Let's do another

[Roger Fisher]

Well I'm wondering if that be a dodo bird or or or on top flat??   That smiling hound chasing the long tailed rabbit or long eared fox just bursts with his/her happiness in the chase.   

[MarkEngraver]

After reading the posts on the last critique I figured I give it a shot. It's not the kind of gun I am drawn to, but it is what it is.
The gun definitely has a presence that says "early" to me.

The wood and the color are beautiful, "patina" is just right so far as I'm concerned.

Patchbox positioning is good,for my tastes. I like it centered on the butt stock pointing at the tail of the lock with the  lines of the top, bottom  of stock converging in the lock region pointing and moving the eye forward to view the rest of the gun. The lid of the box appears nice and thin with its 3 divisions also moving you forward. ( kinda Art Deco-ish)

The sharp drop gives a sort of "kink" to the movement of the gun and the sideplate adds to this quirkyness, but it is sort of ... charming, playful.

I like the cohesive repetition of carving forms at the entry pipe and barrel tang and also the repetition in the engraving decoration scattered in different places. ( this reflects my own philosophy toward decoration of taking various "design themes" and sprinkling them around to tie various areas together )
I do agree that the hound/fox scene on the side plate should be reversed. Movement of design elements should point you forward from butt towards muzzle.( engraving teacher pounded this into my head !)

I am having a hard time deciding on the shadow line in front of the lock panels, I'm not sure what it is that bothers me. It seems as though the line of the panel is fighting with the molding line. 

Anyway, Mike I think you've done a wonderful job on this gun.

[JDK]

I do agree that the hound/fox scene on the side plate should be reversed. Movement of design elements should point you forward from butt towards muzzle.

My comment on the hound and fox running toward the muzzle was meant in jest for just this very reason....because it defies the conventional "rules"...much as some of the other things Mike does also.  But he always seems to make it work.

Thing is, seems many gun builders, while they could carve and engrave, they weren't "classically trained" as engravers and carvers so many of the lessons that those trained in those fields received the gun builder never got.

Enjoy, J.D.

[Mike Brooks]

I just did a quick thumb through of Hamilton's book. Hunting scenes on french trade gun sideplates universally run from the left to the right. Probably because we write from the left to the right.
 The lock mouldings turn up at the front, that's why they look a little odd to those who are used to classic KY rifle decoration. More of a "Dutchy" thing.

[Meteorman]

Actually, foxes had much longer ears in the 18th century. Very few people realize this today...

.... and here I thought I was the only one that knew that.

I gotta ask,  Mike, is that a turkey feather duster on the buttplate return ?   

nice work as always.  If you say you have 20 hrs in that gun I'm gonna have the NIST people come out and check your clocks.
regards,
/mike

[Don Stith]

Mike
 Thanks for sharing such a great piece. You know I am not a collector of contemporary pieces, although I have a few. That one would tempt me.
To add to some of the other comments: I like the top edge of stock to be parallel to the bore, as you have done. Congratulations on getting the cheekpiece to look massive rather than being massive.
 The one criticism I agree with is the screw slots. Get yourself a knife edge file and bevel the slots. Might as well add that leaving the metal, (tang, buttplate, nose cap, etc )a little proud of the wood;  would enhance the aged look.
 Glad you are still working
Don

[Mike Brooks]

Glad you are still working

Thanks Don, me too!

[Elnathan]

Mike,
I don't have much to add to the critique, except to say that I might have tried to make the wrist just a hair thicker, but I am not sure. I like the quick drop at the tang and it does a good job making that big breech look good, but I can't recall ever seeing an American rifle with that feature, though it shows up on some fowlers if I remember correctly. Is there a historical example that I am missing?

Also, do you by any chance recall what the number or name of the triggerguard is?

[MarkEngraver]

I just did a quick thumb through of Hamilton's book. Hunting scenes on french trade gun sideplates universally run from the left to the right. Probably because we write from the left to the right.
 The lock mouldings turn up at the front, that's why they look a little odd to those who are used to classic KY rifle decoration. More of a "Dutchy" thing.

Makes sense, the left to right movement connected to reading.

Just because butt to muzzle movement was pounded into my head, doesn't mean I necessarily follow the "rules"   
You know ,  William Wallace ..... Braveheart ..... FREEDOM !!

I've decided the lock moldings just add to the "kinky" transition from wrist to barrel ! 

Mark

[Collector]

I've been waiting for someone to say something about the front sight being 'staked' (right word-?) into the barrel.  Not a typical approach, but very clean looking.  I like it.

The side plate probably would have been less controversial, if you'd just hacked off the rear portion and made it look like a broken plate was used.  Nothing wrong with broken, but useable.  I think EK did that on one of his deliberately 'antiqued' pieces.

It's a woodsrunner piece, for sure and needs to be blooded!

Gaylord Hansen  

[Acer Saccharum]

I really like the flavor of this gun, the execution, the wood, the story, carving, it's evocative of guns you might have seen in my neck of the woods, upper Hudson Valley, near the Mohawk region. Dutch, English, French all vying for power thru trade in alcohol, firearms, iron and brass goods in exchange for land and furs and power.

The humped breech is often seen on rifles and fowlers from this era.

I see where you are going with the hump in the breech, but I think there are a couple of architectural issues with it. The lock does not quite have enough curvature, or banana, for this much bend. It causes the lock to be rocked back to fit the wrist, with a slightly awkward angle. Also a little more banana in the lock would have made the sideplate sit more comfortably in its panel on the other side. More banana in the lock would have allowed the breech 'Hump' be carried back into the tang a bit farther, with a little more radius. Currently, the bend occurs right at the joint between barrel and wood.

And thanks for posting your work.

Tom

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Mike, I've been studying the pictures and reading the great comments for several days, and I am unable to come up with anything that I don't like about your rifle.  All of my own work comes from the bench 'as new', and until now, I have not been a fan of aging a new rifle.  But this rifle has all of the best features of both schools. This is a rifle that I could take into the field and be very comfortable with.  The colour and finish of that great hard maple are warm, the figure and patination are wonderful.  And being a shooter, the architecture is perfect for a .69 cal killer.  That you didn't follow a particular school or maker, and used your experience to create this composition that stands perfectly on its own merit, is something that I admire.
The angle of the butt trap is fine, as is the choice of wood for the trap...the figure is in complete harmony with the butt stock wood.  Your thin and fine mouldings, the carving at the entry pipe and tang, are all en-suite and in harmony.  I especially like the entry tang carving as it implies a swell in the stock at the transition.
I'm curious to know the barrel length and the rifle's weight.  Great work!!

[rennikselum]

Being very "green" at this, I have to say that as looking at the photos as sections of the piece there could be an appearance of an "abruptness of flow"...especially around the lock panels to the wrist.

But,
I  keep looking back at the first photo of the whole gun and it flows rather beautifully and logical with the shape of the butt. Cant put my finger on what...but as a whole it is grand!

Thanks for sharing Mike.

[smart dog]

Hi Mike,
I would say you met your objectives brilliantly!  Well done and very creative.  There are only 3 things that I wish were different.  I don't like the rear ramrod thimble.  It looks too rustic for my taste and it seems to have a sharp bend that does not complement the stock shaping around it.  I wish the muzzlecap was 1/2-1 inch longer.  I doesn't seem to go with the long barrel.  Finally, the painting or glazing you do to create shadows of old finish and grime is too predictable.  I think it would look more believeable if it was used more sparingly and was not continuous along each corner or edge.  Regardless it is a wonderful gun and it must have been a blast to think about and design.

I enjoy and admire all of your work very much Mike, but what I admire most is that you are carrying on the traditions of the actual gun trade, perhaps more than anyone else I know.  All of us amateurs preserve and carry on the traditions of the product but you are actually living the trade, something altogether different.  Every one of your guns shows the workman-like efficiency needed to make a well-made gun while actually making a reasonable wage.  Even being a gentleman farmer is probably very authentic since many famous makers were farmers as well.  That economic imperative makes your guns all that much more authentic and would do so even if you forgo the antiquing. 

dave

     

[Mike Brooks]

I suppose that's something you should keep in mind when viewing my work, it's quickly done and I have to do it to eat. Time is money.

[Ian Pratt]

  Always about the food and money. Relax and take your time, you can't eat money or spend food, at least not without getting locked up and observed for a while, so what's the difference?
  In the lock region things have been done to make the "knock you over the head" wrist drop from the breech work visually. One that will be obvious to many but not to others is the orientation of and shape of the lock itself, the lock has a tail that is tipped downward a bit and you have positioned it with the tail angling downward. But something a bit more subtle that many probably won't notice is where the "break point" is under the belly, as in where the curve of the wrist actually starts breaking away from the underside of the forearm. Something maybe even more subtle to some is the choice of positioning of the guard, to my eye the shape of the bow and the placing of the bow's "lug" slightly staggered behind the line of the breech face compliments the radical wrist drop really nicely. Imagine it with a longer bowed guard placed fore or aft of that point.
  Cool gun, the headless box release is a neat detail.
As an aside, everything Tom Curran has ever said was wrong.   

[James Rogers]

 But something a bit more subtle that many probably won't notice is where the "break point" is under the belly, as in where the curve of the wrist actually starts breaking away from the underside of the forearm.  

This is an area of study that just happens to be in the forefront of my simple mind these days. That break location along with tang bend on the top line.
Old hat to some of you guys I know but I am constantly amazed as I continue to observe.  Things previously hidden in subtlety become more apparent and sometimes even glaring.

[James Rogers]

I just did a quick thumb through of Hamilton's book. Hunting scenes on french trade gun sideplates universally run from the left to the right. Probably because we write from the left to the right.
 The lock mouldings turn up at the front, that's why they look a little odd to those who are used to classic KY rifle decoration. More of a "Dutchy" thing.

Just finished looking at an English piece from the mid 18th century by Thomas Richards. Beautifully executed sideplate with two hounds chasing a stag back to the buttstock.

[rich pierce]

Most French trade guns with engraved hunting scenes run the same way.

[Mike Brooks]

 But something a bit more subtle that many probably won't notice is where the "break point" is under the belly, as in where the curve of the wrist actually starts breaking away from the underside of the forearm.  

This is an area of study that just happens to be in the forefront of my simple mind these days. That break location along with tang bend on the top line.
Old hat to some of you guys I know but I am constantly amazed as I continue to observe.  Things previously hidden in subtlety become more apparent and sometimes even glaring.

Took a long time for me to get that right. That's what Don Getz busted me for years ago. I've been trying to get it right ever since. That break doesn't automatically happen in the same place either. This is where a large library  and hours of study come in.  I can easily spend a couple hours drawing out a pattern for an odd ball gun like this. Another tough thing for me to get right was the curve of French and New England buttstocks....lots easier now. You Lehigh guys seem to nail that curve every time.

[jim moore]

This rifle is a real pleasure to shoot. Ask me how I know...cause it's mine
someone asked about weight (10 3/4 lbs) barrel length 45"
Haven't been able to hunt with it yet. But before I got laid up, it knocks the splinters out of the
crossbars that are on top of telephone pole.
Jim

[Mike Brooks]

I was wondering if you would pop in. What's the load you're using?

[Osprey]

I like it, only have two questions, one of them even serious.  What did you have to do to the tang to get that angle?  I'm guessing cut a wedge out on the underside to keep some thickeness coming back?

And you're in Iowa, where the heck did that seagull come from that's on the barrel?!   

[Mike Brooks]

I like it, only have two questions, one of them even serious.  What did you have to do to the tang to get that angle?  I'm guessing cut a wedge out on the underside to keep some thickeness coming back?

And you're in Iowa, where the heck did that seagull come from that's on the barrel?!   

Just put a monkey wrench on it and bent it down, the filed any excess off the top.
The bird is a Thai Shamo.....used to raise alot of them.

[TPH]

You'll notice from the side the cheek piece looks to be quite tall, but from the bottom view it really isn't. I achieved this by making the buttstock pretty "pregnant", sloping the wood up gradually to the cheek piece. This is something that has always bothered me about our contemporary work, we just gotta have straight lines. But, on all the originals I have seen this tall cheek piece archetecture is an illusion. So, I finally overcame this straight line thing and my guns look more like the old guns. Consensus?

I agree Mike, this one is fascinating and I have enjoyed seeing it as well as hearing your reasoning behind it. And... I have enjoyed reading everyone else's thoughts as well. You've got one to be proud of here.