A few months ago, a fellow by the name of Richard Newman got in contact with me via the Contemporary Makers site asked me if I could finish a little rifle he had started quite some time ago for his daughters. Time, business, and life had stopped progress and he was looking for someone to finish it for him. We met in June and I took over the project but warned him that I was in the midst of a large propulsion testing contract and would not be able to dedicate full time to the project. He told me the rifle had languished for several years, so any progress would be to the good.
Personally, I had also started a matched set of 1/2 scale rifles for my two daughters many, many years ago that I have never finished. And, in the natural order of things, the girls had not waited on me and are now both grown women. So, secondarily, I wanted to do this for Richard to make up for my own missed opportunity.
At any rate, I have been working on it a little at a time, and asked Richard if I could post the work here as it might be of interest to this community. He said to go ahead, so here goes.
It is always a bit of an issue to take over someone else's project, as you are never quite sure what the original vision was. Also, half way through a build, there are things that have been done that cannot be undone, without completely starting over, and must just be lived with. Luckily, Richard had done a great job up to the point he had to stop and turned the work over to me.
The rifle is 3/4 scale, suited for a child but easily handled by an adult. I was immediately taken with the size and style. It is a handy little rifle with an octagonal to round .45 caliber barrel. The lock is a small Queen Ann (which I have used before and like very much). The rest of the hardware is German silver, which I have never worked with before. The following photos will show the rifle as Richard delivered it to me.
I will post some photos on the progress to date next time around....
