Author Topic: Another English Rifle...Finally Finished........ (Read 39266 times)

davec2 · « **on:** March 01, 2015, 12:18:26 AM »

About a month ago I asked the board about photos and suggestions for an English rifle I was just starting. Rather than continue that thread, I thought I would start a new one.

(The old one is here http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=33978.0 )

I just finished the .50 cal maple stocked long rifle (except for case hardening the lock parts) so I thought I better get cracking on the next project before I burn too much more daylight. So here is the progress so far on the English rifle...

Stock fairly well shaped, butt plate installed, and sliding patch box lid completed....

I don't intend to do much, if any, carving except for a shell around the barrel tang and the patch box lid, but I did do a simple molding along the ram rod channel

Side plate, trigger, and trigger guard are in.....I re-shaped the trigger guard bowl to add the raised edges I often see on originals.

The engraving.....having watched all the posts about English rifles, pick and dot engraving, etc....and looking over every picture I can find of originals in Neal & Back, I am starting in. I don't know what I'm doing, but I am attempting to make this look more like the subtle engraving I see in original gun pictures and less like I have been cutting graffiti on brass and steel with my graver.

Start on the lock...polished the plate and cut my name. This may be all I do on this one......??

Breech plug......gold makers mark and some delicate floral decoration I have seen in some photos of originals....not great, but this may take me a while to get the hang of.

More to follow....

D. Taylor Sapergia · « **Reply #1 on:** March 01, 2015, 12:34:30 AM »

No flies on you - that's a fact!

kaintuck · « **Reply #2 on:** March 01, 2015, 06:09:00 PM »

Very nice Dave!....I think you and I have the same disease.......it's called, cannotsitinachairlongerthan10minutes............

Did you make those RRthimbles?

Marc n tomtom

Acer Saccharum · « **Reply #3 on:** March 01, 2015, 07:38:27 PM »

@!*%, Dave, you are killin' me! Beautiful work and workmanship.

wattlebuster · « **Reply #4 on:** March 01, 2015, 08:14:08 PM »

Sharp so far

But then again I have come to expect that out of you

mab7 · « **Reply #5 on:** March 01, 2015, 09:49:35 PM »

You should do a thread dedicated to your engraving methods, tools, etc...
You must have the patience of a statue...

Dr. Tim-Boone · « **Reply #6 on:** March 01, 2015, 10:53:52 PM »

The detailed, purposeful shaping of every single part...........!! beautiful workmanship!
What trigger are you using Dave?

davec2 · « **Reply #7 on:** March 01, 2015, 11:32:26 PM »

Thanks to all for the support...

htredneck....I have NO patience at all....and it causes me to rush things that I should be patient enough to do slowly and do a better job with. Lack of patience is a curse I have dealt with all my life. Luckily, I am 744 months through an average life expectancy of 900 months, so I am, at best, 82.6% done. I have too many unfinished projects to slow down too much...and I am rapidly running out of air speed, altitude, and ideas...

Dr. Tim...not sure what trigger this is. The rifle is a Chambers kit I purchased quite some time ago. I am assuming that Jim or Barbie could identify it and that the trigger would be available from them.

P.S. If I had this to do over again, I would not have used this butt plate. I would have used the simpler profile type often used on a fowler. This one will require fancier engraving that I think the rifle needs just to justify the complicated profile of the design on the return. Live and learn.

gunmaker · « **Reply #8 on:** March 02, 2015, 02:28:43 AM »

Yes I see thats really the "Wrong" butt plate---but I guess it'll have to do this time.

Very quality workmanship Dave--way above my pay grade.....Tom

gumboman · « **Reply #9 on:** March 02, 2015, 06:50:52 AM »

Very impressive workmanship. All of it. I often wonder how those English butt plates with the long and progressively stepped extensions are inletted. Your example is very well done. Is there a tutorial for that any where on the forum?

Feltwad · « **Reply #10 on:** March 02, 2015, 09:49:31 AM »

You will find that there are three different periods and styles of both the flintlock rifle and the fowler from the 1760 to 1810 mostly in the furniture these periods should not be mixed if you intend to build a flintlock of a given period.
Feltwad

jerrywh · « **Reply #11 on:** March 02, 2015, 08:34:32 PM »

Dave .
Did you make your own makers stamp?

davec2 · « **Reply #12 on:** March 02, 2015, 09:34:03 PM »

Jerry,

Yes. Here is an old post about the stamp and the press I made......

http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=1138.0

davec2 · « **Reply #13 on:** March 03, 2015, 11:17:01 PM »

Barrel is finished...still trying to mimic appropriate engraving. Trigger guard is done. Side plate refining is in work....

Acer Saccharum · « **Reply #14 on:** March 03, 2015, 11:21:00 PM »

Dave the problem with your English engraving is that it's too good.

Most English work was production engraving, and was made to look good at a cursory glance. Upon closer inspection one would see awkward proportions to the drawing, over runs in the engraving, etc. None of that on your work. Very well done.

Ed Wenger · « **Reply #15 on:** March 04, 2015, 02:46:39 AM »

That looks really, really nice.... I think you hit the essence of finer European engraving. Great stuff!

Ed

davec2 · « **Reply #16 on:** March 04, 2015, 02:50:08 AM »

Acer...another distinct disadvantage caused by never having seen an original of any sort...American, English, French, Romulan, Klingon.....nothing !!

whitebear · « **Reply #17 on:** March 04, 2015, 04:59:10 AM »

WOW just WOW

flatsguide · « **Reply #18 on:** March 04, 2015, 05:12:13 AM »

Very nice! That rolled edge on the guard bow is a nice touch. Would care to elaborate on how that was accomplished?
Thanks Richard

davec2 · « **Reply #19 on:** March 04, 2015, 08:17:45 AM »

Richard,

The edge of the trigger guard casting, while not overly thick, is thick enough to file a deep groove on either edge of the guard. The inboard groove edges are then blended toward the middle of the guard with a file until the guard looks like it does in the pictures. Then it's just a question of polishing the file marks out with sanding sticks, stones, etc. Actually, I scraped most of the file marks out on this one and then finished up with sanding sticks and a muslin buff with tripoli.

Tom Currie · « **Reply #20 on:** March 04, 2015, 03:37:54 PM »

Amazing work Dave. You are quite the accomplished engraver. The inletting of that butt plate is really well done.

cmac · « **Reply #21 on:** March 04, 2015, 04:03:00 PM »

As always..... wow!

flatsguide · « **Reply #22 on:** March 04, 2015, 05:11:11 PM »

Dave, thanks for the explanation. It is very graceful along with the engraving.
Richard

pushboater · « **Reply #23 on:** March 05, 2015, 05:21:27 AM »

Fantastic workmanship as usual! I've got to make me one of those presses. That is so cool!

Capt. David

Mike Brooks · « **Reply #24 on:** March 05, 2015, 08:41:18 PM »

Your nicks are good but where are your dots? You're a helluva engraver, do you have some good english gun resource books? I used to have some pretty good english originals of the time period but they are long gone now, if I still had them I would have shipped them to you for study pieces. Getting to study originals is difficult to do if you don't run in the right circles.
I'll have to dig around and see if I have some original buttplates or trigger guards still lying around you could use....I may have 1780 period Nock stuff come to think of it.....I'll look next week.

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Author Topic: Another English Rifle...Finally Finished........ (Read 39266 times)

kaintuck

pushboater