Some really fun engraving

[smart dog]

Hi Friends,
I built a 1630's English fowler a few years ago and recently dressed the lock up with some engraving.  It is a type 1 English lock that I built from parts sold by the Rifle Shoppe.  All springs and screws were hand made.  I had a very specific objective for the engraving.  I've looked at many photos of locks engraved by English makers during that period and wanted to simulate the look, design, and feel of the better British work, which was much more provincial looking than the continental work, particularly French work.  It was a bit of a challenge because I did not want the engraving to look like modern banknote work. I wanted a somewhat primitive design but not something crude. I wanted to use period motifs and I had to fill some very difficult spaces.  It was fun and I think the results came out pretty well, although I made numerous mistakes.  I think it looks like the "real" thing.  Enjoy the photos,

dave

[horseman]

 I think that's darn good!  The jaws are really a firebreathing critter!

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

Now that is a fun lock.........they had a real sense of humor!!!  Beautiful work Dave.  Thanks for sharing this.

[alex e.]

I like it! ;)For some reason ,Earlier & earlier guns are gaining my attention.
-Alex

[Tom Currie]

Very creative Dave....I like it.

[agaboric]

Very nice job, I really like it, keep up the good work!
-Andy

[Captchee]

nice job  sir . i like your lay out

 myself i have always been  more into the heavy relief carving  of the periods .

someday , i have to  try may hand at doing this cock

[Dphariss]

Very nice. I especially like the smaller dragon heads.

Dan

[Mike Brooks]

Cool beans man.

[Rolf]

Beautiful engraving. Dave. What tools to you use?

Best regards
Rolfkt

[J. Talbert]

Sweet!

I love it,
Jeff

[James Rogers]

Dave,

That just looks super.  I can see in my mind a progression into the early 18th century with a lightening up on the serpentine and adding a bit more strawberry vines.
Very neat.

[smylee grouch]

That realy looks great. How long did it take to make and engrave the beast?  Musta been quite awhile. Gary

[J. Talbert]

Hey Dave,

I'm intrigued by the lock.  How about a picture with the frizzen open and a shot of the inside?

Thanks,

Jeff

[smart dog]

Thank you all for looking and for the comments,

Rolf,
I did much of the basic outlining with a chisel and hammer so that I could simulate old work more closely. However, once outlined, all of the detail work and cleaning up of the outlining was done with a Lindsay Airgraver.  The chisel was a simple 90 degree square tool.  I used a 110 degree tool in the Airgraver for cleanup and highlighting, and then a very small 90 degree tool for the details and shading.
 
James,
Strawberry leaves would be appropriate on my lock.  In fact, most English locks for which I had photos, had predominately strawberry leaf engraving.  I just don't like that motif.  It was usually flat and crudely done and the 3-leaf shape is not very elegant. I looked at photos of 3 pistols built in the 1640s and they all had strawberry leaf carving around the barrel tangs.  It was crudely done and very unappealing to me.  I think the English Civil War and the subsequent Protectorate of Cromwell played a big role in stunting the development of quality decoration on British guns during the mid 1600s. When the monarchy was restored and continental gunsmiths migrated to England, the market for decorated guns blossomed and the local talent improved greatly.  I envisioned myself as a local gunsmith in the 1640's, maybe working for a royalist supporter, trying to produce decoration similar to continental work.  The result would be better than run of the mill English work at the time but not up to the standard of the Parisian makers.

Gary,
The scale pattern really did not take that long.  I think I probably finished it in a couple of hours complete with the accent lines. It was tedious but still fun to do in a mind numbing, vegetative state sort of way.

Captchee,
I am trying to hone my skills to get there. High relief will be my next challenge but I am going to start with bone.  You guys will see the results of that later this coming summer.

Jeff,
I will take some pictures of the inside of the lock today and post them.  We finally have a little sunlight after almost a month of pouring rain.

Thanks again everyone,

dave

[J. Talbert]

Thanks Dave,

Lookin forward to that

jeff

[smart dog]

I posted some pictures of the inside and outside of the lock so folks can see how the lateral sear mechanism works.  The same design is used on snaphaunce locks though many did not have a half cock notch in the sear.  You can also see that the mechanism is pretty crude but effective.  I added the washer on the tumbler because it provides even pressure on the tumbler pushing it against the lockplate.  It is an improvement over just the peg. I filed and polished the outside of the plate in preparation for engraving to remove as many of the casting inclusions and pits that I could.  It was not one of TRS's better casting jobs and some pits are still left.  When I built the lock I also cleaned up many of the parts because they were really pretty crude.  These English locks were pretty rough but sturdy. 

dave

 

Lock at full cock, note the sear bar catching the tail of the cock.



Tumbler and sear at rest.

Tumbler and sear at half cock.

Tumbler and sear at full cock.

[J. Talbert]

Wow!  Thanks for the additional pics Dave.  I had know idea what the inside was like or that it was so drastically different from later flintlock designs

Jeff.

[Captchee]

 thanks dave for the photos .  you did a great job . again i like your layout greatly

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

Here is a reference to your lock...maybe...

[smart dog]

Hi Tim,
Thanks for providing that photo.  What book is that?  I thought I had all of the histories of King Philip's War in my library but that reference is new (I think?).  My lock is supposedly a copy of a lock found in the ruins of the Jereh Bull block house in Rhode Island.  It was burned during King Philip's War and the 15 colonist defenders were killed.  One day I am going to build a King Philip's War commemorative gun using an early dog lock and including engravings of scenes representing the conflict.  I am fascinated by that period.  Thanks again Tim,

dave