Patchbox

[DB]

Am I correct in saying that the center line of the patchbox should relate to the center line of the wrist?

[J. Talbert]

DB, welcome to the board!

I think that that is the arrangement most of us find pleasing to the eye.  I'd also say that it is certainly the most common setup on contemporary guns.  Whenever possible, I try to center the base of the patchbox (well not perfectly centered, lets just say, "pleasingly positioned.") along the height of the buttplate, with the finial pointed to the center of the wrist.

This is certainly not an absolute.  Many originals were not necessarily done this way.  Some patchbox designs do not lend themselves well to this arrangement.

If you compare the two Peter Berry rifles in the ALR museum, you'll see how certain designs make it difficult to satisfy both of these rules.  Both the Berry guns have similar patchbox designs.  On one, the patchbox finial is pointed more or less toward the wrist and the base is very high along the buttplate.  On the other, the base is centered along the buttplate, which causes the finial to point below the center of the wrist.

If I were designing my own patchbox,  my goal would be to design one that would look good centered on both ends.  Those are the ones that look best to me.

Jeff

[Jim Kibler]

In regards to a wood box, In my view it sometimes looks a little odd if angled such that it points toward the tail of the lock.  When this is done the lid is often at an angle relative to the top of the butplate and is not too pleasing to the eye.  Also, the end of the box lid is then on an angle, which is a bit odd looking and makes for more difficulty with the latch.  I see this fairly frequently on guns by those without a great deal of experience.

Jim

[J. Talbert]

I would agree with Jim with regard to wood boxes.  My reply was based purely on metal boxes.

Jeff

[KentSmith]

Seems to me, and I guess this depends on the school you are trying to match, but the butt generally describes a triangle and by extending the one leg described by the comb and the other by the bottom of the butt I find a wooden lid best seems to bisect the angle of that arc and allows the lid to line up best with the butt for latch engagement- (most often terminating around the pan and seldom along the center line). This brings the slightly tapered lid into relation with the buttplate tang (comb) rather than at an unrelated line - centerline. I talked about this with Chuck Dixon once and we looked at several of his rifles and came to that general conclusion for what it's worth.

Of course I am half blind and suffer from old timers disease but if you go to the contemporary makers site and look up any number of guns there, check the RCA or look at the many fine examples displayed on this site on occasion I think you will see what I mean.  I am sure someone can find some relation to the golden whatchmacallit but I didn't say that.

[JDK]

I would make a paper pattern of the desired box and lay it on the stock and move it around until it looks best with in all the other reference points....butt size and angle, wrist, latching, etc.  Everything else and the rules aside, what looks best is going to be best.  Basically, what Mr. Smith just said.  J.D.