New England fowler finished

[KC]

That looks great. I really like the color and finish of the stock. How did you finish the lock?

[Ed Wenger]

I really like the way everything "flows" in the architecture, very pleasing to the eye.  Finish is really nice as well.  Great job, Dave!  Thanks for sharing!


       Ed 

[CoSnipe]

That looks great. I really like the color and finish of the stock. How did you finish the lock?

I agree that stock is beautiful.nice work

[smart dog]

Hi Folks and thank you for looking,
The lock finish comes from the case hardening process for the lockplate and flintcock.  I add potassium nitrate to the quench water and it tints the metal a gray-green-blue.  Then I polish the metal lightly without losing all the color and then temper the parts at 490-510 degrees.  That changes the colors to a bluegreen.  It is not color case hardening, just taking advantage of the tempering colors.  The color will fade over time and wear but even then it looks really good and consistent with original guns I've examined that have protected areas showing the original heat treatment.  The stock finish relied on some ideas I learned from Mike Brooks.  I coated the stock with heavily thinned flat black enamel paint before staining.  Then I used that coat as the last whiskering coat and rubbed it off with a gray scotchbright pad.  Then I tinted the cherry with a mixture of aniline dyes (primary colors mixed) to darken the cherry.  I predict that as the cherry naturally ages and darkens, the result on this stock will be spectacular. Cherry has a fine but indiscriminant grain and I have enhanced that greatly.

dave

[staggerwing]

A very nice build!  Great job!

[Dan'l 1946]

  I have a cherry stocked fowler and am still amazed at its beauty. It has figure for its full length and when the sunlight hits it it just glows. You won't be disappointed if you choose to go with cherry.
                         Dan

[J. Talbert]

VERY attractive!
Everything about it works for me. 

Jeff

[Cory Joe Stewart]

I love that.  That is so simple and elegant.  Fantastic.

[Hemo]

Beautiful result, and very believable for the intended time and place! Very neat and "workmanlike". Interesting use of nails on the buttplate. Is that a nail or pin in the middle of the sideplate?

Gregg

[t.caster]

I like everything about it. Beautiful!

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

How could I have missed this one?

This is simply a great gun!  Although the stock design - the French influence - is not my favourite as a shooter, the execution is perfect.

Taylor

[Acer Saccharum]

The only thing I would have done different is the buttplate finial.

You would have done it different, because you haint from Niew Angland. Also because you're Mike Brooks.

[Acer Saccharum]

Dave, I think this is a great piece. The architecture is that kind of awkward New England style, that looks a little weird to the PA eye. You captured it very well. I like reading your process of hardware selecting and making.

[B Shipman]

Wow. I agree with Acer. Very nice.

[smart dog]

Hi,
I guess I owe Dan'l for bumping up an older thread.  Thanks folks for looking and your comments.  Tom, Bill, and Taylor, thank you. It is nice to hear from the "A" team.  The fowler shoots really well, better than I expected. After testing the gun I fired offhand at a target from 40 yards using "running ball" which was a 0.61 loose ball on top of 70gr 2f powder with no patch and a wad on top. That was similar to a battlefield load or one used for sentry duty.  I was able to shoot an 8" by 1.5" group just out of the black at 12 o'clock.  That certainly would have been lethal shooting.  Then I shot at offhand at 50 yards with a 0.575 balled patched with 0.015" thick patches and 60 gr 2F powder (target shown below).  The shots were scattered everywhere. I changed to 0.020" patches and I shot the group at 6 o'clock just out of the black. I raised my aim and fired 4 shots into the black, 3 of which were touching in the 10 ring and one flier in the 7 ring.  Then I moved back to 85 yards and fired 2 shots into the black and 1 into the 8 ring.  That gun would have been deadly for British officers during Concord. I suspect a 0.60 ball or thicker patching would do even better.  The irony is, it will probably never fire a bullet again but be used for re-enactments firing blanks and educational events.  That is fine with me because I hope it shows the public the high quality of guns made by colonial makers in contrast to the India-made imports so many see at living history events. I gave the targets to the new owner.

dave

[Curtis]

Smart Dog,  Those groups are almost as impressive as your workmanship!  Very interesting!

Curtis

[Daryl]

Yes- wish my 20 bore shot that well.  Well done, Dave.

[smart dog]

Hi Curtis and Daryl,
I used to compete in biathlon (skiing and shooting) and was coached by instructors with the US Army National Guard biathlon team.  More important, I was taught to shoot shotguns, pistols, and rifles by my brother John, one of the best shooters ever produced by the US.  John shot the Berdan's sharpshooter qualifier sponsored by the NSSA in 1991. The test is to shoot 10 shots with a standard Civil War era rifled musket and military sights offhand at 100 yards. The deviation from center for each shot is measured and totaled, and cannot exceed 50" to qualify.  John's total deviation, shot with a Parker Hale 3-band Enfield musket was 14".  Nine of his shots almost touched in the center with 1 flier 3" out. That score will probably never be exceeded.  John passed away last May.

dave    

[Curtis]

Dave, Very sorry to hear of your brother's passing.  The positive side of things, it sounds like you had a great brother and teacher while he was here with you!

Curtis

[Robby]

Sorry for your loss Dave, lost my brother this past January. He was his battalion champion with the m-14.
Robby

[draken]

Sorry to hear of your loss, Dave.  Your brother was truly great teacher.
Your Fowler is truly beautiful.  Nothing I can say that hasn't been said already.