Patchbox hinge construction

[Dave B]

I was digging through the bits pieces looking for engraved pieces and found this interesting finial for a patchbox that shows one method for doing the hinge and lid for the patchbox.  This shows at least from this sample that the gunsmith made the final hinge first then soldered the lid on to the hinge after it was formed.




I had heard about this technique but had never seen an example of it first hand. I believe the other patch boxes that some times used this method were the side opening lids from Bucks county.

[mr. no gold]

How about showing the rest of the finial and anything else noteworth on the box? Don't be coy about it. Looks very interesting whether old or new.
Dick

[Dave B]

Its not much but here is the overall view.


the tip has broken off as you can see, it's all I have of this box .

[don getz]

I like to make the head and lid of a box of much thicker brass, even up to a 1/16" thick, but have always found it difficult
to bend a nice hinge out of this thick stuff.   I therefore make my hinge of much thinner brass, about .030 thick, and make
two pieces, one to solder under the head, and one to solder under the lid.  By using this thinner brass you can make a
much neater hinge  I merely take one end of each piece and just roll it around the hinge pin I am going to use until it comes around and merely butts against the flat of the piece, or kind of like a "P".  I then tin both the box part and the
top side of the hinge piece and hold them together with two pliers and hold them in the flame of a propane torch, squeezing them together as the solder melts.  After I have both pieces soldered on, I cut out the segments of the hinge
and fit them together..................Don

[Dave B]

Don that sounds slick. The brass of this original box finial is .042 so the .030 would bend nicely around the pin.

[mr. no gold]

Thank you Dave. That is a pretty finial and appears to be old. Hard to say where it came from though. Guess we can assume that it had side plates, though that ain't necessarily so.
Thank you for posting the whole thing.
Some restorers use gold solder to make repairs and while the gold won't tarnish, it can be colored over and the heat doesn't destroy the item.
Thanks again!
Dick

[B Shipman]

I usually use 1/16th brass with the lid and finial in one piece each and cut and try the hinge. Also a long tab that's silver soldered. This is just indestructable.  And gives a lot of meat to round the hinge off to match the shape of the stock. it's just a matter of banging a circle around a pin. Then squeeze the tab in a vice and bang the hinge of the lid and finial to the same heigth.  Anneal the brass frequently.

[B Shipman]

P.S. Also besides strength, the thicker brass gives me something to file, to match up the head and lid and lid to sideplates. Don's method has to be a little more perfect in execution. I'll bet I take longer but get to fix small errors which don't wind up as errors because I have more to work with.

[don getz]

Bill.....I will admit that your way is good, I just hate to bend that thick stuff.  It does give you a much thicker hinge that you can shape, by filing, to conform to the shape of the stock, but, the line of the pin and hole might be straighter.   I think this is the way most of the old boxes were done.  To each his own.  I have made so many my way, I'm getting too
old to change, besides, you don't have to do that on a barn gun.........Don

[Roger Fisher]

Bill.....I will admit that your way is good, I just hate to bend that thick stuff.  It does give you a much thicker hinge that you can shape, by filing, to conform to the shape of the stock, but, the line of the pin and hole might be straighter.   I think this is the way most of the old boxes were done.  To each his own.  I have made so many my way, I'm getting too
old to change, besides, you don't have to do that on a barn gun.........Don

So, THAT'S why I build plain rifles!

[B Shipman]

A lot of originals used pretty thin brass. My Hawk is about .45.