New England fowler pics

[E.vonAschwege]

Hey Guys,
    HOW did this week go by so fast??  I'm flying back to school on Sunday and I haven't had nearly enough time in my shop... I wish I could bring these with.  Ah well, they'll be waiting here when I get back, only two more months, I can do it!

   Anyway, I started the week working on an 1850's English caplock fowler, and am finishing the week on my NE fowler that's been in the works for far too long.  I've been shaping the buttstock and am now getting down to the details.  I've never handled or seen an original NE fowler in the flesh... only what's in Grinslade's book and an antique that was posted here a year ago.  It's got a 1 1/8" barrel breech and a modified Chambers early germanic lock so I'm expecting big, but I'm used to building pistols and skinny Lehighs so this seems huge to me.  The originals have super long barrels, making them look really thin, but how skinny are they?  The wrist is roughly 1 1/2" tall by 1 9/16" wide at the narrowest points.   

Does anyone have any photos of original New England guns or their French cousins, or better yet, some wrist dimensions?  Any info would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks! 
-Eric

Here's the profile so far:

[E.vonAschwege]

Hmm, looking at the photo again says it all, still too fat in the wrist.

[Nate McKenzie]

Looks great so far. So does the one on the bench underneath. I love working on more than one at a time. Hey that would be neat to adapt it for a bayonet. I'm hot and heavy into another Lehigh. Maybe I'll see you again at Dixon's. Your Lehigh last year was an inspiration.

[David Rase]

Hmm, looking at the photo again says it all, still too fat in the wrist.

Eric,
I reduced and reshaped the wrist and butt on my Tulle 3 times before I got it right.  Glad I kept at it.  It now has the light feel and look it should have.  Don't be afraid to keep taking it off.  I will try and post a picture of the wrist and butt sometime tonight or early Saturday.  My Tulle is still in the white, at least for about 2 more weeks.
DMR

[David Rase]

Eric,  Here is a picture of my Tulle wrist and buttstock area.  I apologize if I am hi-jacking your thread.
DMR

[Lucky R A]

Hey Dave,  Have you shot your Tulle?   I have a Bucks Co. fowler (copy of an original E.Bloom fowler)  that has about the same pitch on the butt plate.  A friend borrowed it for a smoothbore shoot and ended up with a nice mouse under his eye.   Negative pitch like that seems to come up off the shoulder, have you experienced any problems along this line?

[lew wetzel]

i had a tulle that i first got when i started trekking and thats the gun that made me start building my own.....boy was it a thumper....i got scared to shoot it...so i only shot very light loads.....finally sold it to buy parts to build my first lancaster..

[Roy S.]

Lookin good... I would just thin up the wrist a good bit. heres a pic of a lefty that I did a few years ago.. I really thinned it up LOL
http://www.roystroh.com/S6300025.jpg
http://www.roystroh.com/S6300029.jpg

[David Rase]

Ron/Lew,  I have not shot the Tulle yet.  It was suggested by members of this forum that I do shoot it in the white for the exact reasons you mentioned.  Had I not reshaped the butt stock 3 times it for sure would of beat me silly.  Test firing and a picture of my cheek to follow. 
DMR

[David Rase]

Eric,  Though my Tulle is not an antique, the wrist dimensions are 1 7/16" high (including the trigger guard return) by 1 3/8" wide.  The barrel is 1 1/16" at the breech.DMR

[lew wetzel]

i love the way they look and feel ,and my personna at first was a great lakes trapper...they are a nice gun and mine was a production piece...cant remember who manufactured it...i would like to have another but made by my hand....

[northmn]

I was going to try to diplomatically mention the fact that they look like they might belt one in the cheek with the pitch of the also. Got beat to it.

DP

[Leatherbelly]

 Eric and Dave,
  Both very nice Tradeguns/Fowlers.Good plan shooting her in the white. Dave ,I hope you bring her to Heffley Cr. this summer. Some good tradegun matches there.

[David Rase]

I think that part of the secret to building a gun with a Roman nose that does not smack you is to make sure the top of comb is always sloping downward from the nose to the butt in relationship to the bore.  If you end up with a camel hump in the comb, that is where the bite comes from.  IMO.
DMR
Looking at my picture I might shorten the comb just a bit more making the wrist a little longer. 

[E.vonAschwege]

Hey folks,
   Thanks for the replies and thoughts.  I forgot that I had a few full size blowup patterns of some original NE fowlers and a fusil de chasse.  All have roughly 1 1/2" round wrists, so both Dave and I are in the ballpark.  I reshaped mine a bit and am much more pleased with it.  Going to take some of the girth out of the wrist so I can grip it better, but not going to make it too much smaller.  I think with Lehighs and other "skinny" guns, we sometimes make them smaller than they originally were.  I know my two Lehighs are quite a bit smaller than the originals on which they were based, but that's how I wanted it.  We'll just see how the wrists are in 150 years...
   Nate, the other project on the bench is actually a prop I quickly made for a theatre production a couple years ago.  It's solid pine, but I used it to practice the architecture of this one.  Actually, I've made a few practice stocks out of 2" pine scaffolding lumber... I find it very helpful before doing the real thing.  Can't use scrapers, but you can at least get the idea of how to shape it.
    Dave, your Tulle is looking great!  Will you have it with you at Dixon's this year?  I hope to have this finished for the fair, we'll see.  Thanks for sharing the photo and dimensions.  Beautiful piece of wood by the way!
-Eric

[Mike Brooks]

All have roughly 1 1/2" round wrists, so both Dave and I are in the ballpark.

Not what I've found....Pretty much depends on barrel breech dimension. The bigger the breech the bigger the wrist. Our wimpy little modern day barrel breeches dictate a pretty small wrist. Old barrels were commonly 1 3/16-1 5/16, even then they stuck pretty close to 1 1/2, never much over that unless the gun was in the 14 to 20 lb range , then the wrist would reflect the mass of the rest of the gun.