Pattern 1730 Brown Bess

[smart dog]

Hi,
Done! Ready for service. It represents one of the upgraded pattern 1730s that likely was commonly used in North America before and during the French and Indian War. The other common workhorse was the pattern 1742. The early pattern Besses are the best shooters because they were lighter and had more drop in the stock. It weighs 9.5 lbs, has a 46" 75 caliber barrel, TRS parts including the lock, which I built, sheet brass nose band, and hand forged sling swivels. The ramrod is ash and the stock is black walnut stained to look like English walnut. The musket was finished with files and scrapers and I worked fast. I left tool marks and chatter marks from the scrapers as existed on the originals. It is humbling to know that a team of 10 skilled ordnance tradesmen would assemble a complete musket from a rough stock blank and have it ready for finish in one work day.




























Finally, a bevy of British military beauties:



dave

[rich pierce]

Looks great! Must handle nicely at that weight. What sort of stock did you use for forging the sling swivels?

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Really nice work Dave.  That model is a joy to shoot...killed my first moose with a similar gun using .735" pure lead ball, .030" patch and 100 gr. FFg GOEX in 1979.  Shot was uphill slightly at exactly 100 paces.  Moose staggered twenty yards and fell dead.

[smart dog]

Hi and thanks Rich and Taylor,
It was a lot of fun and I spent a lot of time doing research.  It looks really credible when you see it up close.  I wish I had the capacity to stamp the proper proof and inspection marks.  That would really seal the authenticity deal. I hand it off to the owner this Saturday but he needs to bring it back so I can fit the bayonet, which has been on order for months.  Rich, I used 5/32" spring steel rod (1075 I think).  I bent the ends into eye loops and then welded the joint.  Then heated the loop red and peened it flat on the sides.  I shaped the eyes and then formed the rest of the swivel.  Drilled one eye to clear the screw and drilled and tapped the other with 6-32 thread.  After cleaning them up and polishing a little, I hardened the steel and tempered as I would a spring (750 degrees F).  They really look like the originals on the pattern 1730 that I used as models. Swivels on that pattern tended to use thinner rod than later patterns.  Note how "ball-like" the swell in the stock at the rear ramrod pipe.  That is another feature peculiar to this pattern and all later patterns had more oval and subtle swells.  The sheet brass nose band is open at the end and inlet but simply crimped over the barrel channel walls.  It also has a brass rivet.  I did not finish it finely and left scratches and file marks just like the originals.  These were not issued with the musket but installed by the regimental armorer.  Some were very crudely done.  The upgrades to this pattern include the elimination of the double looped barrel lugs that also served to anchor the pipes. That was a clever cost cutting measure but was a disaster in the field because if you removed the barrel, the pipes might also fall out.  My musket has separate pins for pipes and barrel, a change that was quickly made by British ordnance. The original Dutch-like trigger guard was weak and easily damaged.  Many upgraded 1730s versions such as this one had the robust guard used on all later Besses installed.  Finally, many had newer pattern 1740 locks installed, which had pan bridles.  My musket represents one produced at the end of the pattern 1730s production period, incorporating most important upgrades (except steel rammer) and is a type commonly used in North America.

dave     

[rich pierce]

I figured you’d have those swivels hardened and tempered. I was kind of drawing you out for the good of others. A functional swivel takes a lot of strain and mild steel will easily become deformed.

[Clark Badgett]

That is one fine looking Bess. Do you have a source for the ash rammer blanks?

[Ed Wenger]

Wow..., they don’t get any better than that.  Super work, great job, Dave!!


          Ed

[FALout]

Buddy of mine had a Brown Bess (I had a Charleville at the time)and I’ve always liked them but didn’t know that some were easier to shoot due the drop.  Someday I might have to try making one.  That is one nice BB.
Bob

[fahnenschmied]

Very nice - I put one together like that for a friend a couple years ago, only I fitted it with the split lugs where the rammer pipes were held by the same pin as the barrel.  What did you do to make the American walnut look like English?  My next project is an 1810s - 1820s trade gun, and I have black walnut I want to look like English.

[smart dog]

Hi and thanks for looking and commenting,
Fahnenschmied,  first you stain the black walnut with pure yellow aniline dye.  That kills the cold purple-brown of black walnut and warms it up.  For some black walnut that is more reddish than typical, that may be all you need to do.  For those blanks in which the brown tint is the usual dead chocolate color, adding more red by staining with alkanet root can solve the problem.  Also, in some cases LMF's walnut stain is an excellent addition after the yellow.  I always have to experiment with scraps first to work out the solution but I always start with yellow.  Below are photos of black walnut stocked guns that I stained to look more like English walnut:
   












dave

[bones92]

Wow, a great looking Bess!  And the other pieces are exquisite, as well.