Canter's Cave Gunbuiding Class

[Sawfiler]

I just got home from the Canter's Cave class taught by Ian Pratt and Ken Gahagan. I want to thank both of them for the knowledge shared and the extra hours put in. I know that they would not regularly stay up til 11 at night building guns, but were more than willing to with us (Ian stayed up until midnight working with my lock one night).

Ken and Ian are both artists of the first order and you can tell that they both genuinely know the craft and are passionate to share their knowledge. Seeing rifles made by both of them show that they are both incredibly talented. Their styles seemed to differ, but they always collaborated while giving advice and it made for a more interesting class to get two different perspectives on how a task could be accomplished.

Now for the class - nine of us worked about 12-14 hours a day on our projects. The theme of the class was composite guns of the type that would be found from parts that were extras or cast offs and assembled into a working fire arm. Ken had brought along several of these types and was more than willing to let you handle them and work towards a copy, often suggesting changes that could be made while still remaining withing the accepted style. I chose a William Antes smooth rifle (RCA 17) which Ken had copied a while back. I had what was probably a gun more expensive than my truck leaned against the wall three feet away from me for six days straight and Ken was always encouraging and supportive with suggestions.

Ian and Ken also were able to work together incredibly well for two people so talented. One evening they skipped dinner to forge a trigger guard for a student. I know sometimes this would cause a problem for two people who have different styles, but it seemed to work for them. One of the more interesting things was that they encouraged you to make your own parts. We made our own underbarrel lugs, ramrod pipes, butt plates, triggers, etc. This was worth the price of admission almost by itself. The demonstrations ranged from forging a butt plate to finishes and all were interesting. I know we all came away with a greater appreciation for the art of a longrifle.

I want to say thanks to Ian and Ken, and the Kentucky Rifle Foundation for my scholarship. Joe, Jerry, Craig, Jim,  Levi, Dave, Todd, Tim[- if you all see this post please post pictures of your fowlers/rifles, and make sure to stay warm by the dorito fires.

Thanks Ian and Ken

[rich pierce]

I hope to make that one next time it’s offered. Glad you got a lot out of it.

[brokenflint]

Sawfiler, glad you enjoyed the class, always exciting for me when that original is right there in front of you to handle and see what's really going on.  I've enjoyed my Bowling Green time both for the lessons learned and for the new friends I've made.

Ed

[jim alford]

I hope someone has some photos of the class they can share . Wish I could have been there .

[JGatliff]

Ben,
Great write up of your experience at the class. It was a pleasure meeting you and I hope that you continue in this great hobby that we all love so dearly.
Jason Gatliff

[Flint62Smoothie]

Great write up of your experience at the class. ... I hope that you continue in this great hobby that we all love so dearly.

Jason - Sounds like someone in attendance should write up a nice review and article for your Muzzleloader magazine!

[Sawfiler]

I have a few photos I wouldn't mind sharing, but cannot figure out how to upload them now. My 'add image to post' button has disappeared and the tutorials are not helpful for adding pictures. Can someone help? Not sure what Jason's policy for submitting articles is but I would be glad to write a review of the class if he was interested. Might need to contact Joe McGhee for some better photos.

[flinchrocket]

Go to your profile, look and layout, check to see it your Theme Default is on curve.

[Sawfiler]

Flichrocket, many thanks for the tip on changing the profile theme!! Take a look at a few photos from the class. My gun was a smooth rifle attributed to William Antes (RCA Volume 1 Rifle # 17) I will make a new post once its finished. In a weeks time I feel like I advanced in gunbuilding by about five years of doing it on my own. Please feel free to post reviews/thoughts on my work as shown.

[flinchrocket]

Sawfiler, did you make that buttplate in class, that looks pretty good.

[Sawfiler]

I would love to claim it as all my own, but it was made in class but not by me. I traced the original and cut the brass out and annealed it. Ken Gahagan forged it on the swage block as a class demonstration. I did a little final adjusting but it was mostly Kens making. I did make the trigger under Ian's instruction and the sideplate was a copy of the original.

[flinchrocket]

Your parts look pretty good Sawfiler. Now that you know how to make them yourself you won't be under any time restraints at home and you can relax some.

[Nordnecker]

Where did you get your barrel? What caliber, etc?

[Sawfiler]

It is a Colerain Griffin fowler barrel. 16 bore. The lock is RE Davis colonial american lock. The stock is a cherry piece my dad and I cut off the farm. The mountings were made in class out of sheet brass. I inlet the barrel and drilled the ramrod hole prior to class but all the stock shaping was done in the class.

[n stephenson]

Sawfiler, I`m glad to see that you got a lot out of the class. I like the idea of the scholarship and , it sounds like they gave it to a deserving pupil! Seeing something done in person is worth SO much! Having a person that knows what he is doing watching you work , is also very helpful, they can see the little tweeks to your techniques , that can really help. One thing that is hardly ever mentioned in gun building is CONFIDENCE , it only comes through experience , and making mistakes , and getting yourself back out of it. I`m just glad to hear about new builders coming along , this is the ONLY way that this will keep going.  Nate                                  I also applaud the fact that you are tackling a complete project, carving , engraving , etc. not just going plain jane , this way all of your skills will improve together , instead of avoiding what your not good at.

[Robert Wolfe]

I just got back from Week 2 of the class and can only repeat what Sawfiler said. It was a great class. The technical aspects of gun building were thoroughly covered as you would expect but what really made it outstanding to me was the ability to tap into Ken and Ian's artistic talents for our projects guns. I came with a Dutch .75 cal barrel inlet into a board and vague ideas and Ken and Ian brainstormed it into a neat project. I'll post it when I'm done. Swaging out butt plates and making other components was also a treat.  A bonus was a barrel forging demonstration put on by one of the talented participants. I suspect I'll be back next year.

[Sawfiler]

I wish I could have seen that barrel forging demo. That would have been really interesting to see. Pictures?

[Robert Wolfe]

Sorry - I was too busy turning the crank on the blower to take pictures....   But, I think Joe took pictures. It was definitely one of the highlights.

[WH1]

dang wish we had seen that during our week, barrel forging, Robert who did the demo?

Concur with everything Brad and Robert have said.  BTW Brad is a force and he is doing great work.  Can't wait to see more pictures of his gun.  That cherry is going to look great once the Heavy Duty Easy Off is used!
 
The class was excellent, Ken and Ian are great teachers and share their knowledge so effectively.  This was my second year and I will be back next year.  Great group of guys, the facility is excellent and I look forward to each year. 

For those who are unfamiliar with Southern Ohio Artisan's Workshop it is a great program and the courses are outstanding.  Robert and I have both done multiple courses.  Ian Pratt, Ken Gahagan and Joe McGee thank you!

[Robert Wolfe]

Stephen Midkiff, one of the students, did the barrel demo. I think he also demo's this at Dixon's.

[k gahagan]

Now that I've had my nap I would like to talk a moment and thank everyone who was in attendence at the Canter's Cave Gunbuilding Class. What a pleasure it was for me to be there with such a dedicated group of guys from beginners to seasoned builders. You could hardly get most of them to stop long enough to eat! Some amazing results for such a short period of time. Excellent facility with the meals and lodging on site to provide a very concentrated work environment. Ian did a fantastic job with his instruction especially with the mountain guns and thanks to Joe Mcgee for all his help, he took what seemed like a couple of thousand photos and I'm sure Ian will be posting some after he goes through them. Looking forward to next year already.

[WH1]

Ken
thank you for your mentorship.  You and Ian are a great team.
We worked long hours but there was also a lot of fun (who knew Doritos are multipurpose).

Your aqua fortis lesson was great and the results were amazing.  Thank you for taking the time to do a one on one assessment.
V/R
Todd 

[Ian Pratt]

As usual I am a little late to the game, but I wanted to say that the classes were awesome this year - really good group of guys, and Ken Gahagan showed everybody a ton of new techniques. Great stuff. Between the ideas that Ken and I have  been coming up with and suggestions from the students, we will be making some interesting new additions next time around. Really cool to see it growing.
I have been going through our photographer's 1800+ images the last few evenings and about have it done, I'll start posting some here probably later tonight.     

[Ian Pratt]

Here is the group from week 1 - we unfortunately don't have a group shot from the second week. Some of the guys had brought projects they had started at last year's class, others started new ones. A few did both.

[Ian Pratt]

Students bring a blank with a barrel inlet, a lock, and a some of the small parts. We encourage them to learn to make as much of their hardware and small parts as they'd like to, but cast parts are fine and for some can make more time to learn other aspects of gun making.

The Gunmakers Workshop is structured largely around demonstrations of building techniques. Ken and I sometimes do demos for the whole group, other times for smaller groups of students who may be working on the same task (and anybody else who cares to watch), and we also work one on one with individual students whenever they need a hand.

 We generally get started by going over proper layout then dive right in to bulking away some wood and inletting parts in an order that makes sense for the particular build.


Here are Ken and I showing different methods of inletting the breech plug tang






Jim and Dave working on the same, and Todd inletting the lock on his composite musket project.