AmericanLongRifles Forums
General discussion => Gun Building => Topic started by: smart dog on October 21, 2019, 01:48:22 AM
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Hi Folks,
I am building a Chambers Isaac Haines kit for a customer. I don't like kits but he wanted me to carve and engrave the gun as close to RCA 81 as best I can. The kit was profiled for a wooden patch box but I added a brass copy of RCA 81. Although I don't like kits, the challenge of trying to recreate Haines' carving on that rifle is intimidating. I rarely back away from a challenge so here are some of my efforts. I'll post more as I go.
(https://i.imgur.com/DgBJgwm.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/fnblyw3.jpg)
dave
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Looking purty sweet, Dave.
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Really nice carving on the rifle. Haines did some really fine carving on the rifles he made.
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Your work never ceases to amaze me...Great job!
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You have it whooped. It turned out beautiful.
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(https://i.ibb.co/Jxn22FK/P1010017.jpg) (https://ibb.co/cbJttX1)
I tried that a few years back I got lost drawing it quite a few times. Went through a lot of erasers. I think yours will turn out better than mine.
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Looks fine to me.
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Hi Guys,
Thanks for looking and commenting. Alacran, that is nice carving and you captured Haines' style very well. My only sources are the photos in RCA Vol 1. I have color photos of some of Haines' other rifles showing almost the same designs but it is clear that he took #81 to a higher standard. I am using my KRF CDs and zooming in on the Haines rifle included on one of the CDs (RCA#78) to understand how he carved his designs but there are quite a few details on #81 that do not match. One problem with the photos is the white stuff that obscures some of the edges of the carving and details. It is almost like some sort of wax build up. I made scaled tracings of the original carving and transferred them to the stock but those were just the outlines of the edges of the carving. Carving the details from those photos is challenging.
dave
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Dave, what I have seen of your work makes me think that you will excel in your task. You are extremely talented, and I for one really appreciate your work. Keep us posted - looking great already!
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That is some nice looking carving. I was pondering the grain and the carving pattern. I don’t think that one was easy. God bless, Marc
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Dave: I really like what you've accomplished in your box and carving. I built that rifle (several times actually) back in the 80's, when I was first experimenting with carving and driving a chisel through brass. Here's one of my first efforts...incidentally, this rifle, a .54 cal. is still shooting well. Our small group shot our trail yesterday, and this rifle is still a contender.
(https://i.ibb.co/wg19D3p/DSCN0513.jpg) (https://ibb.co/C8FkxNV)
(https://i.ibb.co/C0wRJV4/DSCN0517.jpg) (https://ibb.co/88m1zPG)
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Looking fine.
I have no doubt the rest will be just as good.
Jeff
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Looks fine to me.
I think his carving on the bottom has a longer curve and looks less truncated than mine. Then I'm never totally pleased with my carvings.
Usually just happy to get them done.
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I think that looks nice. Just one suggestion... On the large lower right hand scroll there is a smaller leaf / scroll feature which wraps over the backside of the big scroll. I think it would look better if this diverged a little more gently. My eye keeps stopping at this point. Great work!
Jim
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Hi,
Thank you all for looking and commenting. Jim Kibler, thank you for your input. I believe I understand your point and can work on that detail. I mostly finished the cheek side wrist carving. It came out well but still needs a little clean up and a few more details. I won't finish defining the checkering until I've put the first coat of finish on the rifle. I am concerned the diamonds will chip and want the wood hardened by the finish before finishing. I'll come back and clean up the details after getting other areas carved.
dave
(https://i.ibb.co/zNnrq2g/cheek-side-wrist-carving-1.jpg) (https://ibb.co/JCBKDpT)
(https://i.ibb.co/NK98mQG/cheek-side-wrist-carving-2.jpg) (https://imgbb.com/)
(https://i.ibb.co/D5fbCMs/cheek-piece-side-carving-almost-finished-3.jpg) (https://ibb.co/HnT2zP1)
(https://i.ibb.co/5xX38x5/cheek-piece-side-carving-almost-finished.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Pzsyhz5)
(https://i.ibb.co/C9LMDW8/cheek-piece-side-carving-almost-finished-2.jpg) (https://ibb.co/PWk90tj)
(https://i.ibb.co/DgzhtFt/barrel-tang-carving-almost-done.jpg) (https://ibb.co/sJbn242)
(https://i.ibb.co/T0ch8XF/lock-side-wrist-carving-almost-done.jpg) (https://ibb.co/pK2XzD9)
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Hi Folks,
finished the carving and stock on this Chambers Isaac Haines kit. The owner wanted the carving to be a close to RCA 81 as I could. I did the best I could given the limits of the photos. Anyway, here are some views of the carving after stain and the first sealing coat of tung oil.
dave
(https://i.imgur.com/6S21mbA.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/yWONzyL.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/vM9K3CM.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/rzpf6jP.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/MWupYsX.jpg)
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Dave, that is absolutely splendid! Really like the way the curl and the carving give an impression of great depth, and fluid movement.
You provide a great example for those of us still learning to carve.
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That's coming along great. There is always a tremendous difference in carving before and after staining, looks completely different. I always like the looks of mine before the stain, the stain makes all my mistakes stand out!
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Looks great! Nice work.
Jim
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Hi Guys,
Well I finished the carving and patch box engraving. I tried to closely copy Haines' style. Here it is.
(https://i.ibb.co/Mnfwp3d/barrel-tang-carving-edited-2.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Jnq62MZ)
(https://i.ibb.co/Hzrvkxq/barrel-tang-carving-edited-3.jpg) (https://imgbb.com/)
(https://i.ibb.co/FxYqCWJ/engraving-patchbox-9.jpg) (https://ibb.co/yfkB7R5)
(https://i.ibb.co/T0VwLGH/rubbed-back-forward-cheek-piece-carving.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Smh6rgK)
(https://i.ibb.co/G9WVcr0/rubbed-back-patch-box-side-carving.jpg) (https://ibb.co/C6bnhSz)
(https://i.ibb.co/QDqCCRh/rubbed-back-rear-cheek-piece-carving.jpg) (https://imgbb.com/)
dave
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Haines guns are my favorites, I wished mine looked like these photos.
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Impressive!
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Top notch work that you should be proud of. Thanks for sharing your work and the progress photos. It is always interesting to see how other builder's go about their work, I always pick up a pointer or two. Again great carving and rifle.
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I think you really nailed it! Carving is crisp, clean and flowing smoothly. I don't think any will recognize it as a "kit gun" now!
Great work!
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Well done!
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Very, very nice.
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Hi,
Almost done. I need to polish and tune the lock, clean up and finish the screws, finish the barrel, and finish polishing the trigger guard. The stock also needs a little more finish and possibly a light rubbing back. I'll post a full series of images when it is done.
dave
(https://i.imgur.com/NFtwbd0.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/FtVyMyF.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/PZ6hpAi.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/m0nWC3T.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/Hey5F9W.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/98FNXfI.jpg)
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Mighty fine. You might be hard pressed to let that one out the door.
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Lovely work.
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I really like it. That’s a beautiful rifle.
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I love the details in your modeling. It is masterful.
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Hi,
Here is the finished rifle. I will rub in some wax after Xmas as soon as the finish is fully cured. The finish was a struggle due to the roller coaster temperatures and humidity. I used sandpaper to smooth the wood before staining but the final step was a light scraping. The slight texture from that is evident in some of the photos. The barrel is just degreased and coated with instant bluing. Then I rub it back to a tarnish. I installed a front sight but not the rear. The owner wants to install it where he can see it best. It came out pretty nicely and looks credible as a Haines product.
dave
(https://i.ibb.co/Pr5bX08/finished-rifle-1.jpg) (https://ibb.co/3T086QH)
(https://i.ibb.co/LRMhnWw/finished-rifle-2.jpg) (https://ibb.co/PjRzwnp)
(https://i.ibb.co/MGpxr17/finished-rifle-3.jpg) (https://ibb.co/9V2k64W)
(https://i.ibb.co/nkKCHrG/finished-rifle-4.jpg) (https://ibb.co/bdGJS10)
(https://i.ibb.co/Gc6d2fb/finished-rifle-5.jpg) (https://ibb.co/m6jRqrM)
(https://i.ibb.co/7VXqSz5/finished-rifle-6.jpg) (https://ibb.co/3W7nTsq)
(https://i.ibb.co/hLgycwy/finished-rifle-7.jpg) (https://ibb.co/RYg9Nd9)
(https://i.ibb.co/mvFKNLb/finished-rifle-8.jpg) (https://ibb.co/TKqGWVY)
(https://i.ibb.co/gjr3c15/finished-rifle-9.jpg) (https://ibb.co/p01xkDt)
(https://i.ibb.co/9ywYM7C/finished-rifle-10.jpg) (https://ibb.co/gtvgnxB)
(https://i.ibb.co/nQQL4ky/finished-rifle-11.jpg) (https://ibb.co/KVVrByg)
(https://i.ibb.co/X5HF4Dn/finished-rifle-12.jpg) (https://ibb.co/pKq4PQH)
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That’s a real delight.
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That is a fine rifle. Thanks for posting your progress.
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Beautify crafted Dave. "It came out pretty nicely and looks credible as a Haines product." and Extremely humble.
Tim
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Loving your work, Dave, great stuff.
At first glance, your toe piece looked like a weird snowman! Took a minute to see it correctly - LOL~
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Loving your work, Dave, great stuff.
At first glance, your toe piece looked like a weird snowman! Took a minute to see it correctly - LOL~
Reminds me of the Ghost of Christmas Past from Disney's "Christmas Carol".
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Hi Guys,
Thanks for looking and commenting. As I posted previously, it was a Chambers Isaac Haines kit. I am not fond of doing kits because they rarely fit well with my objectives. In this case, the owner wanted the decoration to copy RCA #81, which is the rifle I think the kit was loosely based on. However, I can't build an accurate copy because the barrel is way too short, the lock is too large (a standard Siler would be perfect), and the side plate is too large. Because those components were partly machine inlet, I really could not change any dimensions. Despite that, the project was a lot of fun and I learned quite a bit about Haines' style, which was rewarding. I think the owner will be happy as the rifle is exactly what he requested of me. I aim to please.
The toe plate is funky. It is inspired by but not a copy of a plate on one of Haines' earlier rifles. The engraving is from that rifle as well. Maybe Haines meant to do a busty liberty cap lady but had second thoughts and turned it into something else.
Thanks for looking folks,
dave
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Dave, you did an outstanding job on what I consider to be very challenging carvings. I don't believe any of them could be considered simple. I also like your finished stain. Your client is going to have a Merry Merry Christmas.
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Beautifully done. I really like all the small details that you executed. Great work Dave.
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Beautiful rifle, elegant carving.
Best regards
Rolf
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Beautiful work, very well executed
I love it
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Dave as the others have said this is a fine rifle and very well executed workmanship. I enjoy building from a blank as much as anybody but I do put together a few of the better kit rifles and this particular kit is one of the best out on the market and has been for many years. You can and have built a spectacular rifle and it just goes to prove what can be done with a good set of parts if one has the knowledge and skills, which you definitely have.
Great Job and thanks for sharing.
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The praises of all these contributors is well deserved Dave. Not having seen the Haines rifle personally or in colour in print, I cannot attest to the colour you have presented, but it is very charming. The rifle certainly compliments Mr. Haines work...appears to have come from the same shop. Nicely done.
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Absolutely lovely. I do like seeing new rifles, new.
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Good job, Dave..., looks great!!
Ed
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Hi,
Thanks for looking and commenting. It was more fun than I originally thought and I learned a bit about Haines from doing it. He was a great maker and carver who seems to have held on to classic European style and quality longer and better than his contemporaries. I wish we knew more about him. I wonder to whom he apprenticed? I wish the barrel was 45", and the lock and side plate smaller and more like the original gun. There is only so much you can do with a kit. Thanks again.
dave
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Impeccable workmanship and carving....you captured the "flavor" of Haines. Did you reduce the size of the cheekpiece and slightly relocate it?.....anyways it allowed the carving, behind and in front of the cheekpiece just the right amount of space for the carving. A fine LR.....Fred
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Great craftsmanship. I hope mine turns out half that nice. Al
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Dave,
Another great job. Thanks for showing it.
David Price
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One of the prettiest rifles I've seen in a long time. Love the wood.