Early Virginia Patchbox

[KC]

I was trying to pick up an early Virginia patchbox kit from TOTW and they told me they don't stock it anymore. It looked exactly like one that TVM had on their web site but I called there and they don't have it anymore.

What I wanted was one with a domed lid and made of steel. It seems like a pretty simple design except for the domed lid. I have some 22 ga. steel laying around and thought I might try to make one. My questions to the experts are:

1. Is 22 ga. steel too thin? If so, what would be appropriate?

2. What's the best way to form the domed lid? The one I was wanting to copy (PB-Kit-44D-I if you have TOTW Catalog #18) has a pretty pronounced dome on the lid that looks almost die formed.

[smylee grouch]

hold of Ryan at muzzleloader Builders supply at 208-397-3008. He can set you up with what ever you want.

[KC]

Thanks smylee. I checked with them, they don't have the patchbox I was looking for, but they do have some nice kits that would be a good starting point.

[Mark Elliott]

#!  I am not aware of any early iron mounted Virginia rifles with domed patchboxes.  All the patchboxes on early iron mounted rifles of which I am aware are pretty simple.   The TOW patchbox kit you referenced doesn't look like something that would be domed.  Before 1775, patchboxes tended to be pretty simple just like the TOW kit.  

#2  It is not something that is easy to explain and you will have to make dies.  

#3  I only use 16ga for patchbox lids.

#4  Doomed patchbox lids are usually cast.  

#5  I would just make a regular patchbox with the normal curve to match the buttstock.  There are tutorials here that show you how to do that.

[KC]

Thanks for the input Mark.

Maybe the rifles I've seen that caught my eye aren't true "early Virginia" style rifles, they were built by contemporary builders. Maybe you know this builder:

http://contemporarymakers.blogspot.com/2011/09/rich-mcdonald-virginia-rifle.html

I don't know if the look is completely historically accurate or not, the experts can debate that. I do know I like the look.

I think I'll gouge out a depression in a stump and pound some 16 ga. sheet steel into it and see what happens. Good thing the sheet steel is pretty cheap.

[Pete G.]

I think I'll gouge out a depression in a stump and pound some 16 ga. sheet steel into it and see what happens. Good thing the sheet steel is pretty cheap.

You will most likely learn why there are not many handmade domed steel patchboxes.

[David Rase]

16 g is pretty brutal for a steel patchbox.  I like 18.  I used to use 16g but as my skills developed I have been moving on to thinner and thinner material.  A flat lid with no dome is not as rigid as a domed lid, therefore, thinner material works easier and is just as strong after being domed.  When I dome out a lid I use a home made hardwood punch about 1/2 to 3/4" wide by 1/4 to 3/8" thick with a slight radius the matches the dome.  The wood leaves the surface much smoother than all the dimples a hammer leave which then must be smoother out.  Once the lid is domed up I go around the perimeter of the dome with a smooth section of flat bar to sharpen up the bend.
David

[Mark Elliott]

I wouldn't use 16ga iron sheet for a domed patchbox lid that I was going to try to form cold.   It is what I normally use for a normally curved lid.   You would need to forge 16ga hot into the shape shown.   That is how I would try to replicate the shown patchbox.  However,  I defer to David on the best process not requiring heat.