General discussion > Gunmaking tools and techniques- metal shaping
Building an Ohio Style Halfstock - broken photos fixed!
Curtis:
I have been meaning to get around to post a few pics of my latest project, and am finally getting around to it. I prefer building a flinter, however this gun is for my son and will be his first muzzleloader and his deer rifle. He requested a halfstock percussion rifle. Fair enough if it gets him hooked on shooting black power guns! ;)
I started sawing the stock a couple of weeks before Christmas...
A little cleanup with a framing chisel, then some leveling with a plane:
This was a fantastic chunk of wood as far as grain flow, density and figure, but was about a half inch too short for the project - So I stretched the stock a but by gluing on an extension, which will be under the nosecap when the rifle is completed. The extension was glued on oversize and cut shorter later. I dovetailed a nib in the center of the stock. Not a true dovetail but not sure how to properly term it...
In-letting the barrel. If your gouge is sharp and you go with the grain your cuts should be shiny. If you look at the last pic in the series you can see how well the glue is holding, even after being shaved with the gouge!
When the barrel sides are close enough to the wood I scribe along the side of the barrel and stab in the lines with a chisel. Then the channel is finished with chisels, gouges and scrapers. I generally don't bent the tang until the barrel is pretty well in.
Barrel is in! This barrel is tapered, 1" to 7/8" in .54.
Thanks for looking,
Curtis
Curtis:
I refine the profile of the stock near to what I think its finished dimensions should be, then start cutting the widths to size. I like to use a larger gouge for quick material removal.
When I make a mistake, I like to show how I attempt to correct it. Mistakes are great learning tools, especially when it's someone else's mistake!! ;D When I was sawing the width of the forestock, I got carried away with my saw and cut things way to narrow in one spot. To fix it, I used some scrap from the cutoff wood adjacent to the boo-boo. I filed the saw marks off and glued the patch in with even clamping pressure. On the ends that butt together I drew on the wood with a brown Sharpie. With careful selection of wood orientations, the patch will be virtually invisible when the rifle is stained and finished if your joints are good and tight. I forgot to take a picture before I glued the patch in... and yes, the scrap piece has the extension still glued to the end as you can see!
Inlet buttplate, starting to form the cheek, then drilling the ramrod hole:
Starting to shape the stock, designing sideplate. I like to draw the sideplate directly on the rifle stock and make a tracing, then transfer the image to the metal.
Curtis
Curtis:
I wanted a German Silver side plate, but didn't have any GS thick enough - so I soldered a piece of 40 thou GS to some brass, cut the plate out with a hack saw and jeweler's saw, then finished with files.
Ramrod pipes were then rolled up using GS, then silver soldered a piece of brass and GS together for a two tone toeplate. The brass piece was cut to match the GS and filed for a close fit before joining with silver solder.
Trimming end of toeplate, then ready to inlet:
That's it for now, thanks for looking!
Curtis
kentucky bucky:
Nice work! I'm getting the urge to start a Ohio style sporting rifle that I finally gathered all the parts for.
n stephenson:
Curtis, I always like your posts. Son should cherish that rifle a long time, grandkids too. Nice work! Nate
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