Rifles with no butt plate

[moleeyes36]

When making a poor boy style rifle with no butt plate and having a stock of a softer wood like walnut or cherry, is there a way to somewhat toughen or harden the wood at the end the butt stock where a butt plate would normally go?  I'd think that the end of a butt stock of untreated walnut or cherry could easily chip, dent, splinter, etc. if from nothing else, just by placing it on the ground or the top of your foot during the loading process. 

Is this a valid concern or just the result of me drinking too much strong Cuban coffee and having idle time on my hands to think of such things? 

Mole Eyes

[Nate McKenzie]

I've only done it with maple but have stayed away from heavy crescents and soaked the end grain with as much sealer as it will take.  I've made 6 or 8 of them and never had one returned or split.

[sweed]

Dont know it this would apply, but when I re-handle an ax for instance, Ive learned that if you use a grinding wheel to remove that last bit of wood, and get the metal wedges even, it burns the end grain of the handle.  This seems to be a benefit, (I live on the Gulf coast...Think humidity, and wet ground)  at keepin the handle from swellin and contractin, causing a loose handle. Seems to 'waterprof' it some what. The wood seems to be harder there also. Kind of like fire hardening a sharp stick for a spear! 

Just my $.02s worth, but the blackened end grain would probably look almost like a butt plate!

[Mike Brooks]

When making a poor boy style rifle with no butt plate and having a stock of a softer wood like walnut or cherry, is there a way to somewhat toughen or harden the wood at the end the butt stock where a butt plate would normally go?  I'd think that the end of a butt stock of untreated walnut or cherry could easily chip, dent, splinter, etc. if from nothing else, just by placing it on the ground or the top of your foot during the loading process. 

Is this a valid concern or just the result of me drinking too much strong Cuban coffee and having idle time on my hands to think of such things? 

Mole Eyes

Don't worry about it. I have a relic poorboy in walnut that must be 150 years old. It has no buttplate and shows no wear at the heel worth mentioning.

[David R. Pennington]

A friend of mine did a restoration on one that had survived long enough to wear out a flintlock and the replacement  percussion lock plus who knows how many owners and the walnut was still in amazingly good shape.

[Dennis Glazener]

Is this a valid concern or just the result of me drinking too much strong Cuban coffee and having idle time on my hands to think of such things?  Cry

Not sure if its the coffee or idle time but I don't think its a worry at all. I own three original flintlock southern mountain rifles that don't have buttplates. Two are walnut and one is maple. The butt area's of all three are in really good condition. The barrel rails on two of them are another story, those thin forearms are by far the areas most prone to damage and worry about how to protect them is probably justified

I have built several (6-8) rifles without buttplates and haven't had a problem with any of them. I would not hesitate to build another one.
Dennis

[moleeyes36]

Is this a valid concern or just the result of me drinking too much strong Cuban coffee and having idle time on my hands to think of such things?  Cry

Not sure if its the coffee or idle time but I don't think its a worry at all. I own three original flintlock southern mountain rifles that don't have buttplates. Two are walnut and one is maple. The butt area's of all three are in really good condition. The barrel rails on two of them are another story, those thin forearms are by far the areas most prone to damage and worry about how to protect them is probably justified

I have built several (6-8) rifles without buttplates and haven't had a problem with any of them. I would not hesitate to build another one.
Dennis

Dennis,

Thanks, because it's the Mathew Gillespie rifle on pages 20 and 21 of your book, The Gillespie Gunmakers of East Fork NC, that caused me to ask the question.  The sleek lines of that rifle just call to me and I'm going to have to attempt to build one like that. 

A Lehigh pistol based on Eric von Aschwege's plans and the Hugh Toenjes barrel I bought from Dave Rase is what I’m about to start now.  I guess the John Shuler style Bucks County rifle just got dropped to third in line.  There are so many rifles to build and so little time (and money) to build them.

Mole Eyes