Finally done I think

[David R. Pennington]

Well here is one I think I am finally finished with. I am not very good but I'm slow. 48" x .45 new old stock 1973 Boyd Henry barrel. Lock made up of parts and I made most of the internals, (mainspring, tumbler, stirrup, fly, screws etc.,. ). Mounts are all forged from wrought iron. Triggers reshaped from new old stock set of unknown origin. Maple stock from blank.
I would welcome some constructive critique.

[rich pierce]

Nice clean rifle. With rifles like this, it helps to know what this build is based on. Some things may reflect something on originals.

It looks like there’s a sort of clear transition just behind the tang. Is that something you saw and liked from an original?  Normally I’d want a more smooth transition starting in the tang.

Another point is the top edge of the lock panels appears high, as though there is little slope of the wood beside the tang down toward the lock panel. Like it’s just mildly rounded versus sloped.  Again, may be a feature you were emulating.

[David R. Pennington]

Rich, roughly based on a rifle in Whisker's 'Gunsmiths of West Virginia' he calls a primitive rifle. The original has a tombstone shaped grease hole with a little wire inlay around. I added the simple iron box. I tried to get the slope on top but here is kind of how it goes. The barrel is a straight 13/16" and when the lock bolt placement worked out it was so high I didn't have much room. Had the barrel been thicker in the breech It would put the lock lower, the way it is I was running into the sideplate before I could get much slope. Is there a way to make it better? It is hard to get a good grasp of how it should look in 3d from flat bw photos.

[mountainman70]

Hi Dave, it looks good,my friend. it is definatly a challenge to build from flat pics.. Shot it yet?  Happy Thanksgiving . Dave F

[John Archer]

David,

You've done a very nice job forging your mounts......however, I would slim down the edges of the butt plate...they look a little thick in the photos.

John.

[hanshi]

Not being a builder, I can't comment on any technical aspects.  What I can comment on is the fine job you did.  I like the rifle.

[Dennis Glazener]

Nice rifle, the only comment I might add is that tang seems more appropriate on a PA style rifle than a southern rifle. I would probably have used a spear shaped one or one with some type of "fingernail". But maybe the original had that fan tail type tang.
Dennis

[bgf]

Dennis beat me to it -- spear point or leaf tang!  I think that flared tang especially with the small barrel leads to the abrupt transition noted by someone else, as it thickens right where the wrist is tapering...

I've seen your forging and these parts are nice as I expect.  I love how you adapted the grease hole design on original to a simple yet elegant patch box.

Beautiful shaping on the buttstock and cheek!

That small barrel sounds like it caused some layout issues, but you got a very natural, unaffected result.  I once went looking through books at lock/panels on originals and found every variation imaginable!

Anyway, I like it a lot.  You might do a couple of things differently next time, but I don't think this one needs to be fixed...

[David R. Pennington]

Thanks guys, These things help me. John, one reason the bp may seem a little thick is the iron I used was really low grade stuff and kept wanting to delaminate. I finally got tired of trying to weld all the little places back and said good enough. As I filed a couple places on the edge started to open up so I left it thick to keep from having a knife edge.
Dave, I think it will be a shooter. First time out I was getting cloverleaf holes. Need to do some more work on paper at the range.

[Stoner creek]

Is that wire inlay along the border of the patchbox? How did you get it to shade darker there? I really like the profile of your stock and the finish is wonderful. I’d love to have a drawer full of those iron mounts!
Great job David!!

[David R. Pennington]

Silver wire that the aqua fortis reacted to darkening the wood there. I didn't know it would do that. It wasn't intentional. I really struggled with the finish. The first try looked awful and I scraped it back and started over after mixing up a fresh batch of aqua fortis. The stock was from an old stock blank with date of 1973 on it and was so darkened you couldn't see any curl.
What about fore stock molding, does it look ok?

[David R. Pennington]

[ddoyle]

Much thanks for sharing. Those forestock pictures are a real treat. 

[Longwalker]

Hi David,
Really pretty rifle. Love the staining of the stock, nice color.
I'll bet it will be a real shooter too!
Thanks for showing it to us!
Harry

[rich pierce]

Your moldings, consistency and flow of forestock is very attractive to me.

[Daryl]

I like the lines and think the rifle will be a good holding rifle. I find the forend moulding, quite STELLAR!

[mountainman70]

Y'all gonna make ol brother Davids head so big he wont be fit company for anyone but hisself. Why, he will be so uppity we will have to quarantine him out on the far end of the firing line, just sos he will have room for his big ol head !!!lol. Seiously, everyone, a more humble and Christian man would be hard to find. I count it a priviledge to burn powder with him, and call him friend.
Best regards,all y'all !! Dave F

ps  and the rifle is sweet,too !!

[Chowmi]

I really like that rifle. My favorite part is the crisp clean lines that you made throughout the rifle.
Everything looks sharp and well done.
The forged hardware looks great. I wish I had the skills to do that.
It looks like a really nice rifle to shoot and the finish is great.

There are a few things that catch my inexperienced eye, so take them for what they are worth.
Also, I have not seen the rifle that you patterned it after, nor do I know anything about WV rifles.

The lock mortise seems a bit large to me. The bottom of the mortise is much thicker than the top and the front and back seem to be extended very far, giving it a slightly chunky look around the lock.
If that's what the original looked like, disregard.

The photo seems to make it look like the wood is flat around the barrel tang extending to the wrist. Is that just the photo? 

With all that said, I think it's a great build and especially like the crispness of all the lines.
Good work! 
Cheers,
Norm.