Another original PB opening mechanism Eister

[J. Talbert]

With the recent interest in an original PB opening/latch mechanism, I thought you might want to see another variant.
This one is on a George Eister rifle.

Pictures used by permission!




There are a few things of note (at least for me):
The push rod from the button in the toe appears to extend through the upright part of the latch, similar to mechanism on the Frederick Sell in the other post, essentially locking it in place.

There is also a piece of metal, or staple, protruding into the opening, opposite the top of the latch (to the right of it in the picture) that serves to guide the catch from the lid into the proper position and prevent the lid from shifting sideways.

Also, as Jim Kibler mentioned in the other post, the wood remains and fills the space under the butt plate extension .

Finally, what surprised me is how frighteningly thin the remaining wood is on the cheek side of the opening.  But as was pointed out to me, "It has lasted over 200 years."   

Jeff

[thimble rig]

Thanks for posting your pictures.I enjoy looking at pictures of originals rifles and seeing how they did things back in the day.

[L. Akers]

This is real similar to the mechanism I have been using except mine is much smaller than thus one.

[smylee grouch]

Thank you for posting those photos. I have done several patchbox latches over the years and most I had trouble keeping the pushrod on the spring when activated. These photos show me how to keep that pushrod centered on the latch spring(capture it through a hole in the spring) So simple you could say why didnt I think of that.

[David Rase]

Of interest to me is the comb for the butt plate inlet.
David   

[M. E. Pering]

Yeah David, I agree.  I sat here studying that until I could only come to one conclusion... That perhaps Eister was originally going to inlet a different butt plate, one that was narrower, but then decided on a wider butt plate.  I can't figure out any other reason for those saw-cuts.  Or is it possible that he was going to inlet the butt plate he used in a higher position?  I think that is unlikely, since you don't see those deep saw cuts down where the butt plate was at final position.  I suppose another possibility is that He made those as rough guidelines to get a start on where he wanted to sink the plate to for a starting point?  It is hard to guess, but if someone has a better one than mine, I for one would love to hear it.

Thanks for posting these, Jeff.  This is one reason that pics of originals are so fascinating.  And yeah... It is amazing how thin that would is and has survived all these years.

Matt

[J. Talbert]

My theory on the saw cuts up under the return, is that they are the initial cuts to establish the ledges at the bottom edge of the return, but as the butt plate was eased into place, the final position is lower than the initial cut.

Just my guess...

Jeff

[David Rase]

My theory on the saw cuts up under the return, is that they are the initial cuts to establish the ledges at the bottom edge of the return, but as the butt plate was eased into place, the final position is lower than the initial cut.

Just my guess...

Jeff

Jeff,
That is my thought as well.  It is always fun to try and get into the heads of these period builders.
David

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

In the first image, check out how much wood comprises the cheek piece!

[David Rase]

In the first image, check out how much wood comprises the cheek piece!

Taylor,
I have preached to my students for years that contemporary builders have a tendency to use too much castoff which results in builders compensating with too large a cheek piece.  Both excessive castoff and big cheek pieces complicate getting the lines right.  My two cents worth, for what it's worth.
David

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Longrifle study, in a large part, consists of looking at individual trees within the forest.

[J. Talbert]

Taylor,

I thought I had trimmed the cheek piece to the nub on my current project, until I saw that picture.  It showed me that I can still stand to remove about another 1/4 to 1/3.

Jeff