Thanks Brian, galudwig and all for your posts and pics. Can we see more of the original rifle that ericxvi followed with his contemporary version? Or other
original 3 day or plan n perdy riffles? Metalshaper – the unfinished rifle from Dixon’s that I began this post with is odd as Eric suggests – any owner of a rifle would probably apply some sort of finish for protection. I think Herschel House swabs axle grease on the butts of his rifle, under the buttplate and maybe on poor boys to resist moisture. You could paint a schimmel with milk paint or other old-time finishes, and the color would be the same on end grain. Could apply a sealer or finish without stain there to keep lighter. Experiment and post your results for us when done.
It is rewarding but much work to write and illustrate an article for
American Tradition – writing an article is the equivalent of stocking a rifle. It costs a great deal to have arms photographed, then the magazine or book designed, printed and mailed. And you seldom hear feedback after the effort. Posting a topic online like this is easy, quick, free - and most important is interactive, so we can share, challenge, question and learn from each other. Thanks for all the participation. Maybe this approach can be used for other topics, and everyone contribute?
I’ve had several offline questions about the last rifle – a restocked trade gun as a rifle, and that Jack and friends had stocked an earlier version from this story. A Girty took a busted up trade gun to a frontier gunsmith and had it restocked as a rifle. If we assume the engraved lock and mounts were reused, this would have been a 3 day project with new barrel and Christian’s Spring guard. Charcoal blued barrel, and the soft red maple swelled closed with finish, so the bit of carving was cut very wide and bold to finish as seen. Aquafortis, then linseed oil was puddled on the stock and heated with a torch to bake it in, forming a hard shell or skin on the soft wood and to bring out the curl. Do this outside, as there will be plenty of smoke. This rifle will be my last photo post – hope I have not overdone it with examples. Thanks to all for making this very interesting. I’ll remain quiet and encourage others to add. Bob
