New pistol

[davebozell]

This is my first build from a blank, and also my first pistol.  (Second build overall.)  It was based on the drawing included with Buchele's "Recreating the American Longrifle".  I'm not sure whether this drawing was based on an original example or not.  My pistol is built around a 10" 40 caliber straight barrel and a small Siler lock.  The stock is plain maple, finished with aqua fortis and Chambers Traditional Oil finish.  I used files, planes, and scrapers to shape the stock.  The metal parts need to be rubbed back a little bit more.









(And on a totally unrelated note, Photobucket finally seems to be working correctly again...)

As always, comments and critiques are welcome.

[smylee grouch]

Looks nice and for a first effort looks real nice. Good job. Whats next?

[davebozell]

Thanks smylee.  My next project will be a Gillespie.  I have the hardware and drawing from Dennis and bought a walnut blank and 40 cal A weight barrel at the Kalamazoo show.  I wanted to try something a little smaller before diving into the Gillespie.  I think I did okay on the barrel inlet.  My other inlets need some more work.  Working with walnut for a rifle will be new for me too.

[Acer Saccharum]

Hey, that's a nice looking pistol! It looks pretty right, in that the architecture looks good. It's so easy to make a pistol that looks chubby, but this does not. Coloration is good, too. Nice job.


Suggestion: Think about making your own sights for the the next pistol. They could be much simpler and scaled to pistol size.

[davebozell]

Acer, I agree on the sights.  I cut these down quite a bit and they still look pretty big.  I'll try making my own for my next pistol.  (That will be a couple builds down the line...)  Addiction?  What addiction? 

[Acer Saccharum]

No, you just build one, and then it's out of your system. 

[greybeard]

I would suggest the installation of a front lock bolt. Could save you some problems down the road.
Pretty good for a first effort.
     Bob

[Pete G.]

No, you just build one, and then it's out of your system. 

...and then the NEXT one enters your system

[davebozell]

The sights really were bothering me, so tonight, I filed out a new, smaller front sight.  Tomorrow, I will work on the rear sight.  I figured that I could still fix this one, why wait for the next build.

Here's the new one:


And a comparison to the first sight that I used:


Hopefully that looks a little better.

[Daryl]

To hit centre and not miles high, usually on a pistol the front sight has to be noticeably higher than the top of the notch of the rear sight.