patchbox depth

[The other DWS]

On an early American longrifle with a sliding patch box lid ; how deep would the cavity have been chiseled out, in general?.

 I know the butt thicknesses varied, so maybe a ratio proportion the thickness,  is 1/2 1/3 etc. might make more sense.

[Jim Kibler]

Depths of boxes found on original longrifles will vary quite a bit.  Personally I prefer one that are plenty deep.  I just measured a gun that I'm in the process of building and it has a box just a bit over one inch deep.  The butplae is a little more thatn two inches.

[David Rase]

If I am going to go to all the trouble to inlet a patchbox I will always make it as deep as I can.  An inch and a quarter to an inch and a half is not unusual for me.
Dave

[Acer Saccharum]

How wide is your butt?

Not, that one, dummy.

Make it as deep as you can without endangering the strength of the stock, or God forbid, coming out the other side. I guess I'd leave 1/2 of wood thickness minimum between bottom of box and cheekside.

[Roger Fisher]

How wide is your butt?

Not, that one, dummy.

Make it as deep as you can without endangering the strength of the stock, or God forbid, coming out the other side. I guess I'd leave 1/2 of wood thickness minimum between bottom of box and cheekside.

Snickers Bar!  It should hold one./..

[Pete G.]

Snickers Bar!  It should hold one./..


I'm with Roger.

[JDK]

If you go too far you will have one of those old Soviet Block Sniper Longrifles with a skeletonized stock.  Might look kinda cool but might screw up your balance point.  Snickers Bar!!!  I was waiting for that one.  J.D.K.

[flehto]

Mine are made 5/8"-3/4" deep.  Wonder how many even use the Pbox for storing items?  Have hunted a lot w/ my flintlocks and have never used the Pbox...everything is in the possibles bag. ,,,,,Fred

[The other DWS]

you kind wonder what they actually kept in them.  I know they show up on real early Euro-jaegers. but it seems like it'd be a lot easier to carry everything in a bag or pouch.  I have some sort of recollection of the early euro-rifles using greased leather (chamois?) and being tight enough that had to hammer the balls down the bore.  Or am I conflating two different stories, adding two and two and getting twenty-two?  maybe that was driving down unpatched balls.

Maybe keeping pre-greased patches in the patchbox in the stock would help keep a bag or pouch relatively cleaner; but accessing them seems a bit awkward to me.  Do the originals, that were working rifles rather than fancy art pieces, show the evidence of having held greasy or oily patches.

[jpldude]

Proper Patchbox depth is a secret known only to the judges at Dixon's.

Rgds,

John

[JTR]

you kind wonder what they actually kept in them. 
Do the originals, that were working rifles rather than fancy art pieces, show the evidence of having held greasy or oily patches.

DWS, I have a couple old ones that have old grease of some sort on the box. One, that has some grease, some sort of semi roundish greased up patches, and a half dozen round balls. And another that has just a jag, wrapped in a rag, in the box.
I should add that these are all brass patchboxes and not wood cover boxes.

John

[Randy Hedden]

Now that Mars is downsizing the Snickers bar what are you guys going to use for a gauge for patch box size???

Randy Hedden

[Pete G.]

Now that Mars is downsizing the Snickers bar what are you guys going to use for a gauge for patch box size???

Randy Hedden

Guess that I'll have to build that small bore that I've always thought about, but never seemed to get around to.