pistol

[yip]

AIN'T TO BAD FOR A CRIPPLE

[Bob McBride]

‘Crippled is as crippled does’, momma used to say...and that ‘ain’t too bad’ for anyone. Well done.

Let’s see some targets!

[Craig Wilcox]

Pretty thing you've made.  Barrel looks big - what caliber, and have you fired it yet?

Expecting a pistol stock next week - I have a lovely .54 cal barrel waiting to be buried in wood

[yip]

Craig; its a Rice 45 cal with a 9 1/2" barrel and 13/16" wide, trying like $#*! to build it right and it was a real pain,not what i expected.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

YIP:  congratulations on your build!!  Is this your first muzzle loading build?  Are you interested in some positive critque, suggesting you can build another one even better?

[yip]

Tayor; i would take all critque you can give i build a few from time to time and admit i'm no expert. something around 10 rifles when i was in somewhat good shape, so go ahead and tell me what  i did wrong it would be appreciated

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I suspect the web of wood between the barrel channel and the rod hole is too heavy - perhaps as much as 1/4".  the result of that is the stock being deeper vertically than necessary or desireable.  Coupling that with a 3/8" rod adds to the depth of the stock...a 5/16" rod hole would have given a slimmer profile.  Read Fleto's recent post on slim rifles...that's great input.
To make the stock slimmer vertically you could also have cut away some of the wood along the barrel channel to expose more barrel.
I like to pin the front of a guard through the lock mortise rather than through the mapnel below the lock.  What you have done isn't wrong, it's just how I do it.  I don't like to see that pin hole on the outside of the lock.  If the tab wasn't long enough, I would have added brass to it so that it could have been pinned inside the lock.

The molding around the lock at the front end could have started closer to the pan.  You have a fat flat panel there that doesn't add to the pistol's grace.  Overall, the pistol has a chubbiness, so I think more wood could have been removed.
Please read these observations with the attitude that they are only my opinion, and are meant only to help you.  Your pistol is quite adequate the way it is, and it'll give you an immense amount of shooting pleasure for the rest of your life, unless you weaken and permit someone to purchase it from you.  I have no idea what your disabilities may be, and I applaud you for your work and for posting it here.

[Bob McBride]

Yup, re Taylor’s very good comments, exposing a smidge over half your barrel and half your ramrod is a good goal. Once again. Nicely done.

[yip]

 Bob and Tayolr thanks and Taylor your right the web is 3/16 and the r/r is 3/8. this was done with out a little thought and thrown together, i was looking at K.R.A.s dvd on Bucks County and tryed to copy them, they look a little clumsy to me also maybe its just me.

[Daryl]

All in all, yip - very nice. Simply exposing 1/2 or a bit more of the barrel will slim it up considerably, even now.

[yip]

thanks guys i started to make adjustments this morning, i hope it'll come out somewhat right this time

[B.Habermehl]

Just an observation, I had the privilege to see a number of original pistols, at the Baltimore gun show and other venues. The fine architecture we strive for is typically European work. You made a nicer than average gun for colonial work already. The biggest majority of original pistols I’ve seen would be real klunkers by today’s standard of art. BJH

[Craig Wilcox]

Yip, I , too, am learning from Taylor's comments, trying to think ahead a bit.  I think a 5/16" rod will do for my .54 cal - even tho the barrel is a bit bigger, "slim" is the target to aim for.

And what lock did you use?  Fits the scale of the pistol very well.

[yip]

 well guys i took the pistol down the shop this mornig and did some work to show more barrel and took the r/r channel down some, it did make some difference. now to sand and stain and finish, i hope its makes some improvment. i will in the future use a 5/16".  thanks fellas

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Craig:  I think I'd go with the 3/8" rod for the .54 cal pistol.  516" is likely fine, but I think I'd like the insurance of the bigger rod for that calibre.

[Daryl]

The rod in this pistol tapers from just under 5/16", very slowly, then trumpets at the end to just over 4/10".

[yip]

Craig; i used a small siler kit i assembled a few years ago, i'm in the process of redoing my pistol hope it comes out well.

[yip]

did some work on my  messerpiece, cut barrel inlet and cut r/r channel to a little below half. couldn't cut barrel side down cause of muzzle cap. this pistol was a blank and i made all brass hardward except t/g, like i said not too bad fer a cripple. got a  lot to learn and looking forward to talking to ya guys on future projects.

[Bob McBride]

Looks great yip. Great.

[alacran]

Your rework improved the looks. I think it is hard to make a pistol with a nine inch barrel to be gracefull. I was looking at last months issue of Muzleloader and there is a photo of  one of Brad Emig's pistol. Yours is very similar.  He did not use a nose cap on his and makes the barrel look longer. Overall the architecture of you pistol and his are quite similar. Good job.

[Daryl]

Yes - looks just fine, great, in fact.

[Craig Wilcox]

Thanks, Rip and Taylor.  I just happen to have a small Siler kit, and plenty of 3/8" RR stock.  Only have 3 1/2 long rifles in the que, so I imagine I will have the pistol done by the 2nd Thursday of next week.

[yip]

 thanks fellas for the replies it really not what i intended it to be, but it is what it is.