whoopie--ding ding-ding-aroo!

[The other DWS]

IT WORKETH!!!!!     I'm one happy camper
 I finally got the nerve up and drilled and tapped for the WL liner.  I opened the pan up jut a little forward and angled it down slightly toward the barrel.  The drill bit for the tap just barely left a mark on the breechface---tapped the hole in several stages after counter sinking it slightly--- threaded the liner in with several tries to get the minimal taper possible with the tap. tap and try, tap and try.  The wall thickness is just a tad more than the liner length so protrusion is no issue.  Tightened the liner down real good---cut'er off and filed it flush.   Reassembled it and took it out in the back yard.  poured about 50 gr of 3f down the bore, and tipped a few into the pan  (I live in town and the neighbors tolerate my bow and arrows but shooting firearms--is downright illegal).  I got a real nice click-whoosh and a bunch of sweet-to-me-smell'n smoke.  very happy with the ignition on a loose bare powder.  I know from my reenactment days that loose powder re-enactment loads usually have more delay than live loads,  they burn a lot dirtier too with a lot of unburned powder.  took a bit to clean up from that single shot,  but I did not mind a bit.   may just find some 530 balls and tack it out in the country tomorrow--OH Yeah!!!!

now I've just got to finish the wood work

[Ky-Flinter]

Good for you Wayne.  It does feel great when one of the building steps that was giving you trouble is finally completed and turns out well.  That Rebel yell you heard about 1:30am last night was me signaling the successful installation of the butt plate on my Plains rifle project.... FINALLY!

-Ron

[LURCHWV@BJS]

   I'm jealous You and I started about the same time on our rifles. You are so much further than I.  Just got the tenons installed, need to drill and pin the barrel, file the Tang to meet the stock.  Still trying to get my chisels and gouges to that perfect sharpness.  Ofcourse I am working straicht midnights and won't have a day off until May 6th.  I do plan to go to the Northeast Territorial Shoot May 1st, it's only an hour away at my home range.  Had hoped to shoot her in that match.  I do however get to polish my Lockplate and Brass at work.  Either way I'm Glad to hear of Your success. CONGRATULATIONS
 
  I'll just keep plugg'n away


                                    Rich

[northmn]

I work graveyard shift also and my gun building process is very slow because of it.  I ahve learned not to do things if too tired as I can make some interesting mistakes that way.  I finally got a wear plate installed on a poor boy that the ramrod ran out on.  I could holler like a Reb on that accomplishment as that particular little mistake was very discouraging on an otherwise fine project.  Mistakes like that can really be irritating as it added time and work to a poor boy project which should have been a quick easy build.

DP

[The other DWS]

well I shot it a bit,  very happy with it.  only about 30 yards, more test firing than not.  .530 Hornady roundballs, oxyoke prelubed patches, 70 gr +/- fffg  of 5 or 6. maybe 10 year-old goex----5 shots in one ragged hole right at the aiming point.  Barrel is TOTW's Colraine round bottom rifling substitute for their french trade gun barrels.

I'm not happy with recovered patches. all showed perforations at the rifling.  some were more that frayed a bit around the edges.  I suspect that I need a tougher grade of fabric,  maybe real linen or a tighter woven cotton twill.

Also something I've never seen before today.  It's cool, maybe low 60's and very humid,  I was shooting between spates of drizzle.  on after shooting cleanup my first real tight cleaning patch pulled out some brick red fouling. 

what causes red fouling?  Maybe I should put this in the BP shooting area

[California Kid]

Colerain barrels can have a rough finish inside.

[northmn]

Tighter weave or slightly heavier patching may work.  Soem new barrels need to be shot in or you can try polishing with steel wool on a jag.  If its shooting good it isn't a real big deal.

DP

[The other DWS]

After the initial rush of the first shoots with the new rifle yesterday, I realized that while I have a fair amount of BP experience all of it was almost totally with smooth-bored muskets and trade guns when I was rev-war and f&i reenacting in the late 70s and early 80s .  I shot a lot of tight patched roundballs, but out of smooth bores so what little I know about how fired patches are supposed to look out of a rifled barrel is negligible. And what little knowledge there is is strictly theoretical-- lots of historical research and intense study of Great Lakes colonial era material culture.

I've guess I've been caught up in fulfilling a long-held dream of recreating a specific relic I ran across in my research that I became enamored with.  Now that it is down to the final finish phases I find I've got a gaping hole in my knowledge of the practical application side.

Er--Er----So------what SHOULD a fired Rifle patch look like?

[B.Habermehl]

It should look the same as the patches recovered from your smooth bore days. With distinct rifling marks. Ideally you should not have any holes. These can be caused by sharp lands at the muzzle or a bit of roughness some where. Or patch matieral, lube, or any combo of the above. I would putat least a hundred balls through it before I got too serious.  I like to break in a new barrel at a youth field day or similar event. Where the gun gets fired and cleaned a bunch of times. then I'm ready to get serious about load developement.   BJH

[rich pierce]

Running some green scotchbrite pads down the bore a few times could help smooth it quickly.

[omark]

i would try the steel wool or scotchbrite cure as has allready been suggested.   mark

[msw]

try the scotchbrite first, then a good twenty to fifty shots (more is better) and if that doesn't work, try the 4xO steel wool and go very easy with it.

[Stophel]

Also something I've never seen before today.  It's cool, maybe low 60's and very humid,  I was shooting between spates of drizzle.  on after shooting cleanup my first real tight cleaning patch pulled out some brick red fouling. 

what causes red fouling?  Maybe I should put this in the BP shooting area

I've been told it has to do with humidity forming something in the burnt powder.  No worries.  When I first started shooting flintlocks years ago and first saw it myself (it's ALWAYS humid here!!) I thought maybe my patching material (I was using a red plaid) was synthetic, and I was seeing melted globs of plastic! (which is exactly what it looks like.)

[Top Jaw]

I ran a couple of green scotchbrite oiled "patches" through my Colerain Roundbottom grooved .50 cal barrel for about 50 strokes each before I got serious about load development.  It loads easy and shoots better than I can hold it.

Top Jaw 

[Pete G.]

Red stuff is leftover sulphur.

[The other DWS]

Pete, I started a separate, but somewhat parallel thread in the Black Powder section entitiled  "red fouling" to learn about it specifically.  one of the guys posted a GREAT link to another site--some sort of cowboy action place--they had a big discussion on fouling going that slid sideways into the Red Fouling subject. Guess they were doing high-power microscopic studies of BP fouling A couple of BP chemistry guys discussed it at length, including the sulphur idea.  its a great read.  I'd learn even more from it if I'd paid more attention in high school chemistry or taken physics.  give it a read when you have time.