Author Topic: Hunters Star cheek piece inlay. (Read 12042 times)

LehighBrad · « **on:** April 28, 2012, 01:43:00 AM »

Since I plan to cut out a bigger, better, more correct style of hunters star for my rifle I was wondering if it really matters what kind of metal it's made from. I've got a nice piece of plain raw steel sheet about 1/16" thick and I was considering cutting my star out of this stuff. I see no reason why not....rusting shouldn't be a problem since I'm kind of anal about keeping my guns oiled up and protected. The only reason I was wondering about using this sheet steel I have is because I have no sheet silver or whatever they use to make inlays with. For all I know raw polished steel IS what's used.

smallpatch · « **Reply #1 on:** April 28, 2012, 01:51:29 AM »

Brad,

German Silver
Cheap from TOW

mr. no gold · « **Reply #2 on:** April 28, 2012, 01:59:15 AM »

Tradition calls for good silver, or sometimes brass, for the cheek rest inlay. Never saw a rifle with iron inlays, but then, why not?
Dick

bob in the woods · « **Reply #3 on:** April 28, 2012, 02:02:08 AM »

I might get beat up for saying so, but I really dislike "german" silver for inlays on a longrifle. It just doesn't look right to me . Coin silver has a completely different look IMO and I use it or pure silver.

JohnTyg · « **Reply #4 on:** April 28, 2012, 02:21:54 AM »

"German silver" is a copper, nickel, zinc alloy.

It contains no silver and wasn't popular on rifles until after the 1800s. I collect american railroad watches and this was a popular material for cheap watch cases in the late 1800s. When freshly polished it looks only OK but it rapidly tarnishes to a dull grey like finish, no comparison to coin silver which is 90% real silver content.

Coin silver is readily available. You can pick up a couple of worn silver dollars or 1/2 dollars off eBay typically at cost. Easily flattened and worked. Softer than german silver and so easily engraved.

John

heinz · « **Reply #5 on:** April 28, 2012, 02:42:55 AM »

Brad, go down to the local coin shop and by a scrap grade silver quarter or half dollar. I think 15 to 25 dollars. Heat it up to anneal it and pound it out flat on the anvil or a steel block. Genuine coin silver.

Heinz

joatmon · « **Reply #6 on:** April 28, 2012, 07:16:41 AM »

Living next to a trane tracks I have the perfect flatener!

LehighBrad · « **Reply #7 on:** April 28, 2012, 03:30:25 PM »

I guess I could pound out and flatten my 1888 gold liberty head coin.

Just kidding. Wish I had one of those babies!
Anyhooo.....I do have some silver dollar coins laying around here somewhere.....I don't think they're worth much. Not worth as much to me as a nice hunters star inlay anyway. Once again thank you guys.

Jerry V Lape · « **Reply #8 on:** April 28, 2012, 06:04:03 PM »

Brad, look in your wife's spoon collection for an old beat up one with a sterling mark. Since I have to look through the local thrift/antique stores with my wife to keep her happy anyway, I keep an eye out for small silver oddities. I recently found a little saucer like thing hat would make a dozen hunter's stars for $3 which is clearly high quality silver but not stamped sterling. A nice silver dollar can easily be 10 times that.

I also like the suggestion of finding a damaged/worn old coin at a coin shop.

Dphariss · « **Reply #9 on:** April 28, 2012, 06:37:28 PM »

Quote from: LehighBrad on April 28, 2012, 01:43:00 AM

Since I plan to cut out a bigger, better, more correct style of hunters star for my rifle I was wondering if it really matters what kind of metal it's made from. I've got a nice piece of plain raw steel sheet about 1/16" thick and I was considering cutting my star out of this stuff. I see no reason why not....rusting shouldn't be a problem since I'm kind of anal about keeping my guns oiled up and protected. The only reason I was wondering about using this sheet steel I have is because I have no sheet silver or whatever they use to make inlays with. For all I know raw polished steel IS what's used.

Use brass or silver.
Silver rounds, 99+ fine make excellent inlays and can be rolled thin at most jewelers or annealed and beaten out with a smooth faced hammer on an anvil. Same for an old coin so long as its worn past collector value or is not rare.
Brass sheet is easy to find.
German silver in not really suitable on a flintlock.
I dislike the stuff.

Dan

mr. no gold · « **Reply #10 on:** April 28, 2012, 06:53:55 PM »

German silver began to show up on KY Rifles sometime in the 1840s and may have been something of a fad, just as aluminun inlays were in the very late 1800s. There are a few WVA guns which have that. I agree that GS is inferior to silver in appearance and unless you are buiiding what would be termed a late gun, you would do better to go with good silver. You have received some excellent advice here in the above postings, so you should be able to follow through easily.
Dick

draken · « **Reply #11 on:** April 28, 2012, 06:54:49 PM »

Quote from: joatmon on April 28, 2012, 07:16:41 AM

Living next to a trane tracks I have the perfect flatener!

Funny you should mention that, I have a couple of those quarters with the caribou on them laying on the tracks at this moment.

T*O*F · « **Reply #12 on:** April 28, 2012, 07:24:21 PM »

Brad,
This is to save you a question later when you run into problems. Heating silver can be tricky. To anneal it, heat it in a dark room until it just turns a dull red. Then STOP. It overheats easily which can lead to problems with scaling.

Tom Currie · « **Reply #13 on:** April 28, 2012, 07:40:57 PM »

Find a local jeweler's supply store, they usually carry sheet silver in various guage's. Cost is no more than old coins I think due to the fact that you buy only what you need in thickness. ( coins are twice as thick as you need ). I have banged out coin silver before but this is much easier.

LehighBrad · « **Reply #14 on:** April 28, 2012, 09:13:35 PM »

Oh boy......the wife ain't gonna like this but a few years back I made her a whimsical bird house for the back yard which consisted of using old flea market spoons that we bought for the purpose of making perches and decorative roof trim on that birdhouse. I just looked closely at the spoons I used on that birdhouse and the biggest one (a large soup spoon) that I made a sort of porch awning over the front hole with HAS a sterling stamp on it!!! Guess what I'm gonna do. She'll never notice!!

J.Cundiff · « **Reply #15 on:** April 28, 2012, 11:49:53 PM »

LOL! I like the way you think!

LehighBrad · « **Reply #16 on:** April 29, 2012, 01:30:15 AM »

2 and a half hours wasted...well almost. The silver soup spoon makes a nice hunters star inlay, just not for my rifle. Due to the amount of metal, the spoons shape wasn't large enough to allow for the east and west points to be made elongated.

So.....it just became a future powder horn base plug garnish.

smallpatch · « **Reply #17 on:** April 29, 2012, 04:25:10 AM »

Brad,

While some have said that German silver is not traditional........ I don't know of anyone that could tell the difference. Just call track and order a piece .032 or .040 and make your star. It's just not that expensive, and looks traditional.

You can still move that cheekpiece further ahead and make it smaller. That will change it proportionately closer to what it should be.

LehighBrad · « **Reply #18 on:** April 29, 2012, 05:03:19 AM »

Dane.....I was looking through my TOTW catalog and it doesn't show the sheet silver in it. So I called....they're shipping me some this coming week. I guess I oughtta stop putting off this comb shaving and relief carving now and concentrate on getting that done at least. $:-\$ Hopfully the carving mood will strike me tommorrow. I know this may sound weird but, I have to be in the right mindset before I begin more wood removal. This rifle project started 14 months ago and I don't wanna screw up now.

DB · « **Reply #19 on:** April 29, 2012, 05:27:43 AM »

I know what he means

smallpatch · « **Reply #20 on:** April 29, 2012, 07:03:18 AM »

Absolutely,

Any thing that affects architecture or decoration MUST be taken seriously. The juices need to flow. When I draw carving, I'll leave it over night, come back and look at it again, change what needs changing, and let it sit again..... repeat the process, let it sit again.... ad infinitum, till I'm happy. You've just gotta be in the right frame of mind.

Brad, TOW calls German Silver "nickel". Same thing.

Rolf · « **Reply #21 on:** April 29, 2012, 11:50:50 AM »

I do a bit of silverwork and use german silver for trial runs. It is harder to work with than silver, but alot cheaper.
Newly polished high quality german silver with a high nickel content looks almost like silver, but the yellow tint is always easily seen in a week or two. Also the higher the nickel content, the harder it is to anneal it.

The cost of a silver hunters star is peanuts, compared to the amount of time and money you already have invested in the rifle. If you use real silver, you won't regret it. But, you might regret using german silver.

Best regards

Rolf

sweetbyandby · « **Reply #22 on:** May 07, 2012, 03:13:11 AM »

Take Mr.Currie suggestion and go to your local jewelry store and order the size you need. About.030 in thickness should work. If you buy sterling silver you do not have to soften it .Silver is about $30 an ounce but well worth it . Good luck

mjm46@bellsouth.net · « **Reply #23 on:** May 07, 2012, 03:48:34 AM »

Here's a link for sterling silver.

http://www.thunderbirdsupply.com/proddetail.aspx?StockNum=110006

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Author Topic: Hunters Star cheek piece inlay. (Read 12042 times)

LehighBrad

JohnTyg

joatmon

LehighBrad

LehighBrad

J.Cundiff

LehighBrad

LehighBrad

DB

sweetbyandby

mjm46@bellsouth.net