.
I have watched Jim mature as a builder, he is no longer the apprentice and hasn't been for a while. Jim is now a Master and one to be watched for he is going to set the standard for years to come.
Great job Jim
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How can it get any better?
Tim C.
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Design and execution are just beautiful!!! Some of the most flawless incise carving I have ever seen!!! Yeowee!!!!!
Robby
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Why, I was so excited, I double posted! I don't know how, but I did. ???
Robby
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Great job Jim. I would have to say you have raised the bar, again!
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Remarkable! I love it all, but the way the caving along the wrist resembles good engraving - the cuts don't need to join to imply the design. Very tasty stuff.
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Great Carving!!! Very Nice.
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Fantastic Jim, I give up. :'(
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Sort of a " school" all by himself. I am always amazed at the level of design and execution.
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The mans work is amazing to say the least. :o
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Another fine piece Jim. You've definitely carved out your own niche.
Like em all!
Jeff
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PDC! (pretty !@*%&@ cool!)
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That is quite a piece of work, poetry. Clean and pure design work. Love it.
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Thanks everybody. I was pretty happy with how this one turned out. Doesn't happen all the time. If you have any particular questions, just ask.
Jim
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Jim,
I can't add any more accolades to what the others have written. There are many, in fact most, original rifles that I appreciate greatly for what they are and for who made them, but they almost always leave my artistic eye, what I have of one, a little... flat...for want of a better term. There are many elements of any given rifle that I like, but there are almost no rifles that I can look at and say, wow, there is a rifle that I like everything about, the architecture, the engraving, the carving...everything. And, unfortunately for my own building attempts, I can't explain it. It's a lot like to trying to explain to someone why you think a woman is pretty. There are the obvious attributes, but the undefinable subtleties are often the most important. While there are many builders who like to make bench copies of originals, I would like to make, insofar as my talent would allow, a bench copy of a Kibler...and this one is a great candidate....As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Perhaps I missed them, but I have seen no specifics on this rifle either here or on the Makers Blog...caliber, barrel length, lock type, how you finished the metal and wood, etc. Can you fill us in on those details?
And Thanks...for building the rifle in the first place and for sharing it with all of us.
Dave C
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Pure perfection...Another great one Jim!!
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Thanks again guys. It's always a goal to create a gun that works well together as a whole, but sometimes it works out better than others. A few specifics about the rifle...
- 54 caliber
- 43" barrel based on the "Woodsrunner" profile (1.1" breech, waist diameter .750")
- Lock is a Chambers round faced English
- largely contemporary in design, though most elemets have a historical basis
- Primarily scraped and burnished finish
- Stained with iron nitrate (aquafortis), selective darkening with bone black, finished with Tried and True oil varnish
- Don't recall about the metal, but it was probably rusted a bit, then this was scrubbed off and darkened with some brass darkening solution.
Dave,
If you would like to make a copy of a gun sometime, I would take it as a compliment. With this approach, it can be a good thing.
I know I was a little brief about things, but just ask if you are interested in anymore specifics.
Jim
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Jim,
I have a blank maple stock that I have already inlet a swamped, .50 caliber, 42 inch Rice barrel into. The breech is only 1.0 inches but the waist is very close to .750". I think it might work but I know enough to know that subtle differences will effect the overall rifle. I am not savvy enough to know if the extra inch of barrel length and 0.1 inches of breech width will compromise the lines of my attempt at a copy. ?
And, to save me comparing pictures and catalogs, are the trigger and brass parts commercially available (i.e. trigger guard, butt plate, RR pipes, etc.) ?
Thanks
Dave C
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Hey Dave. The butplate and trigger guard came from Reaves Goehring. I did re-shape each of them little, though. The butplate is #34 and the guard is #40. All the other brass parts I made from sheet. If it were me, I would use a barrel with a little bigger breech than 1". The barrel I used came from Ed Rayl. There would probably be a considerable wait for one. The closest commercial barrel would be a Rice, Reading profile barrel. These are offered with breeches of 1 1/16" or 1 1/8". Either of these sizes would be okay. I'm not sure when they will come around in their production schedule again. One key in getting a stock shape similar to this is the web thickness. I basically keep the web at the entry pipe and muzzle about 1/8". In order for the ramrod drill to not enter (or come very close to entering) the barrel channel with a groove positioned like this, I bow the stock just a touch while drilling. I can explain a bit more about this later if you would like. Hope this helps. Any more questions, just ask!
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Jim,
Thanks for the additional information. I happen to have one of Reaves's #40 trigger guards and One of the Chamber's locks. Im poking around now for a better barrel. I will contact you again when I start in on this. I try to keep the web at 1/8 inch or even a little less ( ~0.100) but I had not ever bowed the stock to drill the ram rod hole. I may need to talk to you about that a little more when I get that far.
Thanks again.
Dave C
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Amazing work Jim. That is a real signature piece.
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Jim,
I'm currently working on a gun using the scraping and burnishing finishing method. I've never used this method without some amount of sanding and grain raising.
Can you elaborate on the steps of your process?
Thanks,
Jeff
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Thanks for the specifics on Reaves' hardware. It's a standout rifle.
Which rifle is the "Woodsrunner"? Is it the same as the feather rifle? I have an idea it's the fowler-looking rifle Wallace owned but I can't find an answer to this.
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I know very little about gun building. But Jim Kibler's rifles are always eye catching to me. His carving always seems to flow so naturally with the lines and architecture of the rifle itself. The carving always seems crisp in outline but soft at the same time ,IF THAT MAKES SENSE. I really love his coloring also. Just wow!!
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I like everything about this gun. The grace and composition of the carving is about as good as it gets.
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Jim,
Another question...I have come by a Rice barrel - 42 inch, swamped, .54 cal, round bottom rifling, Golden age / York profile, "C" weight (breech is 1.070" and waist is 0.820"). Not quite as long or as swamped as your rifle. I have an option to buy a Rice 44 inch, swamped, .54 cal, round bottom rifling, Lancaster / Dickert profile, "C" weight (breech is 1.062" and waist is 0.794"). I would think the latter is a closer match to the barrel you used, but I thought I would ask your opinion.
Thanks
Dave C
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Thanks guys. This stuff is a lot of hard work, so it certainly feels good to hear others appreciate it. As far as barrels go, I would think the 44" Dickert profile would be a little better than the Golden Age. The narrower waist and larger breech gives things a nice shape. Yes, the "Woodsrunner" rifle is the one Wallace had that was attributed to Shenandoah County, Va. This is the gun with strong trade gun or fowling piece architecture. Thanks again everyone. Glad I might be able to help a bit.
Jim
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Jeff,
Sorry I missed your question. I usually scrape the whole gun then raise the grain and scrape it again. Next it will be carved. I don't raise the grain anymore after carving. Too much work. I just then stain with the nitric (iron nitrate solution). I apply the nitric with a piece of scotchbrite and rub fairly hard while applying it. This tends to smooth things out. After heating I'll probably go over it a bit more with a piece of scotchbrite. For a really difficult piece of wood, you can sand or scrape after applications of nitric. I'll then seal with oil and burnish hard with a piece of antler or hard piece of wood. That's about it. If I've missed anything , let me know.
Jim
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Jim,
Thanks for that info. I hope to put it to use here very soon.
Much appreciated,
Jeff
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Jim has a lot of skills that are difficult for the average gunbuilder to obtain. He has a lot of artistic ability, imagination, and
has learned the skills to pull it off. Years ago I was talking to Monte Mandaarino, he said the most difficult thing in gun building was drawing the carving. I jokingly told Jim that he was John Bivins re-born, there are a lot of similarities in their
work. After looking at guns like this, you can understand why I build barn guns............Don
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Jim,
I am in the process of gathering parts to build a copy of your rifle. I blew up the photos to full scale and have the butt plate, trigger guard, lock, and a barrel. The stock wood is en route from Dunlap. However, I wanted to check again with you on the barrel length. I have scaled things six ways to Sunday from the photos and I keep getting a barrel length of 35 to 36 inches and not 43...????...which doesn't sound right to me at all. Can you verify the barrel length for me?
Thanks
Dave C
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Yep, 43" barrel. Not sure what the deal is. But plate is probably 4.75-4.875" high. Pull is probably around 13.5".
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Sunday from the photos and I keep getting a barrel length of 35 to 36 inches and not 43...Huh?...which doesn't sound right to me at all. Can you verify the barrel length for me?
Thanks
Dave C
Dave C,
Just for grins I used a LOP of 13.5 inches and the barrel length comes out close to yours at 35.09" which is wrong as was yours! I used the same photo editor that I have used before. Prior to this one I always came very close to the original used in the photo. Not sure what is causing it.
Dennis
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Dennis,
Yes, I blew up the photo of the butt to the lock area to full size by using the lock plate length of 6.010". With the lock in the photo exactly full size, the LOP is 13.25 inches. But that ratio still gives me a barrel length of ~ 36 inches. I can't figure this one out. What ever, I am building a copy with a 44 inch barrel that I just got from Rice.