Author Topic: Wooden slideing patch box (Read 14779 times)

Harris · « **on:** March 09, 2011, 11:37:30 PM »

First of all i would like to say hi to all you good people here im new just not new to rifle building. I see alot of rifles with slideing wooden patch boxes and the more i see these wooden patch boxes the more i like them. I was reading the book recreating the american longrifle about the wooden patch box they are giving measurements for the lid 1-1/2 wide 6 long. I got to thinking 1-1/2 wide that sounds kinda narrow for a patch box lid your carved out section would have to be narrow than 1-1/2 inchs wide for your lid to cover it. The again i guess a person could make the patch box to his own measurements. Of all the rifles i have built i have never put a wooden patch box on any of them let me know what you all think about these measurements. Thank you all and for your time.

Cory Joe Stewart · « **Reply #1 on:** March 09, 2011, 11:45:46 PM »

I was recently at the CLA show in Harrisonburg and that was my first experience being around a lot of originals in the same room. One thing that stood out to me was how small some of the wooden patchboxes were. To the point that they did not fit the rest of the architecture. There was one really cool later period gun and the sliding wooden patchbox lid was about the width of my thumb. I would sam my thumb is average thumb width, maybe less.

Coryjoe

G-Man · « **Reply #2 on:** March 09, 2011, 11:55:40 PM »

From what I have seen 1.5 inches is plenty. Keep in mind it also needs to be proportional to the scale of the buttstock to look right. You still see many comtemporary guns made from kits where the edges of the patchbox lid are left too large. This can really can throw off the look of the gun.

One of the interesting things in Bill Ivey's book is that there were so many North Carolina rifles made with sliding or pivoting wood box lids- including some guns made well up into the 1820s. Some of these box lids are extremely skinny with pointed ends and really accentuate the slender lines of the rifles.

Guy

omark · « **Reply #3 on:** March 10, 2011, 02:51:15 AM »

i thought they just had to be big enough to cover a snickers bar?

mark

Ron Brimer · « **Reply #4 on:** March 10, 2011, 07:02:47 AM »

Most of my guns are wood patch box 1.5 is plenty ,5.5 to 6 for length. a couple of my guns with wood boxes are on the CLA site if you want to see that size. Also I have one on the CLA blog, with a wood box. Good luck, they are a little harder to make than a metal box, I think they are worth it.
Ron Brimer

Acer Saccharum · « **Reply #5 on:** March 10, 2011, 10:21:15 PM »

This box is narrow and short. I don't think the builder had spent a lot of time studying the perfection of placement and size of box. Take the time to cut out some cardboard templates and try them on the stock. You'll see what looks good and what doesn't .... before any wood is cut.

Stophel · « **Reply #6 on:** March 11, 2011, 12:57:46 AM »

I generally make them 1 1/2" wide at the rear tapering to about 1 1/4" somewhere near the front, before the nose rounds off. That usually works well for the pre-rev type rifles that I like to do. Might be a bit large on some later skinnier guns.

Robby · « **Reply #7 on:** March 11, 2011, 02:35:24 AM »

Acer, What's in there?
Robby

D. Bowman · « **Reply #8 on:** March 11, 2011, 05:10:36 AM »

A really old Snickers Bar!!!

Gary · « **Reply #9 on:** March 11, 2011, 05:35:11 AM »

Quote from: D. Bowman on March 11, 2011, 05:10:36 AM

A really old Snickers Bar!!!

The late Ron Ehlert used to put a Snickers bar in his patchbox. I opened it once and thought that was funny to see there.

Robby · « **Reply #10 on:** March 11, 2011, 09:56:44 PM »

Looks more like two hundred year old salt water taffy, Jersey gun?. Iron pyrite?

Dr. Tim-Boone · « **Reply #11 on:** March 11, 2011, 10:15:11 PM »

petrified bear grease and beeswax....................

Acer Saccharum · « **Reply #12 on:** March 11, 2011, 10:30:49 PM »

Harris, note that the surface that the patchbox sits on is a FLAT PLANE. The stock is rounded and shaped away from the flat plane, leaving only the box surround flat area alone.

Does that make sense?

If the roundness of the buttstock was not flattened off for the box, you would see big gaps all the way around the box edges.

Robby · « **Reply #13 on:** March 12, 2011, 02:21:15 AM »

The hopes and dreams of a rifleman, oh so many years ago.

Robby

James · « **Reply #14 on:** March 12, 2011, 10:48:21 AM »

I would like to thank you all as I have learned from this thread too.

Ted Kramer · « **Reply #15 on:** March 12, 2011, 06:24:08 PM »

Here's one on a rifle I'm finally getting time to build for own use! It's a bit wider, 1-5/8" X ~5.5" long. I wanted it a bit wider so as to have a roomier cavity. It looks a bit wide, but when viewing the rifle in person it fits with the wide heavy butt style.

Curtis · « **Reply #16 on:** March 14, 2011, 09:36:03 PM »

Ted, that is an interesting latch you made for your patchbox. Could you post a photo of the underside of the lid?

Ted Kramer · « **Reply #17 on:** March 15, 2011, 12:29:59 AM »

Quote from: -SquirrelHeart- on March 14, 2011, 09:36:03 PM

Ted, that is an interesting latch you made for your patchbox. Could you post a photo of the underside of the lid?

SquirrelHeart- I'll get a photo of the latch and underside for you as soon as I can. It's time to go milk the cows now! Will try for tomorrow.

Ted

Ted Kramer · « **Reply #18 on:** March 15, 2011, 04:54:02 PM »

Here's a couple photos of the latch on the wooden lid on the rifle I'm working on.

This is the underside of the one piece lid showing the long spring latch which engages the stationary catch as the lid is slid shut.

This photo shows the spring latch and the stationary catch removed so you can see their notches and how they work together. The release button atop the long spring is turned from deer antler and goes through the hole in the lid. Pressing it pushes the end of the long spring down to unhook it from the stationary latch. The long spring is made from a section of recoil starter spring. The hook on the spring is made from bar stock and is riveted to the end of the spring. The latch is made from ~.060" sheet metal.

It works great and I have used this type of latch on most of the guns I've built with sliding wooden lids ever since I lost a lid that had the usual spring catch hanging off the rear end of the lid. As the final shaping of things is done I always recess the release button a bit so it is unlikely it will be bumped accidentally resulting in a lost lid.

Thanks for your interest.

Ted

Dr. Tim-Boone · « **Reply #19 on:** March 15, 2011, 07:28:14 PM »

Ted,

Why did you relieve the stock under the point of the lid...surrounding the slot where the latch is screwed down?

t.caster · « **Reply #20 on:** March 15, 2011, 07:46:10 PM »

I wondered too!???

Ron Brimer · « **Reply #21 on:** March 15, 2011, 09:19:24 PM »

Also me??
Ron B

Ted Kramer · « **Reply #22 on:** March 15, 2011, 09:29:56 PM »

Dr. Tim Boone and t.caster, Ron Brimer,

I relieve it that way so I can transition the curvature of the lid into the stock w/o having a flat area ahead of the closed lid. Also, where I hunt there's lots of tall grass that brushes against the stock as I'm carrying the rifle at my side. This way there's no chance of any of it getting wedged under the point of the lid. Just stupid notions on my part I suppose but it works for me.

Ted

Dr. Tim-Boone · « **Reply #23 on:** March 16, 2011, 12:22:16 AM »

Not stupid at all... I get grass in the front of the lid on my .54 all the time when hunting....clever. I have to see how that works/slides over the flat areas OK..I gues the latch pulls it down tight??

Jim Kibler · « **Reply #24 on:** March 16, 2011, 01:52:12 AM »

I have seen Germanic guns where the box lid fit in a recess rather than simply overlapping the stock.

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Author Topic: Wooden slideing patch box (Read 14779 times)

Harris

omark

Ron Brimer

D. Bowman

Gary

Ron Brimer