Thanks for the nice comments on the "Triplets." I started the project on the first of March and completed it the first week of April. They were sighted in and delivered to the new owners on the 18th of April. They were neat little guns. The barrels were only 28" long, 15/16." Two were 50 cal. and one 36, the caliber of the original.
I have built a number of twins, but this is the first time for triplets. The process that I use is to put all the locks in at one time, same with triggers, and right down the line. I have the exact tools out to do the job on one, just continue on and do all of them. The one area I found a problem with this was pouring the pewter nose caps. I had all the guns prepped and ready. I heated the pewter and started pouring. Apparently, by the time I got to the third one, the pewter had cooled enough that I did not get a good pour and had to redo it. One important tip, when working on multiple guns, is to number each gun. Keep a separate container for parts from each gun/number, and do not mix parts.
You are right Jim, the process was a killer, more like working in a factory than being creative. The most creative part was trying to get as good of a fit and finish as possible. The little part of using Mother of Pearl as part of an inlay presented certain challenges though.
In regards to the "Brookville Eye," I actually straightened it out the slightest bit to look a little better to my eye. The rifle copied is shown in Russell Hop Harriger's book, Gunsmiths of Clarion, Jefferson and Elk Co., published by Shumway. I was able to handle, measure, and photograph the gun shown in the book. It seems that many of the gunsmiths in that area set the eye crooked, with no obvious alignment of any other part of the gun. 'Tis a mystery, as they were obviously able to produce good results otherwise. I am sure somewhere there is an interesting reason...
Thanks again Ron
