Looking for Pre-Rev War and Rev War rifles is what I'm mainly looking for. Have any of you found and wooden patch box rifles. Reason why is I want to build one from time period and want to know if it is correct.
There are a few examples in the Gusler articles I listed on my web site. Check out articles 1, 4,5, and 6 for starters. They all had wood boxes to start. Also take note of the two Augusta/Rockbridge rifles documented in Journal of Historical Armsmaking Technology(JHAT) Vol. 2. There is also the brass barreled rifle found in RCA along with rifles by Haymaker and others. These are all pre-Rev or Rev. You just need to spend some money on some books, particularly RCA.
Either simple metal boxes or wood boxes are correct for pre-Rev and Rev. Wood boxes were found before and after the Rev War. If you want to build a wood box rifle, I would recommend that you check out the Haymaker rifles in RCA Vol 2.