I thought some of you might be interested in a brass box release that was popular in the Winchester, VA school. This type of release was particularly popular with the Lauck and Sheets family, and was also utilized by Grandstaff and others up the Valley. It incorporates a false knuckle in the hinge, that when pushed back (towards the butt piece), releases the lid. The hinge knuckle doesn't form a complete loop, allowing it to slide over the side plate.
This is the long piece of brass that is used to push the leaf spring, opening the lid. This is a photo before the final shaping and clean up, but shows how the loop is not closed, which will allow the "knuckle" to slide over the side plate. I used .045 brass for this, and the rest of the box.
Next, a "trench" is cut in the wood which will form a channel for the push rod to lay in. The side plate will go over this channel.
This photo shows the push rod in place, and cut to length, engaging the release spring.
This photo shows the spring release, inlet into the butt of the rifle. A tab on the end of the leaf spring engages the push rod. I used part of an old cross cut saw for this spring.
Next is a photo of the box with the two side plates installed.
Lastly, a photo of the (mostly) completed box, with some simple engraving, and butt piece installed.
Hopefully, that all makes some sense, and I'd be happy to answer any questions. Wallace Gusler did an article on this topic in Muzzleblasts, and there's some more information in the archives here related to this release.
Ed
