Author Topic: Building an English Fowler FINALLY FINISHED (Read 50490 times)

Pukka Bundook · « **Reply #175 on:** May 05, 2018, 06:42:15 AM »

Very nice start, Dave!

Your devils head for some reason reminded me of the old relic below. Maybe the open mouth.....

Not mine, but was watching it at auction a while ago.

Curtis · « **Reply #176 on:** May 05, 2018, 06:47:55 AM »

Learning a great deal Dave, you have a lot of great information here. Also a lot of skill and talent! I am enjoying this thread.

Curtis

stubshaft · « **Reply #177 on:** May 05, 2018, 08:22:40 PM »

It is mesmerizing watching you work.

Joe S. · « **Reply #178 on:** May 05, 2018, 08:33:19 PM »

Really can't wait to see the finished product,wow.All this detail going on one wonderful piece of wood too.

smart dog · « **Reply #179 on:** May 06, 2018, 01:51:26 AM »

Hi,
Working on silver wire inlay today. My tools, as shown below, are very primitive. I make my inlay chisels from old hacksaw blades. Word of warning, my chisel design is poor. I shaped them with prominent shoulders that indicated the depth of the incised cut. I thought I was being clever but being stupid (unlike Bella - Smart Dog) I forgot that as I sharpened the chisels, the cut depth gets shallower and I hit the wood with the shoulder making a mark. I file down the shoulders on all my chisels as the blade gets shorter but Taylor Sapergia showed photos in a post on ALR of a superior design. I hope he might show those again.

I had the privilege of watching Dave Price and Ed Wenger do wire inlay. I hope folks realize they are two of the best wire inlayers alive. I also have the benefit of a precious home produced DVD of Frank Bartlett doing silver wire inlay. Frank used screw drivers ground to cut incised lines and Dave and Ed use full length chisels and gouges. For whatever reason, I cannot do the work with those tools. I have real trouble making sure a gouge fits a penciled curve and cuts to the desired depth. I also cannot see what I am doing really well stabbing in designs with a full length chisel. Dave, Frank, and Ed seem to have no trouble making precise cuts for wire but I have to huddle over short and small tools to make sure I hit the mark. It may just be that my fingers lack feeling and coordination after 3 bouts of serious frostbite during my mountain rescue and climbing days. I do struggle with dexterity. I am an embarrassment when I try to pull dollar bills out of my wallet or open plastic grocery bags because the nerves in fingers (and toes) are so damaged. Anyway, I use the chisels made from hack saw blades to cut incised lines and then lay in the wire.
British guns with wire inlay have wire that is very thin. All of the wire inlay available today from TOW or MBS is too thick for proper British work. I buy 34 gauge (0.006") sterling silver sheet from Rio Grande and cut 3/32" wide strips from it with shears. I use a ruler to mark a straight line across the silver sheet and then cut it out with shears. It curls as you cut, which is fine. Then hold an end with pliers and draw the curled wire through 2 coarse files pinched together with your hand. The files flatten the ribbon and score it with lines that will help lock it in place. I stab in the design with my hacksaw chisels and then lay in the flat ribbon. I tap it down lightly with a hammer and then tap it more forcefully by covering it with my thin metal ruler and tapping it with a hammer. Once tapped in place I wet the wood with water to swell it and lock in the wire, and then file the excess silver down. It is best to leave the edge of the wire proud of the wood so finish does not cover the wire and prevent you from polishing it. I find that a key tool in this process is the little screw driver pictured above. The end of the tiny flat screw driver is ground round so I can use it to smooth curves in the wire. I just lay the tool against the wire before filing off the excess silver and gently nudge it to smooth curves. The photo shows one side of the stock. On the other side silver wire will fill a similar space but a different design. Most British guns with wire inlay did not have identical designs on both sides. There will also be wire inlayed on either side of the wrist. My designs will be open so they do not obscure the figure in the wood. One little note: do you see the line connecting the bird with the rest of the design? It is a simple device but without it, the bird just hangs on the bottom without connection to the rest of the work. It adds a lot despite being so simple.

more to come.

dave

D. Taylor Sapergia · « **Reply #180 on:** May 06, 2018, 04:47:57 AM »

It's fun watching you work Dave, and I know everyone is enjoying this thread.

I am about to repair the tutorial I did some years ago on "Wire Inlay"...very timely. Photobucket stole the images for ransom , but I am pretty sure I can rebuild the tutorial.

Ed Wenger · « **Reply #181 on:** May 08, 2018, 10:16:44 PM »

Dave..., really nice work and design. I meant to comment earlier, but have just been crazy busy and haven’t visited ALR near enough lately. Your tools look fine to me, anything that works, works. I use gouges to start cuts, but enlarge the opening with tools similar to what your using. For European work, I’ve found I really like the Fine Silver Cloisonné wire sold by Rio Grande. Comes in dead soft, and recently Rio added half hard. Really like the inlays and how they work with the ribbon, good stuff!

Ed

smart dog · « **Reply #182 on:** May 08, 2018, 10:46:41 PM »

Hi Ed,
Thank you for that reply and info. I saw the Cloisonne strips and wondered if the ribbon was wide enough. They certainly are the right gauge. I try it, Ed. Thanks.

dave

stubshaft · « **Reply #183 on:** May 09, 2018, 12:03:39 AM »

wonderful instruction on the materials and methods you are using.

smart dog · « **Reply #184 on:** May 09, 2018, 06:14:30 PM »

Hi,
Finished wire inlay in the butt stock. I created designs that were sophisticated but relatively open and simple so the figure in the wood was not obscured. They are consistent with designs found on British and other European guns of the time but they are my own creations and not copies of any originals. From an historical perspective, it seems most British guns with wire inlay were extensively covered. Even on a couple in which the wire inlay was restricted to a few locations on the stock, the density of wire at each location was very high. I find that interesting given the penchant for restraint shown by British gun makers for almost all other decoration (with exceptions of course). In addition to the usual volutes, scrolls, and leaves, religious and hunting scenes were sometimes lavishly created with silver wire. Another fashion was chinoiserie. With the rapid expansion of British maritime trade in the Far East including China, and events like Clive's victory at Plassey in India, the middle classes and elites in Britain went mad for things oriental. The fashion spilled into clothing, furniture, upholstery, wall paper, and firearms. Guns were decorated with silver sheet and wire inlays depicting imaginary Oriental scenes of bridges, trees, Chinese dragons, and pagodas. It is all fascinating and the craftsmanship is awesome but in my opinion, artistically not so good. It appeals to me about as much as a portrait of Elvis painted on velvet. Anyway, I am not going there on my fowler. I will be much more restrained and let the beautiful wood show through as it should.
I inlet a satyr's face, some flowers, a couple of birds, leaves, lots of volutes, some "ringy thingies", and some blobby things that look like portions of a knockwurst. It all came together though and I think keeps the bling to butt stock ratio in balance. With all the wrapping and overlapping I had to keep straight what goes over and what goes under. You have to plan these things out before laying in the wire. All of the inlays will be engraved and are not permanently locked in place yet so I can remove them for engraving. With the butt stock done, I still need to inlay wire on both sides of the wrist and that will be all. I don't think I'll inlay wire in the fore stock but I may change my mind if I can envision a good design.
More to come.

dave

Adrie luke · « **Reply #185 on:** May 09, 2018, 06:38:05 PM »

Smart dog,

I am very happy with your topic. I see a lot of things that I can use.
I follow your Fowler!
Great job and I like your inlay. It is very beautiful.

Adrie

smart dog · « **Reply #186 on:** May 16, 2018, 08:12:42 PM »

Hi,
The wiring is done. I had to put my fowler aside for a while to work on other folks' guns. I've not done much wire inlay on the wrist area of guns and it is a real challenge both with respect to design and execution. The space is thin and linear, which confines scroll work and it is easy to cover it with monotonous little scrolls all horizontally lined up. I wanted more creativity but nothing too ornate that would detract from the beautiful wood. So I added a diamond with a little sun in it, some piggly wigglies, and some guitar string-like bridges. I started by doing the diamond and main scrolls first, and then moved forward and then backward. To accommodate bending the ribbon both into scolls but also around the wrist, I made sure the wire was dead soft and I cut the ribbons thin, about 1/16". I also bent one part of my thin, flexible metal ruler so I could hold it against the wrist and tap in wire. The bend kept it in contact with wire around the wrist preventing one end from popping up as I tapped the other end. I also frequently wet the wood to lock one portion of the wire in place before working on another section. It worked pretty well.

These last photos show the full effect of the wood and wire.

I have to clean up a few little spots and then stain, and finish. Oh boy! I forgot, I have to engrave it too and do up the barrel and lock.

dave

SingleMalt · « **Reply #187 on:** May 16, 2018, 10:47:54 PM »

You never cease to amaze.

Tim Crosby · « **Reply #188 on:** May 17, 2018, 01:06:21 AM »

Elegant wire work Dave, the scrolls, tapers, mating, etc...are Beautiful. Great Talent from Study and Practice.

Tim

Brian Jordan · « **Reply #189 on:** May 17, 2018, 11:59:45 AM »

The wire work is amazing along with the rest of the gun! I am learning so much from this and I thank you for your efforts to explain things along the way as you have done!!

Greg Pennell · « **Reply #190 on:** May 17, 2018, 05:19:49 PM »

Wow! Simply elegant, gorgeous work! Surely a piece to aspire to. Thanks for allowing us to follow along.

Greg

smart dog · « **Reply #191 on:** May 21, 2018, 05:10:44 PM »

Hi,
Well I finished smoothing, detailing, and cleaning up the stock. Throughout the process of final finish I was whiskering the wood so that task is done. Next was staining. I am sure some folks don't think English walnut should be stained but I believe many if not most British sporting guns were stained to impart a deeper reddish brown to the wood. I also believe the stain of choice was alkanet root. Staining or not may have varied regionally in Britain but both of my original fowlers and most British fowlers and military guns I've examined appear to have been stained or colored in some fashion. Of course on some the old finish darkened so much with age that it is hard to tell if the wood is stained or finish colored. The next question, was the wood stained and then finished or was the finishing oil/varnish tinted? On both of my originals it appears that the finish was tinted a reddish brown. It also seems that the pigment obscured the grain a little. On the fowler I am building, the wood is so beautiful that I do not want to obscure it. Therefore, I stained the wood first and then applied finish with no tint added. Powdered alkanet root produces a deep reddish brown color in walnut and can be dissolved in oil or alcohol. It cannot be dissolved in water. It is easy to get but I don't need it because I can produce exactly the effect I want using aniline dyes. After experimenting with various mixes dissolved in water I came up with a combination of Brownell's resorcin brown, black, and scarlet that worked very well on scraps of wood from the stock blank. I mopped the stain on with a brush, let it dry, and then burnished it back with a gray Scotch Bright pad dipped in water. Be very careful rubbing areas containing silver wire inlay with Scotch Bright pads because you may snag a wire end and pull it out. When dry from burnishing, I painted on finish. I believe the original finishes were some sort of linseed oil varnish or linseed oil with dryers added. Both of my originals have mellow sheens that are not brittle looking like some varnishes. I suspect they may be linseed oil with dryers added. I can match that or almost any look using Sutherland-Welles polymerized tung oil, which is my finish of choice. It is made in Vermont and I drive up to the factory and buy it directly from the owners. I thin the oil 50% with mineral spirits for the first 2 coats. This acts as a sealer, penetrating deeply into the wood. Once I see a build up on the surface, I wipe off the excess and then hand rub on very light coats of untinned oil. I let the finish dry 24 hours between coats. Eventually I will build up a sheen, which I can make as glossy or mellow as I desire. The photos below show the stock stained with the sealer coats dry. The last photo shows my fowler with the Heylin original. Allowing for 250 years of darkening, I think my stock color will be just about right.
More to come.

dave

rich pierce · « **Reply #192 on:** May 21, 2018, 06:15:11 PM »

Great color and clarity. Are there chain stores that sell the Sutherland Welles tung oil? I’ve been in Southerland. Beautiful country.

Craig Wilcox · « **Reply #193 on:** May 21, 2018, 06:53:09 PM »

Dave, you have an extremely good piece of wood there that really highlights your carving and wire inlay work.
You are indeed a master at gun building and smithing. I have learned so much watching you work. The pictures really show "how to do it" in all the multiple lessons.
Wood work, metal work, finishing work, and fantastic photography to illuminate all.
Many thanks from a muzzle loader novice.

Craigo

smart dog · « **Reply #194 on:** May 21, 2018, 07:48:55 PM »

Hi,
Thanks for looking and commenting folks. I am glad many of you find this thread useful. In my last post, I forgot to describe how to make American black walnut ( Juglans nigra) look like English walnut (Juglans regia ). I realize that it is difficult and expensive to find and purchase English walnut blanks that are sufficiently long for a fowler. On several projects, I've substituted black walnut and the results were good in my opinion. The guns shown below are stocked in black walnut made to look like English walnut. The trick I use I learned from Kit Ravenshear. The first step is to stain the stock with pure yellow aniline dye. It can be alcohol or water based. That gets you to ground zero by wiping out the cold purple-brown common in black walnut. Then you can simply finish the stock or stain it further. The guns in the photo were treated with yellow dye and then stained like my current fowler. It really works.

dave

smart dog · « **Reply #195 on:** June 06, 2018, 01:50:22 AM »

Hi,
Sorry this is taking so long but I am working on a late flint English rifle and a New England fowler at the same time so I am really busy. In addition, I have repair work and I also just finished some restoration work on a south India flintlock pistol from about 1800. I had to reproduce the ramrod thimbles and ramrod and engrave them appropriately. What a fun historical journey that was. Anyway, I worked on the barrel to make it look like a Spanish product from the 18th century. Spanish barrels had makers stamps often filled with gold, a counter mark stamp often indicating the location of manufacture, also gold filled, and other marks indicating the maker and religious symbols. To simulate that marking is a real challenge and I simply could not resist trying. The original Spanish marks appear to be stamped in deeply. I cannot do that with modern steel barrels. So, I decided to deeply cut the outlines of the makers and counter mark stamps into the barrel with gravers, fill the mortices with silver, and stamp the soft silver. Please appreciate the "pucker" factor here. I could ruin my barrel after all the work on this gun that I did. I made 2 stamps from a cold chisel bought at my local hardware store. I annealed the chisel, sawed it in half, and sawed off the chisel blade. I squared the ends and polished one end to be engraved. Then I engraved each stamp with my maker's name and the other with a mountain lion face, which is the symbol for Braintree, VT. I then case hardened the engraved stamps.

I traced their outlines on the appropriate locations on the barrel, and cut the borders with a square graver to permanently mark them. Then using thin and wider flat die sinkers's chisels, I cut the mortices. One of my flats is shaped so that the bottom cutting into the metal is wider than the top, so it undercuts the edges of the mortice. I then scored the bottom of the mortice with teeth cut using a square graver. Once they were cut and mortices cleaned up, I inserted a silver inlay sized just a little smaller than the mortice and tapped it in place using a small punch. That spread the silver into the mortice and locked it in place. Then I stamped the silver with my stamps to create the maker and city marks. For the other marks, which often were flowers, I love bluets, a little blue spring flower that grows in my fields. It looks like "forget me nots" but only has 4 petals. I chose to engrave bluets and fill them with silver. I have never done this kind of work before. I just jumped in and did it. It probably shows my inexperience but it does look authentic relative to what I want to achieve. I also engraved and filled a small "Catholic" cross on the top flat, a symbol often used on these great Spanish barrels.

dave

rich pierce · « **Reply #196 on:** June 06, 2018, 03:51:43 AM »

Cool stuff, Dave!

Looks a lot like an original I picked up.

J. Talbert · « **Reply #197 on:** June 07, 2018, 02:00:31 AM »

Dave,

Looks great.
I love your blending of the wire with the inlays.
Excellent color on the walnut.
Jeff

Iktomi · « **Reply #198 on:** June 07, 2018, 02:50:16 AM »

"smart" dog? Genius dog is more like it. That sir, is a fine, fine piece of work, and very informative for a noob hack like me who aspires to build something worthy. Thank you for taking the time to detail your build

Justin Urbantas · « **Reply #199 on:** June 07, 2018, 06:12:42 AM »

nice work Dave. I would love to see your late English rifle too if you felt like sharing

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Author Topic: Building an English Fowler FINALLY FINISHED (Read 50490 times)

Iktomi