General discussion > Gunmaking tools and techniques- metal shaping
Making a "Chiefs Grade" Trade gun Trigger guard *Photos Fixed*
Curtis:
I just finished a trigger guard for a Chief's grade trade gun I am building. I took a lot of photos along the way so I thought I would share some of the steps I went through while making it, in case anyone is thinking about building a trade gun for the first time. I also did some engraving on the guard, I am a beginner engraver but early English trade guns didn't usually have the best engraving so it might work out.
I started with a sheet of .80 brass, first I hit it with some cheap white spray paint and sketched on the design:
Then cut it out with a jeweler's saw:
Next I bent the finials 90 degrees at each end of the bow:
Next anneal the bow area with a torch and start the bending process. I made a poor man's swage block by using a hole saw to cut a hole in a hard scrap of lumber, then sawed the scrap in two in the middle of the hole. Then the pounding begins:
Annealing again:
Using the "hole" to bend the bow over:
Then switched to an old pipe section:
I dished out a swaging area on the face of the same board with a gouge, and used it to put some rounding across the bow for strength and appearance:
Then switched to a lead block for fine tuning:
And back to the cutout hole for some adjusting:
These three pics somewhat show the convex shape:
A little adjustment to the finial bends and it is close enough for now:
Now some file work to smooth the dings and add dimension to the finials:
I drew my designs on the brass in pencil and started the engraving process. For the more complex design on the bow I spritzed a light coat of white paint. It was more durable than the china white I have. Here I am using a graver that TOF made for me:
My inspiration for the bow design:
Finished! Unless I decide to retouch some lines,anyway:
Thanks for looking!
Curtis
Angus:
That will make the Chief happy, nice work!
James Wilson Everett:
Splendid! Thanks for posting the photos.
jrb:
Thanks for sharing that, Curtis. As a trade gun nut, i'm really looking forward to seeing your completed gun. :)
Tom Currie:
Curtis, Nice job on that guard. Thanks for sharing your process with us.
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