My newest rifle

[mjm46@bellsouth.net]

Don't know if this is the right forum, please move if it isn't.

I just finished this rifle and I'm open to any and all constructive critisism. It's my best attemp to date, I'm just tryiing to improve. It's a slow learning curve to say the least.

I recently said I would post my work when asked in a recent post, and yes I do feel intimiidated by all the great builder that read and contribute to this board, but I think I'm learning a lot. I pretty much put myself in the apprentice catagory. So I'm sitting here with beads of sweat on my forhead and my teeth clenched waiting for the outcome for better or worse.

Micah

















 

[rich pierce]

That's a really clean build.  Great fit and finish, nice carving, good engraving, architecture looks great with one possible small caveat.  Might be the angle of the photos but it looks like the buttplate extension along the comb dives down into the comb just a little bit.  I've seen that on originals too but it's not ideal.  And like I say, it may be the camera angle that gives that impression.

That's about it that I could critique- sure there are other contemporary makers who are more masterful at carving and engraving but your work is right there with a lot of golden age originals.

[mjm46@bellsouth.net]

Thanks Rich
I appreciate your comments. Actually the buttplate return may have a little hump on the top that's giving that appearance, I never noticed it or I could've filed it a little flatter to match the comb, I watch for that next time. That was much less painful than I expected.

[JB2]

Well, with so many things NOT wrong with it, maybe you should send it to me so I can hide it for ya.    

I'm a noob, but it looks durn fine to me!

[northmn]

Remember that any rifle you turn out is hand made.  If you can make one without making a couple of little bloopers then you are an elite.  One thing that struck me was that you engraved the toe plate and patchbox but not the side plate.  Many also engrave the buttplate tang and triggerguard.  The bare side plate stood out the most.  Nothing that can not be easily remedied.  Very nice build.  As Rich stated, originals from the masters were not perfect.

DP

[G-Man]

Those Bivins buttplates have a bit of weird line to the heel and lend themselves to an odd line there - like Don Getz has pointed out also, those are not my favorites either.

Micah - really nice work and you are brave tackling all that carving and engraving, both of which are things that I do not really do on my few builds other than moldings and finials so I will let others give you input on those.  

I will say that your carving behind the cheekpiece really flows well.  I also like that you did not go with the unaltered, generic "early Lancaster" guard with the straight grip rail that is used on so many of these style guns.  Just preference, but I think curved grip rails feel better - and especially on a Haines style rifle with straight, angular architecture like this, a few curves here and there really make the gun more interesting visually, I think.  

Look forward to seeing your next one!

Guy

[Jerry V Lape]

Nice work all around.  Two minor points I picked up aren't really issues, just different.  The entry pipe would normally have rings on both ends so the front half of the pipe matches your other pipes, but this looks okay too.  The other is the stock shape at the tang appears to be domed versus the more conventional shape shown in this photo.



When I shape mine I usually include the little chip out at the end of the tang too. 

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Well done Micah!  The rifle's architecture flows nicely, the carving is appropriate and well done, as is the engraving.  I disagree with DP - I don't think more engraving would improve the rifle.  You should feel great satisfaction with this rifle.

[mjm46@bellsouth.net]

Remember that any rifle you turn out is hand made.  If you can make one without making a couple of little bloopers then you are an elite.  One thing that struck me was that you engraved the toe plate and patchbox but not the side plate.  Many also engrave the buttplate tang and triggerguard.  The bare side plate stood out the most.  Nothing that can not be easily remedied.  Very nice build.  As Rich stated, originals from the masters were not perfect.

DP

This is the first time that I have tried to build a rifle based on an actual rifle as much as possible. The rifle I was styling after is actually 2 Haines rifles that are in the "Rifles of Colonial America" Vol II. Towards th back of the volume there are a couple of Haines rifles. I tried to get the feel of how he did his but didn't exactly copy anything, I did notice that none of the rifles shown were engraved on the side plate so I left it off, thinking that's what he did. I can't change anything now this rifle was shipped yesterday to TOW for consignment. So if someone loves it it can be thiers. I'll be starting a new one shortly.

[mjm46@bellsouth.net]

Thanks everyone, again I appreciate the comments. It's still a learning experience but that's why I like it.

I'm surprised no-one has commented on the wooden flint. Then really don't spark worth a darn.

[whitebear]

Thanks everyone, again I appreciate the comments. It's still a learning experience but that's why I like it.

I'm surprised no-one has commented on the wooden flint. Then really don't spark worth a darn.

No but they last almost forever.

[smallpatch]

micah,

Nicely done.
In your defense, I know exactly what's wrong with that buttplate return.  I'd guess you got it from Wayne Dunlap??  That's the one part of his kits that I've had trouble with.    That's just the way it's shaped.    There's no getting around it, unless you refile and reshape the whole return.

Definitely a nice job.

If I had any constructive criticism, it would be a few tweaks in the carving design.  Some of it just doesn't flow like it should.  Some of those nice scroll curves are a little squared off.  The cheek side looks great, but behind the tang, and around the entry pipe, you  have a couple of places that are "squared off".  I hope that makes sense.

Please take this as constructive, and know that it's a nice job.  I had to search hard to find these.

[Don Getz]

Overall not a bad gun, some nice features.  One thing that jumped out at me was the trigger guard.   You have copied
many areas of basically a lancaster rifle, but that trigger guard belongs on a J. P. Beck...it is kind of unique to him.    It is
one reason why I like a Beck rifle so much, because of the trigger guard..it just has a great feel to it.    I can understand
why you used it, but, in reality, it doesn't belong on this gun.......Don

[heinz]

Well done Micah, nice look.  Mr Getz makes a valid point on the trigger guard but I would take it as something fixable that you should remember to consider next time. you should be very proud of that rifle.

[Ed Wenger]

Micah,

You've done a very nice job with this rifle, and it "shows" well.  Please don't feel intimidated by the work of others here at ALR, we're all enthusiasts, students of the Longrifle, and all started somewhere...

I think the architecture looks good and the overall craftsmanship is excellent.  That's important, and the "base" of a nice piece.

My two suggestions deal with the "bells and whistles", the carving and engraving.  With the engraving, you might want to try some shading or adding lines inside the larger leaves, similar to what you did with the flower in the finial, to add some depth.

Take a look at some of your favorite builders works and look closely at the wood carving.  You'll notice the scrolls flow in the design, and have proper proportion.  If you look at the bottom right C scroll of your rifle, you'll notice the top is a little off the "flow".  I think the "shank" of the top portion is a little flat and throws off the C scroll.  If that makes any sense at all...

You're well on your way to great things.  The "bells and whistles" just take practice, you've got the hard (and important) stuff down.  I think you've done really well with the lock and side plate panels as well, and the finish is very well done.  Thanks for posting the photos and we look forward to seeing more good work  in the future!

                            Ed

[mjm46@bellsouth.net]

Overall not a bad gun, some nice features.  One thing that jumped out at me was the trigger guard.   You have copied
many areas of basically a lancaster rifle, but that trigger guard belongs on a J. P. Beck...it is kind of unique to him.    It is
one reason why I like a Beck rifle so much, because of the trigger guard..it just has a great feel to it.    I can understand
why you used it, but, in reality, it doesn't belong on this gun.......Don

I think there was a parts shortage when I got parts for this gun. This was not what I wanted to build when I started out. And it seems that everything I wanted was out of stock or a long wait. This trigger guard was I thought close to the Lancaster style of guard that I usually use. Hard to judge some of these parts from looking at catalog pictures. Next time I'll know. As long as I see improvement from the last rifle I'm going in the right direction. Thanks Guys.

[A.Merrill]

    Henry Albright of Lancaster used that same triggerguard. But not till after he married his second wife Catherine Louisa Beck. Before that his guns had the typical Lancaster TG.    Good looking gun keep up the good work    AL

[Don Getz]

Micah..........remember, I was just pointing out one thing that wasn't, in a way, kosher, but we can alter things the way we see fit at the time.    Hopefully, I will have a so called "chrisitan's spring" barn gun at Dixons.   As far as I know, nothing like this really exists.    I have this neat steel guard that I want to use........100% incorrect, but I'm going to use
it anyway.   This will be strictly a whimsical gun, and, would you believe , it's sold already............Don

[mjm46@bellsouth.net]

I understand Don, I bet that the Old Masters did not ALWAYS use thier signature parts as well, there had to be times where they had parts shortages and had to depend on the sharing of parts and pieces from thier peers. I would even suggest that some unsigned and unattributed rifles may have been the work of a known master who for some reason did something different than usual.

[Don Getz]

Micah.....I recently saw an example of this, old time gun builders, using other parts.   Joe Long had a rather unique trigger
guard, a rather large bow, but one not found on other guns from this area.   My Joe Long has a slightly different guard.
I recently did some restoration on a Mose Specht rifle which was built about three miles from where Joe Long lived.
Amazingly, it has the same guard that is on my Joe Long.   Apparently Joe ran out of his standard guard, did not feel like
casting more at the time, so he walked down to Beavertown and borrowed, bought, or stole one from the Specht brothers, there were three ofl them, all building guns in the mid 1800's...............Don

[Keb]

Nice gun.

[mjm46@bellsouth.net]

Parts for my new rifle project just arrived 2 minutes ago. I'll try to post pictures of this project in progress.

[flintman-tx]

Nice job, well on your way!!!

[Hawken62_flint]

Nice rifle.  I wish that I were half as talented in the carving and engraving lines.  What I can't understand is why no one has mentioned what number of rifle this is for you--if my eyes and glasses are not playing tricks on me, it looks like No. 1101 on the top flat after your name.  Does this mean #1 gun in 2011 or is this really your 1101th gun?  Interested in the story on that?  Would have been fun to shoot, but someone else will get that pleasure.  Good luck on your consignment.

[mjm46@bellsouth.net]

Nice rifle.  I wish that I were half as talented in the carving and engraving lines.  What I can't understand is why no one has mentioned what number of rifle this is for you--if my eyes and glasses are not playing tricks on me, it looks like No. 1101 on the top flat after your name.  Does this mean #1 gun in 2011 or is this really your 1101th gun?  Interested in the story on that?  Would have been fun to shoot, but someone else will get that pleasure.  Good luck on your consignment.

That is exactly what the numbers mean. It's as much for my use and as a serial number to be used for identification. This is actually my 7th rifle. Every one I build is a little better than the last. Maybe in a year or so I'll be ready to make one for myself. I'm seriously getting ready to build one from a plank that may be the one I keep. Maybe next rifle after I finish the one I just got.