Fowler build - comments welcome

[Meteorman]

Finished my first fowler - no particular builder, but hopefully somewhat Pennsylvania-ish.
16ga Colerain.
Lots of areas to improve upon. 
All criticisms and constructive comments are encouraged and welcome.
Hope to disturb a turkey with it about 1 month from now.

/mike millard

p.s. a big thank you to Mark Wheland for taking the time to give me some hands-on mentoring on this build.
Having said that, all the mistakes are mine and mine only !

[alex e.]

looks good!

[gunmaker]

Turkey's in big trouble.  good looking shootin' iron.  16 is my fav. as well.  Like that finish work.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Mike:  looks like a really nice fowling piece.  I like the stock architecture, and your fit and finish is fine.  Nice carving behind the tang...gives the gun a lot of class.
One thing that is likely considered minor, perhaps even routine, is the forward lock screw coming through the plate above the centre line of the plate.  I realize that you want the screw to pass as close to the barrel as possible, to allow for the rod, and still keep the vertical height of the stock slim.  But seeing that screw exit there makes me crazy.  One thing that a guy can do to disguise it, is to silver solder a 1/8" thick disc onto the inside of the plate's forward end and drill a blind hole there to receive the screw.  As I said - very minor criticism if that's all I can find wrong.
You're going to have a lot of enjoyment with that piece.

[mjm46@bellsouth.net]

Looks Real Fine to me. What did you use for the barrel and the stock finish?

[alyce-james]

Sir; Mike, Great looking Flower. I think come turkey hunting the turkey does not stand a chance. I like the metal and wood finish. The two go togeather great. Thanks for sharing. AJ.

[smylee grouch]

Very nice looking from were I stand, looks like you were a good student.

[E.vonAschwege]

Hey Mike,
   First, that is a beautiful fowler - very handsome architecture, everything flows well.  Your finish color and patina are lovely.  I built a Massachusetts fowler around the same Colerain barrel - it's a great lightweight production barrel!  You should be very happy with your project.  The only critique I was going to offer was the same that Taylor already mentioned about the forward lock bolt.  Silver brazing a shallow plug would be a great way to hide that.  Don't be afraid to enter the ramrod channel if you have to - several of my guns have slightly notched forward lock-bolts.  That's really nitpicking though - great piece overall.  Did you use aquafortis for a stain? 
-Eric

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

Very nice!! nice patina on the metal and the wood. the fininsh will scuff up chasing those turkeys.

[Meteorman]

Thanks friends.
The front lock bolt was a head slapper - a flat out drilling error on my part. Center punched the plate in the correct spot, but drill point slid north of punch dimple.  Why did i not see this?  Cuz i put oil on the bit and the oil column between bit and punch hole obscured my view.  Lesson learned. 

Did you use aquafortis for a stain? 
-Eric

Ferric nitrate crystals dissolved in alcohol.  Over stain with TransTint colors in alcohol.
Muddled pigments in tru-oil.  Chambers oil on top. 
/mike

[Jim Kibler]

I like most of what you've done.  Good work!  I don't like how the front of the sideplate seems to be reaching upward.  Guess this is related to the lock bolt placement issue.  I'm not big on the engraving below the pan.  Much more appropriate for a later lock.  The carving is okay, but could be a little stronger.  Architecture is cool and the finish looks pretty nice.  Overall nice work.

Jim

[Topknot]

Mike ,
Really nice looking fowler. In my opinion, your 1st effort turned out very good..... now if I could just find me a mentor to give me some pointers....

                                                      topknot

[JTR]

Nice job!

John

[Longshot]

Looks to be a fine effort, and a very tasty piece.
~Longshot

[little joe]

Excellent build and the lock bolt,I would rather see there and no notch in the lock bolt for RR clearance.Study the origionals and you will see a lot of things we don,t like but they made mistakes also.

[pushboater]

Mike,
     Real nice Fowler for your first attempt.  Love the architecture.  Fit and finish both look good.  Nice carving behind the Tang.  All in all it's what I would consider a wonderful Learning experience that produced what I'm sure will become one of your favorite hunting companions!  Time to start on the next one!

Capt. David

[hanshi]

First effort???  You could've fooled me!  That is simply a fine gun.  Congratulations.

[Meteorman]

First effort???  

To clear up the record:  1st FOWLER.  8th Longgun build.  1st from a blank.
and thanks again for kind words and critiques.
/mike

[wattlebuster]

I think ya did BIG

[Micah2]

Im inspired

[Ed Wenger]

Hey Mike, excellent job, especially for you're first from a blank.  My only "critique" or "I would have done" is perhaps extend the top line of the side plate molding back a little more to conform a little more with the side plate, if that makes sense.  Also, to my eye, the panel is a little "thick" (wide) under the front of the side plate.  I realize the bolt hole was drilled a little high, but I'm thinking the bottom line of the panel could be brought up a tad?   

I really like the metal and wood finish.  To me, you really captured the look and feel of an 18th Century piece.  I especially like the wrist area, and the way the wrist is extended through the butt area.  Everything "flows" nicely.  Again, excellent job, very nice looking fowler, and thanks for posting the photos!

    Ed

[Oliver]

Congratulations on your first scratch Fowler build. I'm deeply inspired. 

As a neophyte, I'm not in a position to criticize specific details, however I do rather like the overall finish. Very nice color indeed.