Second build completed - Williamsburg inspired smooth rifle

[blackjack]

Just "finished" my second build.  Probably will put some more finish coats over time, but it's looking okay now.

It's a "smooth rifle" with a 38" Colerain OTR barrel in 20ga/.62cal, mounted in a maple stock, fired by an L&R Germanic lock and Bivens single trigger.  Furniture is brass, and it mounts a single front blade sight made of brass and soldered to the barrel.  It has a front swivel and a rear button and takes a Jaeger style sling.  LOP is 14 1/4" and it shoots great with shot or .61 round balls with rifle accuracy out to 50 yards.  

I read about the Colonial Williamsburg "blue painted trade guns" on Clay Smith's website and took that as my inspiration.  I picked that barrel because I can use the gun for most of the hunting I do around here, and picked the lock, brass configuration and triggers because they fit my hand well.  As Clay points out, there is no record of the details of the Colonial Williamsburg guns so I figure my choices are not totally unreasonable following that concept.

Also, I wanted to try out my daughter's wood finishing products.  The rifle is painted with Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint in Flo Blue and the finish is Miss Mustard Seed tung oil, thinned to 25% with about 15 coats applied in the pictures.  I've decided to stripe all my ramrods so this one has stain striping on the hickory rod.







The rifle below the smooth rifle in the first pic is my first build, a TVM kit of an Early Virginia rifle in .36 cal.

Questions, comments, critiques welcome.

[KC]

I think it's great. I read about those recently, too. I visited the armory in Colonial Williamsburg a while back. The guy doing the presentation was great, but he didn't mention these guns. I'll ask about them next time.

[Topknot]

Blackjack, looks good from where I am. I guess I could get over the color over time. You did good!!!

                                                                          topknot

[rich pierce]

Overall a handsome gun for a second build!

Not sure I'm seeing the double set triggers.  I've never seen set triggers used on a smoothie.  What's the thinking there?

[Keb]

It takes some courage to paint a gun stock. I like painted guns a lot. Nice job.

[blackjack]

It takes some courage to paint a gun stock. I like painted guns a lot. Nice job.

Well knowing that I wanted to do something painted, I used an older stock that was the lowest grade maple since the curl wouldn't be showing.  I really like the look of it now that it's done and it is definitely a conversation starter at the firing line.  Best question so far, "Is that thing plastic?"

[blackjack]

Overall a handsome gun for a second build!

Not sure I'm seeing the double set triggers.  I've never seen set triggers used on a smoothie.  What's the thinking there?

Sorry about that.  I fixed the post above.  It has a single trigger.  I just spent the past couple days working on inletting and finishing up a double set trigger on a Jaeger rifle I'm building as my next project and got the two backwards.

[Willbarq]

It takes some courage to paint a gun stock. I like painted guns a lot. Nice job.

They ever do more transparent on these old guns, like a milk paint look?

[blackjack]

It takes some courage to paint a gun stock. I like painted guns a lot. Nice job.

They ever do more transparent on these old guns, like a milk paint look?

I wondered about that too, because the curl of the wood is part of the attractiveness of these guns.  I talked to my daughter, who is something of an authority on the use of milk paint and wood since she uses a lot of finishes on various pieces, some transparent.  But as I looked into it, there isn't really any documentation to suggest that was the use on trade guns, not to mention that the purpose of red or blue paint was to keep traders with the Indians honest (i.e. not selling the gifts of the crown), so a stark color was pretty much called for.  Actually it's the tung oil finish that protects and preserves the gun in the woods.  Also, I didn't really like the look of the more transparent milk paint finishes on furniture even, so I wasn't very enthused about trying it on a rifle.

[Keb]

I've painted a few guns using the modern powdered "milk" paint. I'd guess there's not a lick of milk in it and the name is just a marketing device. However, it is a durable finish and I like how it looks and wears. That being said, I was told by a couple "experts" that historical painted guns were painted with an oil based, not a milk based paint. The term milk paint is nowhere to be found in historical documents pertaining to guns. I don't know what whitewash is but I always thought it was milk & linseed oil mixed. I could be wrong and all I know about painting stuff is this old saying. "I'm too poor to paint and too proud to whitewash".

[rich pierce]

Whitewash is lime based, I believe. We whitewashed the milk stable every spring.

Regarding painting guns, I have a few thoughts. It seems to have been fairly restricted and only done to the cheapest grass trade guns or buck and ball guns. Trade guns of the lowest grade would have beech stocks, generally. Not so attractive. The cheapest English trade guns (Carolina guns or Type G) also were the thinnest stocked guns around, so probably were stocked from narrower planks of low grade wood. One easy way to make them more appealing would be to paint them or ink on some designs.   So I don't see the reason to paint any nice stock wood to show curl through.

We did see a Lehigh styled buck and ball gun at a museum in the Allenton area which had remnants of what looked like red barn paint on it. Whether that was applied when the gun was built or after would be hard to determine. Appeared to be an oil paint.

So fur me, painting or inking would be restricted to Carolina guns, because I'm fussy and not so creative.

[oldtravler61]

My son when he was 8 took him to a gun show. We saw an original flintlock painted blue.When we got back home. He decided to paint the flinter I was 95 percent finished with blue. Yeah could of you no what. So can appreciate your flintlock very much. Nice work.

[Willbarq]

My son when he was 8 took him to a gun show. We saw an original flintlock painted blue.When we got back home. He decided to paint the flinter I was 95 percent finished with blue. Yeah could of you no what. So can appreciate your flintlock very much. Nice work.

I would be so upset!