Author Topic: Brass barreled gun  (Read 8736 times)

Offline Lucky R A

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1628
  • In Costume
Brass barreled gun
« on: April 12, 2011, 03:02:42 PM »
     A while back I picked up a 52 cal. brass barrel inletted into a stock that was offered for sale by one of the members.  It was sitting in the shop when a client stopped by, saw it and immediately put a down payment on "whatever I built out of it."  He only specified that he wanted the Griffin from the Oerter gun, and a "s--t load" of silver wire.
      I got to work on the project in mid March.  The stock was originally cut for a stepped wrist, and it seemed to fit the era.  I borrowed heavily from the Oerter gun, but used the general theme of a side opening Antes rifle for the patchbox, added a silver flower, plus a few of my own ideas.  So here is the finished product.  I sighted it in yesterday and it shot exceedingly well.  One thing I quickly learned, the brass barrel will be a bear to keep clean, but then this gun will spend most of its life on the wall...     Ron.....










"The highest reward that God gives us for good work is the ability to do better work."  - Elbert Hubbard

Offline Robert Wolfe

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1286
  • Great X Grandpa
Re: Brass barreled gun
« Reply #1 on: April 12, 2011, 03:19:17 PM »
Very nice! Would love to see a closeup of the griffin.
Robert Wolfe
Northern Indiana

Offline Ed Wenger

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *
  • Posts: 2457
Re: Brass barreled gun
« Reply #2 on: April 12, 2011, 03:54:41 PM »
Ron,

Very nice!  I especially like what you did with the patchbox.  The stepped wrist is perfect for the piece...

     Ed
Ed Wenger

Offline rich pierce

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *
  • Posts: 19546
Re: Brass barreled gun
« Reply #3 on: April 12, 2011, 04:11:22 PM »
Wow, that's a lot of gun.   :o  Very nice composition, love the Antes box on that rifle.
Andover, Vermont

Online smart dog

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *
  • Posts: 7019
Re: Brass barreled gun
« Reply #4 on: April 12, 2011, 07:20:46 PM »
Hi Ron,
Wonderful gun.  I love the composition.  Motifs like the griffen are so much fun because they allow you to escape the endless c scrolls and their variants, and stay within historical bounds.  I love it.

dave
"The main accomplishment of modern economics is to make astrology look good."

Offline D. Taylor Sapergia

  • Member 3
  • Hero Member
  • *
  • Posts: 12671
Re: Brass barreled gun
« Reply #5 on: April 12, 2011, 07:54:26 PM »
I like the rifle Ron.  It has a lot of charm.  The stock colour is excellent.  I'm surprised that you chose Antes patch box outline...actually it's his engraving that does not flow with the profile very well.  But yours came out very well indeed.

Although brass tarnishes easily with black powder fowling, it does not rust like steel.  So who cares if the bore is black, as long as it is smooth and of uniform inside diameter from breech to muzzle.  Rust and pitting is the cancer that is death to a good shooting rifle.  The brass barrel is unlikely to oxidize to that point.
D. Taylor Sapergia
www.sapergia.blogspot.com

Art is not an object.  It is the excitement inspired by the object.

Offline Paddlefoot

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1844
Re: Brass barreled gun
« Reply #6 on: April 13, 2011, 07:57:31 AM »
Very nice Ron.  That wire work would have made me crazy but it sure is pretty.
The nation that makes great distinction between it's warriors and it's scholars will have it's thinking done by cowards and it's fighting done by fools. King Leonidas of Sparta

Offline draken

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 404
Re: Brass barreled gun
« Reply #7 on: April 13, 2011, 08:02:29 AM »
She's a beauty Ron!  I've always had a thing for guns with a stepped wrist, and this one is superb.
Dick 

Times have sure changed. Gun control used to mean keeping the muzzle pointed in a safe direction

Never write a check with your mouth that your butt can't cash!

LURCHWV@BJS

  • Guest
Re: Brass barreled gun
« Reply #8 on: April 13, 2011, 12:24:54 PM »


   I also would like to see a close up of the Griffen.  Beautiful Rifle Gun.

   Rich

Offline alex e.

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 772
Re: Brass barreled gun
« Reply #9 on: April 13, 2011, 01:17:06 PM »



Awsome !!
Uva uvam videndo varia fit

Offline KLMoors

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 859
Re: Brass barreled gun
« Reply #10 on: April 13, 2011, 01:45:24 PM »
Wow, very nice indeed!

Offline Tom Currie

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1294
Re: Brass barreled gun
« Reply #11 on: April 13, 2011, 02:28:00 PM »
I like it a lot. Lots of my favorite things on that rifle. I've got one of those Marshall guards in my parts drawer for a fun project like that some day.

Offline Tim Crosby

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *
  • Posts: 18392
  • AKA TimBuckII
Re: Brass barreled gun
« Reply #12 on: April 13, 2011, 02:46:59 PM »
 Great work Ron, outstanding layout on the wire work. What size wire is that?

 Thanks, Tim C.

Offline Acer Saccharum

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 19311
    • Thomas  A Curran
Re: Brass barreled gun
« Reply #13 on: April 13, 2011, 02:50:44 PM »
Handsomely done, Ron. That is a beautiful rifle.
Tom Curran's web site : http://monstermachineshop.net
Ramrod scrapers are all sold out.

camerl2009

  • Guest
Re: Brass barreled gun
« Reply #14 on: April 14, 2011, 10:23:12 PM »
 :o

nice gun who made the brass barrel

Offline Telgan

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 569
Re: Brass barreled gun
« Reply #15 on: April 14, 2011, 11:14:59 PM »
 Very nice looking piece of work. I have been surprised by how much more a brass/ gun bronze barrel weighs compared to the same profile in steel. I picked up a brass barreled fowler at a CLA show that one of the Scales brothers (Jerry, I think) made and it was considerably heavier than a steel barreled version. Just curious what your final weight might be on this one. Tom

wetzel

  • Guest
Re: Brass barreled gun
« Reply #16 on: April 15, 2011, 03:54:07 AM »
I love the looks of this gun.  as far as the brass barrel and keeping it clean I would agree with Taylor.  Seems like as long as its smooth inside there are no problems.  Weren't many of the cannon barrels on the British ships brass to avoid the corrosion?

Offline Ben I. Voss

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 353
Re: Brass barreled gun
« Reply #17 on: April 15, 2011, 05:56:19 AM »
Brass or bronze was used in the old days because it was thought to be much more clean and free of impurities than iron and therefore would make into a stronger and more precise barrel. Could also be cast into large items like cannon. I don't think corrosion resistance was much of a factor. (but I could be wrong...)   Ben

Offline Lucky R A

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1628
  • In Costume
Re: Brass barreled gun
« Reply #18 on: April 15, 2011, 02:13:54 PM »
      Thanks for the kind words on the gun, the approval of your peers is more appreciated than you know.  I will post a close up photo of the Griffin this weekend when my son who does such, is home. 
      On the subject of keeping the brass barrel clean, I was referencing the exterior, in the event one wanted to keep it bright an shiny.  The bore cleaned up easily, although it was discolored.  I think it will clean (inside) even easier after it has been shot a bit.   I do not know the manufacturer of the barrel.  I purchased it from a member of the board, and thought it was probably made by Ed Rayl, but it is not marked with Ed's stamp.  The only marking on the bottom of the barrel was a hand engraved notation (Cal 52) . 
"The highest reward that God gives us for good work is the ability to do better work."  - Elbert Hubbard

Offline Cory Joe Stewart

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1863
    • My etsy shop
Re: Brass barreled gun
« Reply #19 on: April 16, 2011, 04:05:45 PM »
Wow!

Coryjoe

Offline Dr. Tim-Boone

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *
  • Posts: 6538
  • I Like this hat!!
Re: Brass barreled gun
« Reply #20 on: April 16, 2011, 08:00:23 PM »
Now that is a nice addition!! 
De Oppresso Liber
Marietta, GA

Liberty is the only thing you cannot have unless you are willing to give it to others. – William Allen White

Learning is not compulsory...........neither is survival! - W. Edwards Deming

Offline Lucky R A

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1628
  • In Costume
Re: Brass barreled gun
« Reply #21 on: April 17, 2011, 02:30:44 AM »
      Several of you asked for a more detail photo of the Griffin on the brass barreled rifle, so here it is.  On the original Oerter rifle the beak and the claws were made of I believe horn, but possibly bone.  I opted for Sterling silver due to the clients request for silver on the rifle. 

Ron

"The highest reward that God gives us for good work is the ability to do better work."  - Elbert Hubbard

Offline rf50cal

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 94
Re: Brass barreled gun
« Reply #22 on: April 17, 2011, 12:52:58 PM »
Better put a rope on him. Looks like he could fly off that stock at any minute.
Roger Fleisher