AmericanLongRifles Forums
General discussion => Gun Building => Topic started by: davec2 on March 01, 2015, 12:18:26 AM
-
About a month ago I asked the board about photos and suggestions for an English rifle I was just starting. Rather than continue that thread, I thought I would start a new one.
(The old one is here http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=33978.0 )
I just finished the .50 cal maple stocked long rifle (except for case hardening the lock parts) so I thought I better get cracking on the next project before I burn too much more daylight. So here is the progress so far on the English rifle...
Stock fairly well shaped, butt plate installed, and sliding patch box lid completed....
(https://preview.ibb.co/cUzUeF/IMG_2465.jpg) (http://ibb.co/fKkfmv)
(https://preview.ibb.co/mXHhzF/IMG_2475.jpg) (http://ibb.co/k7P6Rv)
(https://preview.ibb.co/kU52zF/IMG_2470.jpg) (http://ibb.co/g7jHYa)
(https://preview.ibb.co/j7bxYa/IMG_2471.jpg) (http://ibb.co/bWM9eF)
I don't intend to do much, if any, carving except for a shell around the barrel tang and the patch box lid, but I did do a simple molding along the ram rod channel
(https://preview.ibb.co/hropeF/IMG_2473.jpg) (http://ibb.co/jAg9eF)
Side plate, trigger, and trigger guard are in.....I re-shaped the trigger guard bowl to add the raised edges I often see on originals.
(https://preview.ibb.co/kqoY6v/IMG_2476.jpg) (http://ibb.co/mNP6Rv)
(https://preview.ibb.co/fbraKF/IMG_2478.jpg) (http://ibb.co/cuoNzF)
The engraving.....having watched all the posts about English rifles, pick and dot engraving, etc....and looking over every picture I can find of originals in Neal & Back, I am starting in. I don't know what I'm doing, but I am attempting to make this look more like the subtle engraving I see in original gun pictures and less like I have been cutting graffiti on brass and steel with my graver.
Start on the lock...polished the plate and cut my name. This may be all I do on this one......??
(https://preview.ibb.co/g2GmRv/IMG_2467.jpg) (http://ibb.co/nDd0mv)
Breech plug......gold makers mark and some delicate floral decoration I have seen in some photos of originals....not great, but this may take me a while to get the hang of.
(https://preview.ibb.co/gyPHYa/IMG_2463.jpg) (http://ibb.co/dXo0mv)
More to follow....
-
No flies on you - that's a fact!
-
Very nice Dave!....I think you and I have the same disease.......it's called, cannotsitinachairlongerthan10minutes............ ;D
Did you make those RRthimbles?
Marc n tomtom
-
@!*%, Dave, you are killin' me! Beautiful work and workmanship.
-
Sharp so far ;D But then again I have come to expect that out of you ;)
-
You should do a thread dedicated to your engraving methods, tools, etc...
You must have the patience of a statue...
-
The detailed, purposeful shaping of every single part...........!! beautiful workmanship!
What trigger are you using Dave?
-
Thanks to all for the support...
htredneck....I have NO patience at all....and it causes me to rush things that I should be patient enough to do slowly and do a better job with. Lack of patience is a curse I have dealt with all my life. Luckily, I am 744 months through an average life expectancy of 900 months, so I am, at best, 82.6% done. I have too many unfinished projects to slow down too much...and I am rapidly running out of air speed, altitude, and ideas...
Dr. Tim...not sure what trigger this is. The rifle is a Chambers kit I purchased quite some time ago. I am assuming that Jim or Barbie could identify it and that the trigger would be available from them.
P.S. If I had this to do over again, I would not have used this butt plate. I would have used the simpler profile type often used on a fowler. This one will require fancier engraving that I think the rifle needs just to justify the complicated profile of the design on the return. Live and learn.
-
Yes I see thats really the "Wrong" butt plate---but I guess it'll have to do this time. ;D Very quality workmanship Dave--way above my pay grade.....Tom
-
Very impressive workmanship. All of it. I often wonder how those English butt plates with the long and progressively stepped extensions are inletted. Your example is very well done. Is there a tutorial for that any where on the forum?
-
You will find that there are three different periods and styles of both the flintlock rifle and the fowler from the 1760 to 1810 mostly in the furniture these periods should not be mixed if you intend to build a flintlock of a given period.
Feltwad
-
Dave .
Did you make your own makers stamp?
-
Jerry,
Yes. Here is an old post about the stamp and the press I made......
http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=1138.0
-
Barrel is finished...still trying to mimic appropriate engraving. Trigger guard is done. Side plate refining is in work....
(https://preview.ibb.co/f42FKF/IMG_2480.jpg) (http://ibb.co/gUvrta)
(https://preview.ibb.co/b6O0mv/IMG_2482.jpg) (http://ibb.co/fai0mv)
-
Dave the problem with your English engraving is that it's too good. ;D
Most English work was production engraving, and was made to look good at a cursory glance. Upon closer inspection one would see awkward proportions to the drawing, over runs in the engraving, etc. None of that on your work. Very well done.
-
That looks really, really nice.... I think you hit the essence of finer European engraving. Great stuff!
Ed
-
Acer...another distinct disadvantage caused by never having seen an original of any sort...American, English, French, Romulan, Klingon.....nothing !!
-
WOW just WOW
-
Very nice! That rolled edge on the guard bow is a nice touch. Would care to elaborate on how that was accomplished?
Thanks Richard
-
Richard,
The edge of the trigger guard casting, while not overly thick, is thick enough to file a deep groove on either edge of the guard. The inboard groove edges are then blended toward the middle of the guard with a file until the guard looks like it does in the pictures. Then it's just a question of polishing the file marks out with sanding sticks, stones, etc. Actually, I scraped most of the file marks out on this one and then finished up with sanding sticks and a muslin buff with tripoli.
-
Amazing work Dave. You are quite the accomplished engraver. The inletting of that butt plate is really well done.
-
:o As always..... wow!
-
Dave, thanks for the explanation. It is very graceful along with the engraving.
Richard
-
Fantastic workmanship as usual! I've got to make me one of those presses. That is so cool!
Capt. David
-
Your nicks are good but where are your dots? You're a helluva engraver, do you have some good english gun resource books? I used to have some pretty good english originals of the time period but they are long gone now, if I still had them I would have shipped them to you for study pieces. Getting to study originals is difficult to do if you don't run in the right circles.
I'll have to dig around and see if I have some original buttplates or trigger guards still lying around you could use....I may have 1780 period Nock stuff come to think of it.....I'll look next week.
-
Dave, I agree with Mike about the contant study of English engraving. One of the best engravers in the English style that I have known is Jack Haugh. I had the honor of being in his shop a couple of times when he engraved a English sporting rifle for me and his copy of Great English Gun Makers by Neal and Back was so worn and dog eared that as for a builder of his talent it proved his constant study. Mr. Haugh to me is a man you don't talk to as much as to listening.You are building another great rifle and it is a pleasure to follow your progress.
-
I'm sorry, but anyone who does the quality of work you produce has to have patience.
What would be the odds of you maybe doing a video of you engraving for those of us who sit in awe and wonder of your skills?
-
Beautiful work as always Dave!
-
I like this rifle a lot. Something just a little different with delightful engraving. Keep posting pictures.
-
Quoting Mike Brooks, "if I still had them I would have shipped them to you for study pieces."
That's what is so great about this Forum. Where else do you see this kind of unselfish offer made?
-
Joe,
Absolutely right. When I built a copy of a Jim Kibler rifle back in November, Jim sent me plaster casts of his rifle !! The members here are generous with their time, talent, and offers like Jim's and Mike's.
-
Slow progress lately...but progress none the less
Barrel finish complete...
(https://preview.ibb.co/eEpqmv/IMG_2523.jpg) (http://ibb.co/fWySYa)
Butt plate engraving done.....
(https://preview.ibb.co/dwtuDa/IMG_2525.jpg) (http://ibb.co/kOQkKF)
Patch box door carving complete...
(https://preview.ibb.co/hqSzeF/IMG_2526.jpg) (http://ibb.co/n7oSYa)
Rear ram rod pipe engraving complete.....
(https://preview.ibb.co/kaZO6v/IMG_2529.jpg) (http://ibb.co/fyoi6v)
Trigger guard engraving complete, trigger plate and trigger complete......
(https://preview.ibb.co/k0LVmv/IMG_2531.jpg) (http://ibb.co/cYpeeF)
Lock plate polishing done....no engraving on this lock besides the name....
(https://preview.ibb.co/mRzO6v/IMG_2533.jpg) (http://ibb.co/mnPZDa)
-
Beautiful work as always Dave. I don't think we'd expect anything less from you!
A question though...what's the dovetail for at the breech of the barrel? A ghost ring sight perhaps?
Again, outstanding work! Thanks for posting your progress.
-
A ghost ring sight perhaps?
I had the same question.
-
Kermit, Acorn20,
Yes...this from a previous post......
Some time back I was perusing photos of a large bore English rifle built by one of my favorite contemporary makers, Stephen Alexander. This rifle had a rear "ghost ring" sight mounted very close to the breech which peaked my interest. I made up some dummy sights and glued them to the barrel of a build I am working on and I love the sight picture through them. In querying Stephen on the rear sight, he told me that this type of sight was frequently used on Turkish flint firearms and on some English and Continental ones as well. Here is another thread - some interesting responses from others to my question:
http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=27794.0
By the way, peep sights long pre-date firearms. The were used on crossbows centuries before gunpowder came on the scene.
(https://preview.ibb.co/covAKF/Stephen_Alexander_Rifle_2.jpg) (http://ibb.co/bH3KDa)
(https://preview.ibb.co/cVHqKF/Stephen_Alexander_Rifle_3.jpg) (http://ibb.co/indKDa)
-
Wonderful gun Dave!! I really like the butt plate. It looks a lot like the one on Turvey's rifle in RCA 1 and I like the departure from the later standard English butt plate that narrows monotonically. Yours is certainly a lot harder to inlet.
dave
-
Very nice looking patch box lid.
Richard
-
I can't wait to see how your rear sight turns out. Are you making it yourself? It looks perfect for hunting.
-
I was looking at the nick border on the ramrod pipe that fit to the forearm, I don't know the correct name. But the nick borders ends in a cool looking serpentine shape.
Richard
-
Blacktail - yes, I will be making the rear sight out of steel. I will make a couple of simple sheet metal ones to try so I can get the hole in the right place vertically, then duplicate the dimensions in the final steel sight.
Flatsguide - the way the nicks fade out at the end of the rear ram rod pipe is the same way I engrave sunbursts....like this one on a lock....
(https://preview.ibb.co/jHvSzF/IMG_4232.jpg) (http://ibb.co/jXMNYa)
-
Thanks Dave. Always enjoy seeing your metal work and engraving up close. Good photography too.
I have seen,in another post, where you were engraving or just finished engraving on a trigger guard bow. It appeared that the part was supported by a product called Thermallok or something similar. Can this Thermalok be molded to shape, by hand, when it is worm and does it have to have some of the Thermal lock over the edges of the part. I ask because numerous recommendation suggest 5 minute epoxy for work holding. Or a combination of both products. Yesterday I made a bunch of wood fixtures to hold the various parts of a Chambers English Sporting Rifle. Referring to the wood fixture for the trigger guard, In order to file the long finial and forward short fancy finial I relieved the wood right up to the width and pattern of the finials. Would epoxy be the best choice to hold the finials and thermalok stuffed under the bow? There is a lump in the fixture that follows the interior of the bow. Sorry for not having photos.
Thanks for the help.
Richard
-
Flatsguide,
Go to this link on another post of mine
http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=34414.0
About half way through I talk about how I hold parts like a trigger guard for engraving.
Thermoloc works well, but does not adhere to smooth parts like the inside of a trigger guard. So after I mold it in place, and let it set, I pop the part loose and then supper glue it back in place. When I am finished with the engraving, I heat the part with a small bench torch to break the glue bond and release the part.
5 min epoxy works also...as does Bondo...and the dental acrylic I mention in the above post. I use super glue to stick things to wood blocks anywhere I can because it is quick and easy.
-
Thanks Dave! I must be losing my mind I read that article awhile back AND responded to it.
Thanks again.
Richard
-
I have been busy lately with work but decided that a little more than NO engraving on the lock was called for. (I am weaning myself off engraving every blank surface in sight....but slowly.) Didn't want to go too far, so I just put a sunburst on the tail of the lock plate and another on the top jaw. Two tiny scrolls and some border on the cock and a plain double line border on the frizzen. Done.
(https://preview.ibb.co/kxNJ6v/English_Rifle_Lock_1.jpg) (http://ibb.co/d1hJ6v)
(https://preview.ibb.co/kGtQmv/English_Rifle_Lock_2.jpg) (http://ibb.co/gtYfKF)
Really not much left to do on this rifle except to get a few little things done before finishing the stock. I hope to get to this before work completely takes over my life again.
I lied....about being done..... A friend recently asked me just to engrave a few of the screw heads on his gun. After seeing what a little engraving on just the screw heads could do to perk up the look of a plain gun, I did the lock bolts, butt plate screws and tang screw on this rifle as well. Same design as on the cock screw.....
(https://preview.ibb.co/h9AhYa/IMG_2583.jpg) (http://ibb.co/ccNJ6v)
(https://preview.ibb.co/jj9nzF/IMG_2584.jpg) (http://ibb.co/eiDEeF)
Now I'm done.....
-
Are you sure about that?? ;D ;D
-
Exquisite workmanship...............it'd like a beautiful woman always have to take that second look!!!! ;)
geo
-
Lol! why stop at a second look. Really nice design of the sunburst on the lock. Dave, do you have to anneal the frizzen prior to engraving?
Thanks Richard
-
Elegant, Dave - pure but certainly not simple.
-
Dave, another question please. What type of finish, if any, will you put on the steel parts like the lock plate? Or will you just use Renaissance wax. Thanks for answering this newbee's questions.
Regards Richard
-
Flatsgfuide,
Yes, the frizzen is annealed prior to polishing and engraving and then is re-hardened. (These are cast 1090 and are a pain to re-harden, at least for me. I follow the Chambers instructions for hardening their frizzens, but the oil quench just does not cool the part fast enough so I use brine. Works better, but may take two or three tries to get hard enough to spark.....topic for another post).
As for the finish on this lock, I will case harden it and then polish off the colors. Not sure yet if I will just leave it bright, as I have with some of the others, or "bronze" it like I did on the barrel of this rifle.
-
Thanks for that info Dave. At one time I owned a Samuel Nock sxs shotgun made in 1857. The locks were case hardened and they had the nice coloring too. Looking at some of the Twigg guns in my copy of "Great British Gunmakers" I can not tell from the pictures if they have any case coloring or the coloring wore off from handling, or even if they were color case hardened during that period. I imagine it would be a bit difficult to prevent scale build up on the polished and engraved frizzen and get a fast quench at the same time. Maybe wrap the frizzen with a piece of brown bag paper, pack in powdered charcoal let it heat soak at the correct temp then a fast dump in the brine you mentioned may do the trick. Just keep the oxygen away. Just thinking out load so to speak. I wonder what the alloy of the lock plate is? I will be taking a class at Jim Chambers place in a month. I will sure pick his mind on this.
Thanks again Rrichard
-
Dave on those frizzens try case hardening them even if they are 1090, then draw.
You always do great work.
-
Jerry,
Thanks for the tip. I have another one of those frizzens to harden....I'll give it a try.
And the only reason my engraving is even remotely acceptable is because of what you taught me. I miss sitting in your shop and watching you work. I need to come back for more lessons.
Dave C
-
Flatsgfuide,
Yes, the frizzen is annealed prior to polishing and engraving and then is re-hardened. (These are cast 1090 and are a pain to re-harden, at least for me. I follow the Chambers instructions for hardening their frizzens, but the oil quench just does not cool the part fast enough so I use brine. Works better, but may take two or three tries to get hard enough to spark.....topic for another post).
As for the finish on this lock, I will case harden it and then polish off the colors. Not sure yet if I will just leave it bright, as I have with some of the others, or "bronze" it like I did on the barrel of this rifle.
Dave,
You need a better source of heat to reharden a frizzen. As I and another man posted earlier,the Presto-lite "B" cylinder with a regulator and hose will do the job. I have used it for 50 years and my results speak for themselves. ANY welding supply shop should have this ready to go and get a #3 and #5 tip which is all needed for what we do.
The lock Taylor posted for me was NOT a rebuild. I get these from Barbie with frizzen and spring installed and a clean plate with only the tumbler hole in place..
I have also got a double set trigger started for a project that never materialized. It is a HAWKEN
type but with an 8x1/2" plate. It might not accommodate a Hawken trigger guard but can be cut off
for use on something else. No castings,roll pins or piano wire used. When it's finished I'll take $75 including shipping by the USPS to any address in the USA or Canada.
Bob Roller
-
Bob,
On these frizzens I have tried three different heat sources...I have and use a Presto-Lite torch, as you suggest, and it does the heating job very well. After heating to ~1475 F, the frizzen was quenched in Canola oil. It was too hard to file, however, when cleaned up and replaced on the lock, it did not spark. Contrary to the Chambers instructions, I re-heated the frizzen in an electric furnace to 1475 F and kept it there for about 20 minutes. Jim Chambers recommends NOT doing this as the steel will decarburize. To prevent this, I packed the frizzen in bone charcoal the same way I would for a case hardening run. The frizzen was again quenched in the oil and again was not hard enough to spark. On the third attempt, I used a rose bud torch tip on an Oxy-acetylene rig (being careful not to over heat the part) and kept the frizzen a bright red color for a minute or two before quenching in brine. This seemed to work but after a few snaps in the lock, the frizzen stopped sparking again and the surface of the steel was soft enough to beat up the flint badly. Suspecting that the surface may have become decarburized, I ground a few thousands of the steel away and finally got what I thought was an acceptable spark out of it.
I usually do not have this much trouble heat treating a part, but I have had a $#*! of a time with these particular frizzens. I'm sure there is nothing wrong with the part, as it comes from Jim Chambers, as the locks spark beautifully when I get them. I just seem to have trouble getting the frizzen back to its original hardened state after I finish engraving.
By the way, I anneal these by packing the part in bone charcoal and running it up to 1500 F in and electric furnace and then turn the furnace off and let it cool down over night, so I don't think I am decarburizing during the anneal. So, I must be doing something wrong that I am just not seeing...yet. I'm sure if I mess around with this long enough the correct answer will occur to me.
-
FWIW I built my one and only flintlock rifle in the early '70s. I think it had a Siler lock. I don't know the alloy of the frizzen. The only way I could get good sparks was to heat the frizzen a bit more than dull redwith a carburizing flame from a rosebud oxyacetylene torch and spoon Casenit onto the frizzen until the Casenite melted then quenched in water. No the frizzen was not engraved.
-
Just to make sure I understood how long it took me to get this one finished, I got this message when I started to continue with this post......
Warning: this topic has not been posted in for at least 120 days.
Unless you're sure you want to reply, please consider starting a new topic.
Ok.....Ok....so I had to stop to make a living, but I finally got around to finishing the English rifle. Here it is:
(https://preview.ibb.co/jL21Rv/English_Rifle_1.jpg) (http://ibb.co/ewyamv)
(https://preview.ibb.co/dv0AKF/English_Rifle_2.jpg) (http://ibb.co/gsTKDa)
(https://preview.ibb.co/mprjeF/English_Rifle_10.jpg) (http://ibb.co/cg0MRv)
(https://preview.ibb.co/cDdVKF/English_Rifle_9.jpg) (http://ibb.co/gKYKDa)
(https://preview.ibb.co/hsymta/English_Rifle_6.jpg) (http://ibb.co/nkAMRv)
(https://preview.ibb.co/mbVzDa/English_Rifle_5.jpg) (http://ibb.co/d9y86v)
(https://preview.ibb.co/nnixzF/English_Rifle_4.jpg) (http://ibb.co/mthCYa)
(https://preview.ibb.co/kFugRv/English_Rifle_3.jpg) (http://ibb.co/eLxPeF)
(https://preview.ibb.co/k9oxzF/English_Rifle_11.jpg) (http://ibb.co/dgG6ta)
(https://preview.ibb.co/eV4sYa/English_Rifle_12.jpg) (http://ibb.co/f9egRv)
(https://preview.ibb.co/jqhHGv/English_Rifle_15.jpg) (http://ibb.co/c1kF3a)
(https://preview.ibb.co/em5zDa/English_Rifle_16.jpg) (http://ibb.co/gLPFmv)
(https://preview.ibb.co/iNK4eF/English_Rifle_17.jpg) (http://ibb.co/cwWvmv)
(https://preview.ibb.co/h8FczF/English_Rifle_18.jpg) (http://ibb.co/giN1Rv)
(https://preview.ibb.co/kspRta/English_Rifle_19.jpg) (http://ibb.co/c9seDa)
(https://preview.ibb.co/fsWZeF/English_Rifle_21.jpg) (http://ibb.co/k9t2Ya)
The rifle is .58 caliber, has a peep rear sight, and sterling silver thumb piece and decoration on the patch box lid. The thumb piece is a duplicate of a Jim Kibler design just reduced in size a bit. The patch box decoration is a thumb piece of my design. I "ebonized" the hickory ram rod with tannic acid and aqua fortis. The ram rod tip is black horn. I haven't shot it yet, but am anxious to do so.....I will let you all know how it works out.
-
Your works of wood and steel (and other metals) read like poetry. 8)
-
What a visual treat, thanks so much for letting all of us follow along with your fantastic workmanship.
-
Dave.
Your not going to take that gun hunting are you??
-
Beautiful work as allways!! How do you bronze a barrel?
Best regards
Rolf
-
WOW :o :o :o
-
nice job Dave , Very nice indeed
-
Ha!
120 days is nothing in my gun building callender. Dave your speed and results always amaze me, as do your methods and tool making skills.
Great job!
Jeff
-
Dave that's a beautiful rifle and a true work of art - in the years to come the gun world will speak your name with reverance ;).
-
Thank you all for the kind comments.
Jerry - Sure I will take this rifle hunting. It would be my preferred method of "aging" it and applying that "well used but well cared for" patina.
Rolf - Here is how I finished the barrel (from an older post):
I have been experimenting some with the last three rifles I have built. Not necessarily a "dark grey" patina, but it's not a brown and it's not a blue...I'm not quite sure what it is, but I like it....so far. Here are some variations on the same theme on 3 different rifles.....
(https://preview.ibb.co/jZnUDa/DC_Walnut_Rifle_8.jpg) (http://ibb.co/n87kmv)
(https://preview.ibb.co/bO32Ya/IMG_2456.jpg) (http://ibb.co/e55Gta)
(https://preview.ibb.co/k2Q5mv/IMG_2459.jpg) (http://ibb.co/datEeF)
(https://preview.ibb.co/mTT5KF/IMG_2123.jpg) (http://ibb.co/cDvkKF)
(https://preview.ibb.co/ccQ7Ya/IMG_2124.jpg) (http://ibb.co/jho5KF)
The process is as follows: I start a rust brown exactly as I would for a plumb brown finish. I use a damp box and do one, two, or three, rust cycles of Laurel Mountain Forge Barrel Brown carding with a brass wire tooth brush each cycle. The number of cycles depends on if I want the final finish more grey / blue or more bronze / brown. Once I have a couple of brown cycles on it, I handle the barrel with latex gloves. I take the barrel and put it on the bench covered with a plastic trash bag taped down. Now I scrub the barrel with a small, maroon ScotchBrite pad (2" x2") soaked in one of the cold blue solutions (Oxpho-Blue, Dicropan T-4, Historic House Parts Brass Ager) until I get the barrel to look like I want it. If you only give it two browning passes and do not dwell too long with the cold blue, the barrel comes out with a slight golden tone. More browning passes and not much ScotchBrite rubbing and it comes out a little more brown. Rub it a little more with the cold blue, and it takes on a darker, bluer tone. I did one where I subsequently rubbed all the finish off the edges with a dry ScotchBrite pad, and that looks OK too (a little more "worn") but I figure use and handling will take care of that fast enough anyway.
P.W. Berkuta - Thank you for the kind thought, but I suffer no delusions about either my skill or my legacy. In a single generation or two, only my children and grand children will recognize my name. A generation after that, the only time anyone will ever even see my name is if they are walking through the cemetery looking at headstones while they are looking for someone else...just the way of the world.....:)
-
I love it Dave! Your detail attention is amazing!
-
James,
The pouch you made for me with the embossed flap is the one I will use with this rifle. I had to build a rifle that was worthy of your pouch and your attention to detail.
-
Beautiful job Dave. I have two questions.
Did you make or buy the peep sight? If bought where did you get it?
Can you do a tutorial on how you installed the butt plate to achieve such a precise fit?
Those English butt plates with the long extension look very difficult to install. I have a project coming up that will use that style of butt plate and I need some help with the procedure.
Best regards,
-
Very nice! I agree with James... Very clean and sharp, excellent engraving as always. Great job!
Ed
-
Excellent Dave, just excellent. That is going to be a beauty!
dave
-
Gumboman,
I made the rear sight from a small piece of mild steel. Have not seen any that were available for sale.
As far as the butt plate inletting goes, it is a tedious task but not very complicated. Since the plate has to move forward and down it is easy to get gaps behind some of the features of the top return as the plate is settled into place. As it only needs to go down a 1/16th of an inch, I have the best luck getting the vertical portion of the plate well fitted first before I do anything with the return on the top of the butt. Once the rear of the plate is as far forward as it needs to go, you can start inletting the top return down into the top of the butt. Then I use a combination of stabbing and cutting in the outline of the return and do so at an angle to ensure the inlet is undersize. I smoke the return and tap it in gently to see where wood needs to be removed. Once down in place, I install the screws and check the inlet again. Then I screw the butt plate down tight and thoroughly wet the area around the return to swell the wood into close contact with the metal. The final step is to file and polish the metal and wood together. Once down in place and polished, I try never to remove the butt plate again. In this case, I removed it to engrave it, but then put it right back and i finished the stock with the plate in place. This last step helps to fill any remaining small voids with finish.
-
James,
The pouch you made for me with the embossed flap is the one I will use with this rifle. I had to build a rifle that was worthy of your pouch and your attention to detail.
Ha Ha! You are a gentleman Dave. If I could only have a thimble full of your talent and knowledge!
-
That is one super nice rifle.
-
Dave, stunning in every single detail.
Question - when you are finishing the barrel do you neutralise the rusting/browning before applying the blue?
Thanks for letting us see your work.
Peter.
-
Not my style, but I can certainly appreciate beauty when I see it. THANK you for updating your earlier post with pictures of the finished product. Truly a gorgeous rifle.
-
Many thanks Dave for providing the HOW TO DO IT on the butt plate. I really like the high level of workmanship I see in your guns. And I will have to try making one of those sights.
-
Some of the best work I've seen, great job. I'd love to see this rifle in person but we're a little too far apart. Keep up the good work Dave!
-
Truly beautiful. I particularly like the sideplate and the buttplate finial. Nice to see this rifle on the Contemporary Makers blog this morning.
-
Fine art!! And it shoots! You are an inspiration Dave. Thanks!!
-
Thanks again to all for your kind comments.
Hammer - no, I don't neutralize the browning before applying the Scotch Brite / aging solution. By the way, the bronze aging solution is available from Historic House Parts (http://www.historichouseparts.com/pdshop/shop/item.aspx?itemid=2431) It works on both brass and steel.
-
That is gorgeous!
-
Excellent job. True work of art. Thanks for posting.
Bob
-
Great looking rifle! The treatment on the breech end of the barrel, sure is neat looking.
Regards , Richard
-
Thanks for showing this one Dave. I think I'm going to have to do a peep sight on my .62 sporting rifle too. How did you determine the height?
-
Pretty much pick a height that looks good, then adjust the front sight blade or bead height.
For the .62, likely the front sight blade will be .050" or so lower, same with the middle of a bead,
for a 50 or 60 yard zero.
-
Dave. That's a real beauty. Great job.
-
Justin,
What Daryl said about the sight height is correct. I did make some trial sights out of wood just to see what looked good, as far as rear sight height was concerned, and just stuck them on the barrel with super glue.
Jerry,
Thanks ! A lot of the credit goes to you for whatever I happen to do correctly (accidentally or otherwise.... :o) I do need to come up and just watch over your shoulder again sometime soon, if you'll have me. I learned a lot just watching you work.
I was surprised to see this thread pop up again since I completed that rifle almost 4 years ago now.