First Attempt at a Fowler - Please Critique

[gwill]

I finished a half stock fowler just before Christmas.  It was quite an experience and challenge - my first fowler - starting from a blank which included inletting the barrel and drilling the ramrod hole.  The good news is it shoots great.  However there are a lot of things I see that I want to do better next time!  Maybe some that I don't even know yet.  I would appreciate any suggestions on improving.

Here are the particulars.  Curly ash blank; Colerain 54 octagonal-to-round barrel cut to 36"; Chambers lock; Ebony nose cap; Walnut under rib.

[inlikeflint]

Very nice.  Nothing to critique I can see.

[hanshi]

I agree!

[Kermit]

I'm trying to use my ageing eyesight to puzzle out that wood underrib. Are the sides parallel or do they taper towards the ramrod? In other words, is it a trapezoid in cross section? I'm planing to use a wood rib on a fowling piece I have under way. Thanks.

[smart dog]

Hi Gwill,
Very well done and the wood is beautiful.  I can offer a few pointers but before I do I need to know what you had in mind for this gun.  English style?  Period?  American made?  English made? etc.  There are specific points that can be discussed depending on those details.  Regardless, you did very well.

dave

[rich pierce]

Gwill,
Nice work!  Fit and finish and in general, shaping, are very good.  Couple points on shaping.  Keep in mind the camera angle changes everything, so unless the gun is in hand, it's easy to mis-read what is being viewed.

1.  The buttstock and wrist look very good to me.  The area around the tang does not slope to match the angled flats of the barrel as much as I often see on originals.  As a result, it looks like the lock panels are vertically higher than they need to be.  With a lock this large, there is the opportunity to make the stock look very trim vertically.

2.  The wooden under rib looks thicker vertically than what I have usually seen on New England halfstocks.

There is a lot to like on this build.  Super job on the nose cap.

[E.vonAschwege]

Gwill, That halfstock fowler is a very ambitious project for your first - you should be quite happy with it.  I'm curious what details you want to do better on next time?  The first thing I notice is the thickness of the wooden underrib.  Even on a round barrel, the wooden underrib, usually found on New England gns, is very slim.  Remember that it's held in place by the barrel, and doesn't need to have much strength on its own.  The lock panels could also be slimmed down a bit.  As Smartdog says, we can critique more if we know what you had in mind for the gun.  Thank you for sharing,
-Eric

[gwill]

Thank you to everyone who has commented. The wood was a blank from Ian Pratt that I purchased 2-3 years ago.  It is really a great piece of wood.

Kermit - I struggled with the wooden under rib.  It should be "thinner" and probably trapezoid shaped too.  I just saw an original on a rifle that the owner allowed me to handle and I was blown away by how small and fragile it looked.  Definitely an area for improvement.

Smart Dog - My pattern was Track's "English Fowling Gun circa 1750-1760" with the thought of an English gun made in the States - hence some of the unusual parts and the wood under rib.  I started out to use antler as the nose cap but couldn't get past the smell!  But in all fairness what I was really after was a fun offhand gun for our 25 yard club matches.  I've got to work up a load to see how well I can do with it.   

Rich Pierce - Excellent point on the slope around the tang.  I need work in that area as when it comes to taking off wood I can't seem to convince myself to take enough off.  I totally agree.

EvonAschwege - The areas that I know I need to work on include several already mentioned - thickness of the under rib, slope around the tang, etc.  Also this was the first bought side plate I've used so I missed getting the lock bolts as centered as I should have and I wish I had rounded the forestock a little more.

Guys I am very grateful for the help.  This is my second flintlock build but the first from a blank.  I will use your input to help me improve. 

 

[WadePatton]

awesome curl in that Ash! 

[Gunnermike]

I really like the architecture of your stock and agree with the various minor comments. It is really a great fowler.  I found a photo of a John Dickson & Son fowler of 16 bore with a 35 inch barrel that shows how the taper of the under rib would improve the looks of your gun.  This is a later gun, but all the photos from earlier guns shows the same taper - this just happened to be one of the better photos (taken from the Hallowell website).  Just click on the photo & it will bring you to my photobucket site and click on the magnifer to enlarge.



Again, nice work.  Mike

[Mike Brooks]

Lock panels are hincky. Originals weren't shaped with the sort of "quasi" grooved molding you have used. Check my tutorial or better yet study original guns in hand. I have seen several people on the board shape lock panels the same way, unfortunately, it isn't right.

[gwill]

Got it. Thank you Mike.

[Daryl]

Another example of a wooden underrib. Taylor modified my full stock - jackofmanystyle's gun. A nice job in curly maple. In time, it will lighten in colour as the rest of the rifle's finish, has.

[old george]

Very nice  fowler, I like the look of ash how hard was it to work? The wood rib always look nice.

OG

[gwill]

Hello Old George.  Ash was a challenge but getting a feel for the grain and keeping my tools sharp helped a lot. I missed the mark in a few architectural areas but got the inletting nice and tight. Even inletting the barrel wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Overall I liked working with ash and wouldn't hesitate to use it again.