Author Topic: Blunderbuss #4, ...DONE !!! (Read 45085 times)

smart dog · « **Reply #125 on:** August 09, 2019, 10:29:50 PM »

Very nice Dave! I like the design. Craig, Dave's stock has a bit of military flare to it. Hence, the end of the comb is blunt. The photo below shows how thin the nose typically is on sporting guns from the same period.

dave

B.Barker · « **Reply #126 on:** August 10, 2019, 06:16:09 PM »

I don't care much for blunderbuss guns but I do enjoy seeing your work. I really like the engraving you have done on this one. What kind of pistols are laying on the bench?

Tim Crosby · « **Reply #127 on:** August 10, 2019, 08:11:18 PM »

1st Pic 9 Aug post, looks like it was tapped it in place to get the rough outline?

Thanks, Tim

Craig Wilcox · « **Reply #128 on:** August 11, 2019, 03:04:51 AM »

Dave Smart Dog - thanks for the response. Not quite sharp enough to shave with, but I imagine it might be a bit fragile.
Overall, both Dave C2 and Runar make some very fine firearms. And I agree with Dave C2 that there is nothing at all plain about Runar's work - both are Master Craftsmen! You give this old guy something to aspire to, for sure. Thanks!

davec2 · « **Reply #129 on:** August 11, 2019, 08:16:54 PM »

B. Barker,
The pistols on the bench are a project I started in 1972-73 when I was a plebe at the US Naval Academy. The stocks are Brazilian rosewood. I cut up a Green Mountain rifle barrel and machined the two pistol barrels octagonal to round with a tapered and flared profile. I had to stop working on them when I went to sea on my first destroyer. Over the years, I didn't want to finish them because I realized how much I didn't know. A while ago I had Bobby Hoyt rebore the original .50 cal barrels to .54 and re-rifle them to a more appropriate twist for a pistol. Now, all these years later, I am confidant enough to finish them. They will be silver mounted.

Tim,
Yes, I tapped the silver into place on the stock before I started the inletting, but it was not to mark the inlet. It was to re-contour the silver to exactly fit the curvature of the stock,

Craig,
Thanks for the compliment. Runar just blows me away with his creativity and ability to take scrap materials and make beautiful parts out of them !

Jim Spray · « **Reply #130 on:** August 12, 2019, 03:27:52 AM »

Your inletting is phenomenal!

davec2 · « **Reply #131 on:** August 12, 2019, 04:01:12 AM »

Started with the fore stock and lock panel moldings. Went fairly quickly so I moved on to the breach tang carving.....

Rough carving of lock panels and fore stock molding:

Layout for the breach carving:

Roughed out carving:

Some smoothing of the background and start of sculpturing:

None of this is finished yet, but that is all the carving that I'm going to do on this one. I will get the backgrounds all smoothed up and then switch over to the last of the engraving.

davec2 · « **Reply #132 on:** August 17, 2019, 12:28:28 AM »

After polishing and engraving, the lock is now case hardened. I don't know if the fellow I am building this for wants the colors left or polished off. I have done it both ways but I will let him decide. The colors do hide the engraving.

Here is one I did where the colors were left:

And one with the colors polished back off:

The stock scraping, whiskering, etc., is done....but I have learned to pretend that it isn't and start all over again. By doing that I will lessen the chances that I will find areas that I missed as I am applying the final finish

rich pierce · « **Reply #133 on:** August 17, 2019, 02:03:03 AM »

Mighty fine. You sure this customer deserves such fineness?
Just kidding. It’s just natural for you to do very fine work.

davec2 · « **Reply #134 on:** August 17, 2019, 02:11:31 AM »

Rich,

The customer is a medical student down in Texas. I want to do a good job for him.....at my age, I need all the friends in the medical profession I can get

hen · « **Reply #135 on:** August 17, 2019, 02:21:07 PM »

Absolutely superb workmanship!

smart dog · « **Reply #136 on:** August 17, 2019, 02:48:28 PM »

Hi Dave,
The color will last quite a while especially if you lacquer it. From a historical perspective, the colors would be polished off. Some British authors from the period credit William Bailes with popularizing case hardening colors as a decorative finish during the mid 1760s. It did not appear to become widely used as a decorative finish until the late 1770s or later but it is hard to say because it faded or was polished off over time . The round-faced lock and decoration on your gun suggest a first-quality gun from the 1750s before case colors were popular. I temper my cased parts unless they were made from mild steel. I usually temper the plates and flint cock to 490 which deepens the amber colors to a rick yellow bronze. A lower temperature around 460 will give a lighter yellow tinge. I temper the frizzens at 375-390 and then heat just the toe to blue with a mini-torch later. I believe that as rust bluing and browning, and color casing became popular, British gunmakers preferred their engravers to cut deep bold designs often with relief because it showed up against the colors. The finer, shallower, line engraving on older guns was obscured. It is going to be a beauty Dave as always.

dave

Daryl · « **Reply #137 on:** August 17, 2019, 06:07:52 PM »

Absolutely beautiful, Dave.

davec2 · « **Reply #138 on:** August 18, 2019, 02:06:24 AM »

I have developed a new technique as a result of posting things on ALR. Because of the technological advancement of digital photography, things that look fine in real life start to show all sorts of flaws on the computer screen at 5 times actual size. In the past I have finished projects and then posted them here only to see all sorts of things I should have corrected before the end game. So my new modus operandi is to do a fit check with all the metal and wood before I start the wood finishing process and it becomes really difficult to go back and fix something. Although I have not finished all of the engraving, all the metal is in place and all the wood has been shaped and smoothed. I took these pictures and found a bunch of stuff that needs to be re-worked. I think I should make a contest out of this.....sort of like the Burger King "Where's Waldo" advertising campaign. You guys look for flaws and let me know what you think and I will compare it to the list I made up for myself.....We can do a Round 2 when I finish the engraving......

Marcruger · « **Reply #139 on:** August 18, 2019, 06:55:24 PM »

I vote for leaving the case hardening colors, do not lacquer it, and letting them fade gracefully with time.

Fascinating work as always sir.

God Bless, Marc

Daryl · « **Reply #140 on:** August 18, 2019, 07:48:56 PM »

So beautifully done and presented.
Only thing I could see (through the almost tears - it's just lovely) was the thin gap at the tang/breech, left side.

D. Taylor Sapergia · « **Reply #141 on:** August 18, 2019, 08:16:30 PM »

It boggles my mind to try to understand how you get the shell carving behind the tang so crisp and perfect!!

Glaring mistakes!!...I would have left 1/32" more wood on the lock panels. To my eye, the lock doesn't appear to be fully inlet. Glaring mistake - hardly!
But I would inlet the side plate just a bit further...it appears to me to be just a little proud. Glaring mistake - no!

I suspect there isn't a blunderbuss extant that is finished as well as this one, so lighten up Dave.

davec2 · « **Reply #142 on:** August 19, 2019, 12:38:06 AM »

Marc......I would have left the colors myself but the fellow I'm building this for voted for the colors to be removed....although he had to struggle some with the decision.

Daryl.....I think what looks like a gap is a discolored edge on the inlet wood. I went to check and some of the soot from inletting is still on the edge, I guess from handling.

Taylor.....I was in the midst of setting the side plate a little deeper in its inlet and shortening the lock bolts when I saw your post. And I feel the same way about taking 0.030" too much off the lock panels. I may decide to leave it but right now I am setting up a diamond plate to hone off some of the lock bolster which would allow me to seat the lock a tad deeper.

Thanks.....this is exactly the type of help I appreciate to sharpen my eye to catch flaws early enough to either avoid them or to correct them early.

Daryl · « **Reply #143 on:** August 19, 2019, 12:57:24 AM »

Quote from: davec2 on August 19, 2019, 12:38:06 AM

Daryl.....I think what looks like a gap is a discolored edge on the inlet wood. I went to check and some of the soot from inletting is still on the edge, I guess from handling.

LOL - I made a mistake once too, but found out I was wrong - I hadn't made a mistake.

Well done.

davec2 · « **Reply #144 on:** August 20, 2019, 11:59:56 PM »

Ok....per the customer's request, I polished off the colors. Didn't want to over do it and make the lock look like a chrome trailer hitch, so I didn't take ALL the color away. I think it will look good on the finished gun....

Craig Wilcox · « **Reply #145 on:** August 21, 2019, 05:16:00 PM »

Really made the engraving stand out when you polished off the color.

Overall grade: A+

Mick C · « **Reply #146 on:** August 22, 2019, 06:41:44 PM »

Polishing was definitely the way to go! No question. Incredible work.

davec2 · « **Reply #147 on:** August 23, 2019, 09:30:20 PM »

Wood work is mostly done. All the major components are complete and set in place. Only the final wood finishing and final part engraving remain. Started on the small bit of decoration on the ram rod pipes the customer wanted..... and then started on the trigger guard.

Ed Wenger · « **Reply #148 on:** August 24, 2019, 12:12:59 AM »

Shaking my head, spectacular, as usual. I especially like the rope effect on the center ring of the pipes. Crazy nice....

Ed

Tim Crosby · « **Reply #149 on:** August 24, 2019, 12:54:23 AM »

Jez Dave, Does it get any better than this? Knowing your work over the years I would say "Stand back". Each piece is a learning experience but for you it is more of a challenge to yourself.

Tim

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Author Topic: Blunderbuss #4, ...DONE !!! (Read 45085 times)