New guy building J. Long rifle

[aflo]

I have assembled this gun and other than some tuning here and there, it is complete.
I think most people will find the rear half to be fairly traditional, close to the Joseph Long tradition. That might be a little misleading as to my goal, as the front half of the gun is more a rejection of traditional ideas and forms, in favor of a more contemporary vocabulary. The forestock is very crisp, not worried down to an anorexic frailty, and doesn’t follow the standard logic as I understand it.
Although this is my first longrifle, I cannot claim that the forms were the result of naivety or inexperience since I am building on a forty year career in design, having done everything almost every type of product. The forms are exactly what I meant so I will have to stand behind them. And it is my rifle, after all.
I am very happy with the forms on the gun but really struggled with a number of other issues, primarily inletting and wood staining/finishing. Hopefully, any future builds will be an improvement. There is certainly plenty of room for that.

I am interested in what people think about it so don’t hold back. I have already learned a great deal from the inputs of those on this site.

[aflo]

Moving on to some accoutrements for this rifle... This inexpensive bag from TOTW was appealing but rather plain Jane so I visited the local Tandy Leather for some ornamentation (my wife likes it so I have to keep my eye on it).
The small items inside include a nice Cash capper and some powder measures, all fitted out with some little leather straps which have also been given a little bright work. The short starter is hanging outside on the strap. I also have a few little bags on order to finish out the contents.
I am not a hunter so the shiny stuff probably won’t scare any deer away.
The powder horn, another very inexpensive item from TOTW, should work for me until I get a better idea of what I will need. I did put some reddish stain and a leather cord on it.
In the patchbox, a scrap of leather from Tandy was used to wrap a few tools that might be good to keep handy at the range.
After using this stuff for a while, I should get a better idea of what really works for me. In the meantime, this should do and not break the bank.






I just added this last pix of the loading board, another cheap item from Track. I don't even know if I will find this useful but, to give it a little interest, I dipped it diagonally in some red dye, stained it and added a little strap with bling and a 9mm cartridge - probably not very period correct

[kutter]

Wow, this browning stuff is kinda harsh and doesn't yield very even results. Maybe it will even out with subsequent coats but the first step sure made a lot of splotchy rust. The instructions call for rubbing it down with a coarse cloth. I had to go to steel wool to get anywhere with it. Maybe I pushed the humidity too much.

I use the LMF and also the shower as a temp & humidity box also.

You are correct in that too much humidity is not good.  Also hanging parts brought in from a cooler temp room will sweat in the high humidity & temp and ruin the brown w/ droplets and sometimes water streaks.
Also apply the soln in a very thin coating. No runs or drips. Don't overlap a section of the metal that you've already covered. Don't scrub it in,,just once over and that's it.

I've had the best result with running the shower at full hot for about 2min  or so. Not much more.
Close the drain,,collect the hot water in the tub. It'll help keep the temp and humidity up.

Bring in the parts and hang them or set them in the room. They'll turn a dark blue/brown in a few minutes. They should rust in a couple of hours. Sometimes I go back and turn the hot water back on for maybe 30sec again to steam up the room. Don't over do it.
Keep the door shut.
A heavier coat isn't really needed for browning, but most allow more rusting than for rust blueing.  But don't let it get carried away unless you're reaching for the slightly pitted surface look. It can come about quite quickly at those higher temps and humidity ranges.
Card down each coat to remove the loose coating. I use a wire wheel. Some use wire brushes, steel wool (make sure you de-oil it before use), canvas, burlap, ect.  Each will give a slightly different look as it removes a different amount of the loose coating.

Laurel Mtn will work at lower humidity and temps. Just takes longer.

I like your rifle! Wish my first LR project had turned out as well.

[aflo]

Thanks, Kutter.

This gun was approved by the wife to be displayed in her dinning room, which is fortunate because I have no other good place to keep it.
The little brackets are from a Jack Bligh in Gainesboro, TN (off e-bay) and are quite nice – discrete and hand forged. I did a little bit of bending to better fit the gun. The little leather strap and brass padlock wouldn’t stop any serious effort but should deter the grandsons.



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