Hakwen Fullstock Flintlock Panels Recut

[Herb]

I built a .58 Hakwen fullstock flintlock about two years ago and rushed it for an elk hunt.  I cut the tails of the lock panels centered on the wrist, and that was wrong.  It bothered me so much that I finally recut them.  Here is the before.

Recut to correct shape with chisels, chainsaw files, needle files and sandpaper.

Stained it with Fiebings dark brown oil leather dye from my builder's notes, but that was way too red.  Don't know if the red faded out since.  So cut that off and used Lincoln dark brown oil leather dye.  Too red.  Cut that off and used Laurel Mountain Forge nut brown dye.  Seemed about the same, still too red.  Cut that off and used Laurel Mountain Forge Lancaster Maple, and that matched the present color.  Put on half a dozen coats of Formby's high gloss tung oil for the finish.


 

[Old Ford2]

You're GOOD!
Nice work! Great match!
All the best
Old Ford

[Ben I. Voss]

Good job!  Maybe it's ok, but to my eye it seems like the front of the panels could be made narrower now. Take some off the top edge just like you did in the back, only in the front. Like I said, maybe it's just me! By the way, did you have any luck on the elk hunt?

[Rasch Chronicles]

Herb,

How or better said what did you use to remove the leather dye from the wood?

This of course, will force me to search through the archives and ultimately post a question on using leather dye on wood...

Best Regards,
Albert “Afghanus” Rasch
The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles™
A Chronicles’ Project: How to Smoke Fish!

[Acer Saccharum]

That is a great illustration of reducing the lock panel size. Thanks.

Tom

[Don Getz]

While we are on the subject of Fiebrings Leather Dye, I built a copy of a Joe Long rifle back in 1975, stained it with that
stuff.   Should see it now, real light colored.    I would really like to remove the old finish and re-stain it but it has a lot of
silver inlays on it, a fancy patchbox, and even has a comb inlay.   I could probably remove the old finish with a paint remover, but, it just kind of scares me to do it.   I built this gun as kind of a labor of love, not a real practical gun to shoot.
It has one of those "blow-up" (ha) kind of Douglas Barrels in 40 cal., and a very improper Hadaway lock on it.  I was building it to shoot, hence the improper  lock.   Back then I was not worried about being period correct.  Maybe I should
do a conversion to Percussion???      Any good ideas on my finish removal problem?........Don

[Robby]

Don, If it were mine, I'd do it. I think I would strip one manageable area at a time, rather than trying to do the whole stock at once.
Robby

[Swampwalker]

Herb, I think I would be inclined to do the same thing in front of the lock plate too, to even this panel up.  You've got enough material there to leave a bit of a point as may Hawken's had as well.  Your recarve definitely looks better, and great color match!

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I too would reshape the front end of the molding, as the work on the back end is great, and such an improvement.

Don, I have used Fiebing's on lots of guns, and only one has faded out as you describe.  That one is a piece of very hard sugar maple and it is quite blonde now, and not unpleasing to the eye.

But if I was going to refinish/restain it, now I'd just steel wool off the stock finish with 0000 steel wool, stain with ferric nitrate, and refinish.  Of course, it depends upon what you have on your gun for stock finish...stripper might be necessary.  If you use stripper, soak it good, and use a stiff fingernail brush to attack the old finish.

[Herb]

Thanks for the comments.  Rasch-- I just sanded off the stain and finish.  It did not penetrate deeply.  Did it three times, in fact.  What is surprising is how easy it is to modify and refinish a spot.  Like when your rifle falls over flat on the floor and breaks through the wrist and you have to repair it.   Don't ask me how I know this.
Don- A friend has a Hawken fullstock flinter built about 6 or 8 years ago by a really good builder, who used "some kind of acid" for the stain.  Chromium Trioxide or Potassium Permanganate, or whatever.  Rifle was kept indoors and never used, but the stain faded until it was white.  Randy asked me to refinish and stain it.  It was finished with linseed oil, and to my surprise my Fiebing's dark brown leather dye went right through that finish and I did not have to strip or sand it.  Maybe I better check back with him to see if mine has faded.  You could try some Laurel Mtn Forge stain right over your existing finish and see if it penetrates the finish.  It might.  Ben and Swampwalker and D. Taylor- thanks for the comments.  I could cut that front down some, too.  It is really easy to do and to blend in.

[volatpluvia]

Don,
Use cabinet scrapers.  Works real good.
volatpluvia

[J. Talbert]

I've never used Feibings on a gun stock, but I have used it on several portmanteaus that have faded badly on top, where they're exposed to light

Jeff.

[Don Getz]

To those of you that are coming to the Lewisburg show, I am going to bring my Joe Long copy to be put on display, along
with an original Joe Long........you can check them out to see if I did a reasonable job....35 years ago.............Don

[Gaeckle]

Good job!  Maybe it's ok, but to my eye it seems like the front of the panels could be made narrower now. Take some off the top edge just like you did in the back, only in the front. Like I said, maybe it's just me! By the way, did you have any luck on the elk hunt?

I agree on the front panels proportion as well....a less is more approach.

[Herb]

On the right is Neill Field's Hawken that I restained.  The other one is my build


These are solid flint tangs, not the patent breech. Mine at the bottom is Track's flint Beavertail Tang plug, #Plug-BT-16-3.  I don't know what Neill's is.

Another of mine, from Track's Bridger Hawken parts.

And another, same parts.

The Green River Rifle Works shop rifle based on the Jim Bridger original rifle.
 
The panels are difficult to get the way you want them.  But the Hawken brothers had the same problem.  No two of them are the same.  Some are rounded fore and aft, some pointed fore and aft, some pointed aft and rounded front, etc.

[dogcreek]

That's a great improvement. I agree with Ben Voss that you could narrow the panel in front of the lock to make it look better yet. Nice work.

[Herb]

Some more panels.

This one by Neill Fields, a .54.

Another of mine, a .54.

A .40 Hawken squirrel rifle I built, copied from photos on Gun Broker (?) for sale.

Another .54 Hawken I built.

[Herb]

So I recut the front panel.  The paper outlines the present panel, with the change cut out.  This paper can then be put on the off side to trace that panel the same.

The panel cut to shape.

Stained and with finish on it.

Green River Rifle Works panels.  These are copies of original rifles.

[Herb]

Another panel, this on a .58 Bill Large barelled Hawken.  Lock is stamped "OR TERR  IKE BAY".

[Herb]

I just noticed that I said the GRRW rifles were copies of originals.  That is what they said, not replicas.  However, that flint rifle is not copied from an original, but I guess you could call it an "interpretation" or some such.  Their catalog showed a Hawken fullstock flintlock rifle, "made only as an early rifle with a "Tennessee" style cheek rest and flat to the wrist trigger guard.  Flint barrel available in 1", 1 1/16" & 1 1/8" diameter and secured with 3 keys.  Weight approx. 10-11 lbs.  The fullstock Hawken rifles were commonly made without barrel key escutcheons.  Barrel length 30 to 38 inches.  Shown in fancy wood."

Ben Voss, I hunted spike bull elk (the state sold 14,000 permits two years ago) in the Book Cliffs of eastern Utah.  Hunted six days, saw about 25 bull elk, two 4 points, rest 5 and 6 pointers.  Maybe 30 cows.  No spikes.  Had a 6-point come to a water hole only 32 yards from me with 9 cows, but I couldn't shoot him!  Those sights worked good in practice aiming and while that rifle was heavy,  I liked it.  But a 32" barrel would have been lighter and handier.

[Ben I. Voss]

Herb, the rifle looks good! Sounds like you had a good hunt even though you didn't get to shoot.