planning my next rifle

[lew wetzel]

time to start thinking what style rifle i want to build myself.....my tastes seem to change and also with keeping with the newest trend of seeing all these long southern guns.i finally got my 48in getz barrel.and let me tell you it was worth every penny......AWESOME!!!!!and whatever i build around this barrel gotta be the best parts and a decent piece of wood.thinking time to fire up the forge and start practicing on my buttplates and trigger guards....
at first i had planned a rupp rifle.try to ply the hand at a lehigh style rifle.........i have all the parts to build it except the wood.got some nice rupp style castings from reaves 2yrs ago at the cla show...i have two 48in barrels...the other is a 32cal. bore and has no rifling.straight oct.the getz  is swamped and is mighty nice.
i have a few old russ hamm locks and have wanted to use one on a rifle........of coarse it would be reworked to spark a whole lot better....lehigh or a looooong squirrel rifle........ummmmm

[rich pierce]

It's always hard to settle on a plan and stick to it unless you have time to work the project straight through, at least 10-12 hours per week.  The Lehigh is a difficult style to do well and not for beginners like me.  Some folks who are beginners, at least in terms of the # of rifles they have built (like Von Aschwege), have done great on their first Lehigh but I'm not that "natural".  I'd suggest something like one of Don Getz's real clean barn guns or plain guns- am sure he'd share some pictures with you.

[Acer Saccharum]

I second Rich's motion. I have around 30 guns under my belt, and I would be loathe to build a Lehigh. Not without originals close by to look at. They are an odd animal, very pretty, but difficult to grasp the geometry.
If you are bound and determined, get out the pencil and paper and make a full sized drawing. Or, get one of Eric von Aschwege's plans. You still need to see a Lehigh in person, plan or no, to get the sweep from breech to butt.

Tom

[smallpatch]

Eric has drawings???  Tell me more!

[Acer Saccharum]

Eric makes drawings of EVERY project he builds. Very well drawn, great detail, and all the specific features that make a gun a certain way.

He did one for the Jacob Kuntz in the Met. Fowler, lehigh guns, probaby half a dozen drawings in his repertoire.

Only problem is that he is transitioning from school to home at this time of year, and may not be very responsive by e-mail yet. Click on his profile, and his e-mail will be on there.

I have a list of his drawing here somewhere, but my office is knee high in paper, so I'd be better off calling his mom for the list.

I will write him and ask him to check in on this thread.

Tom

[lew wetzel]

i have not seen erics lehigh.but would be interested in seeing his drawings...i have taken a long enough brake and my bike is almost done so its time to finish up a few guns for customers and then on to mine...

[Acer Saccharum]

I e-mailed Eric with a link to this thread, so if he's near a computer, he will be able to log in and reply.

Tom

[smallpatch]

Thanks Tom,  I'd be interested in seeing them.

[E.vonAschwege]

Phew,
   Wow, I'm glad to be done with the spring semester.  Two years down, two more to go.  Tom is correct, I've been busy with finals, essays, and moving back to Boston for the season.  First project this summer is a commission for a mid 16th century matchlock musket for my archeology teacher.  Hope TRS has some castings in stock, or I'll have to get really busy on making the mechanism. 

  I do have plans for each gun that I build, as well as many that I haven't built (yet!).  I have a few Lehigh plans, a Kuntz plan, and a bunch of other southeast PA designs in various stages of completion.  The plans are all based closely upon the architectural details of the orginals, but are not direct copies of any original gun.  For instance, the Kuntz plan is a combination of the architecture of both the Kuntz rifles at the Metropolitan museum.  I do this mostly because collectors and museums don't want copies of their one-of-a-kind guns being built. 

Attached are a couple images, one of the Kuntz plan and another of the a Moll Sr, which is the largest of the three generic Lehigh plans.  I sell them for 15$ each, and plan to have a lot more variety on display at Dixon's this year. 
Thanks for the kind words guys!

[dannybb55]

I was wondering, does your Prof have to have a matchlock musket or could it be a match lock rifle? 
                                            Danny