Swivel breech construction

[Hungry Horse]

I have a .45 cal. rifle barrel that came off of a Harrington and Richardson break action muzzleloader. The gun was new but was one of the models that used an "O" ring breech plug. These guns were deemed unsafe, and this one was scrapped to prevent accidents. I got the barrel after the breech section had been milled off. It has been in my scrap pile for some time, and only recently did I discover it has a very similar contour to a .24 ga. shotgun barrel I have in that same scrap pile. My thought is to make either a swivel breech, or an over and under with fixed barrels, and possibly side slapper locks. Any suggestions? These barrels are short( about 27" long) so the gun would be a late percussion buggy rifle, most likely using a back action lock if made up as a swivel.

                                          Hungry Horse

[sydney]

Hi-I just finished a swivel breech-a lot of work but worth it
     There are several books on how to build it and you will need them
     You should make a full size drawing and plan it out carefully
       before starting
     Lots of people here will help
        Sydney

[Hungry Horse]

 In either case I am going to have to join the barrels with a rib. What method did you use? Having had a lot of bad experiences with old English double guns with barrel separation issues. I am wary of soft solder. Silver solder, and brazing, are nearly done at the same temperature and may be a real challenge with a heavy rifle barrel, being joined to a thin shotgun barrel.
 At this point I am leaning towards  the fixed barrels, with Siamese mule ear hammers, On a single plate, just so I don't have to deal with the rotational engineering involved in a swivel. I'm thinking the breech plate,  tang, and trigger plate could be all one piece. The lock plate, and side plate, could fit together to form in essence  a box lock. Does this sound feasible?

                         Hungry Horse

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Yes, it's certainly do-able.  But the difference between the heat required for soft and hard soldering, is profound.  For hard (silver) soldering, you need red heat.  Your barrels can be joined by soft soldering shaped spacers between them.  Octagonal rifle barrels, for instance, are joined by dovetailing rather than soldering.  Soft solder, when done properly, is lots strong enough.

But first, you must let your creative juices loose, and make a set of drawings.  If you can't draw it, you won't be able to make it.  At least that's my experience and opinion.

[James]

Hi-I just finished a swivel breech-a lot of work but worth it
     There are several books on how to build it and you will need them
     You should make a full size drawing and plan it out carefully
       before starting
     Lots of people here will help
        Sydney

I am aware of Dave Water's book, but don't know of other swivel breech books. Could you list them here?  Thank you, Jim

[sydney]

HI jim--as i was interested in pistols i was thinking of
           pistols Of The World--it shows a couple of pages of swivelbreech
           pistols
             Sydney