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Author Topic: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit  (Read 46913 times)

Offline Justin Urbantas

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #125 on: March 05, 2020, 07:20:23 AM »
Have you finished the rifle, and gotten it out shooting yet?
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Offline Curtis

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #126 on: March 05, 2020, 08:10:12 AM »
Justin,

Good to hear from you, and I don't have the rifle finished yet!  I recently returned from a six week stay in Florida, and have been working mostly on other projects and honey-do's since I got home.  Made a little progress this week on the Alex Henry and hopefully will be posting some on the build in the next week or two.   ;)

Curtis
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Curtis Allinson
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Sometimes, late at night when I am alone in the inner sanctum of my workshop and no one else can see, I sand things using only my fingers for backing

Offline snapper

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #127 on: March 05, 2020, 04:28:15 PM »
Lazy bugger.

I have not spent 5 hours in my shop I dont think since I retired from my first job in May.

Fleener
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Offline Justin Urbantas

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #128 on: March 05, 2020, 06:42:40 PM »
Haha I get that. I've been slow at building lately.  Working on a PA pistol lately. I got the price list from Rod, and I'm considering my options. I plan on building some kind of long range .45 bullet gun before next July (our big BC rendezvous has a long range steel match in August) and I'm making plans on attending  the 150th Creedmoor match in 2024. I have 4 years to get a gun built, and get lots of practice
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Offline snapper

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #129 on: March 05, 2020, 08:18:38 PM »
Justin

Have you been added to Rick Webers email group of for the Oak Ridge matches?

If not shoot me your email address and I will forward to Rick.

Fleener

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Offline Curtis

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #130 on: March 06, 2020, 08:34:08 AM »
Quote from: snapper on March 05, 2020, 04:28:15 PM
Lazy bugger.

I have not spent 5 hours in my shop I dont think since I retired from my first job in May.

Fleener

Your got me pegged!  Lazy is me!!  I do get to spend time in my shop when I am home but unfortunately a good part of it has been working on lawn mowers, chainsaws and a 1965 Mustang.  Well I keep looking at the Mustang and thinking about working on it :o

Also doing some restoration work for a client....
 ;D
Curtis
« Last Edit: March 06, 2020, 08:38:02 AM by Curtis »
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Curtis Allinson
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Sometimes, late at night when I am alone in the inner sanctum of my workshop and no one else can see, I sand things using only my fingers for backing

Offline Justin Urbantas

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #131 on: March 07, 2020, 06:38:08 PM »
what do the muzzle protectors look like, and where do you find them?
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Offline snapper

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #132 on: March 07, 2020, 08:05:42 PM »


Justin

The one on the right is from my original Rigby LRML.   It is serial numbered to the rifle.  The serial number is under the leather thong.

The protector goes over the end of the muzzle, protects the crown from any damage that could be done by the loading or cleaning process.

The one on the left is one that a machinist buddy made for a rifle that I no long have and it is what I use for my contemporary Alex Henry rifles.

I tie the leather strap to my shooting box.  Keeps you from shooting the muzzle protector down range.

At one of the World matches, someone from other then the USA shot the rifle with a protector on it.   It was found 20 yards or so in front of the rifle.

I almost did the same thing at a match, now I tie it off so that I cant.

Fleener



Fleener

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Offline Justin Urbantas

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #133 on: March 07, 2020, 08:54:32 PM »
I'm guessing that they are bored smooth through the centre slightly larger than bore size, and a little larger than the outside diameter of the barrel to slip over the muzzle? Is the top of the protector crowned?
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Offline snapper

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #134 on: March 07, 2020, 09:14:05 PM »
They are smooth.   The Rigby measure .451 and replica .452 dia for the bullet.  The other end is cut to go over the barrel.

The Rigby barrel has been milled down to take a smaller dia bore protector.

They are not indexed, so you can put them on in any orientation.

There is a slight radius on the crown.

Fleener



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Offline Curtis

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #135 on: March 08, 2020, 07:55:09 AM »
Quote from: Justin Urbantas on March 07, 2020, 06:38:08 PM
what do the muzzle protectors look like, and where do you find them?

Justin, I made one from a brass gas fitting to get me by until I can find someone to make one like Snapper's.  I will try to remember to post a photo soon.

Curtis
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Curtis Allinson
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Sometimes, late at night when I am alone in the inner sanctum of my workshop and no one else can see, I sand things using only my fingers for backing

Offline Justin Urbantas

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #136 on: March 08, 2020, 09:47:57 AM »
Whenever I get some new parts for my lathe I can make one. Seems pretty straightforward. Are you putting a sling on your rifle? If so, how do you plan to mount the forward swivel?
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Offline snapper

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #137 on: March 08, 2020, 04:19:03 PM »
I will try to post some pictures of my sling setup.  I have no permanent attachments on my rifle.  Also, my setup allows the rifle to be pulled from the side, not the bottom, as if you have a stud or other attachments on the bottom of the rifle.

IMO bottom attachments when you are in the sling will want to pull the rifles bottom upward.  By coming off the side,  my rifle is pulling sideways and not trying to cant.

Fleener
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Offline David Rase

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #138 on: March 08, 2020, 04:53:37 PM »
Fleener,
Do you have any "end views" photos of the muzzle protectors?  As a machinist, inquiring minds want to know.
Thanks, David
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Offline snapper

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #139 on: March 08, 2020, 07:09:54 PM »
For some reason I cant post any pictures right now.   Will try latter.

Fleener
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My taste are simple:  I am easily satisfied with the best.  Winston Churchill

Offline Curtis

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #140 on: March 09, 2020, 06:40:49 AM »
Snapper was having issues posting pics earlier, so he sent me the photos and I am posting them below.  If you have questions about the photos you will have to as Snapper, I'm sure he will be glad to give details when he can.
































Curtis
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Curtis Allinson
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Sometimes, late at night when I am alone in the inner sanctum of my workshop and no one else can see, I sand things using only my fingers for backing

Offline Curtis

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #141 on: March 09, 2020, 06:51:58 AM »
Quote from: Justin Urbantas on March 08, 2020, 09:47:57 AM
Whenever I get some new parts for my lathe I can make one. Seems pretty straightforward. Are you putting a sling on your rifle? If so, how do you plan to mount the forward swivel?

Justin, whenever you get your lathe up and running again I would be interested in working a deal with you to make one for me!  I haven't thought about putting a sling on the gun yet, but I see Snapper sent some photos of his sling setup. 

Here are the photos of the temporary muzzle protector I made from a brass fitting.  I used an old wood paddle bit chucked in my drill press to ream out the threads in the fitting and deepen the hole a bit.  Then I drilled a bore sized hole in the end and sanded the inside of the device to smooth it up some and adjust the fit.







Curtis
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Curtis Allinson
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Sometimes, late at night when I am alone in the inner sanctum of my workshop and no one else can see, I sand things using only my fingers for backing

Offline Curtis

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #142 on: March 09, 2020, 07:11:44 AM »
I made a spring for the rear sight, and filed a notch in the bottom of the sight to hold it perpendicular to the bore.  I will add photos of the spring next time I have the tang out of the rifle.  I have a tap on order for installation of the sight screw, I used a cut off nail as a temporary pin.  The spring fits under the tang.







Curtis


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Curtis Allinson
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Sometimes, late at night when I am alone in the inner sanctum of my workshop and no one else can see, I sand things using only my fingers for backing

Offline Curtis

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #143 on: March 09, 2020, 07:33:49 AM »
I did the final scraping and sanding of the stock, then began applying finish.  The wood is a little soft so I used Permalyn Sealer, ad it soaks deep into the wood and leave it hard and impervious to moisture.  For a nice traditional reddish tone I added a few drops of LMF Maple stain and a few drops of LMF cherry stain to the sealer.  (Back in the day many English gunsmiths used oil infused with Alkanet root) I slop it on with a brush and keep adding it as it soaks in.  After about 10-15 minutes I wipe it off with a lint free cloth.  The next day I applied a second coat using the same technique.







Twenty four hours later I applied more finish plus stain to a quadrant of the stock, and wet sanded using 320 grit wet and dry paper to fill the grain and sand away any scratches missed in the final sanding.  The next day I repeated the process, and the following day I repeated the process using 600 grit paper.









I have used Permalyn Sealer for the final coats of finish in the past, but it can make for a shinier finish than I prefer.  It can be rubbed back with rottenstone to dull it a bit, or I have also went over the top of it with a hand rubbed coat of flat tung oil finish.  For this rifle I am trying something new.  I purchased some Antique Oil Finish, poured some in a dish, added a few drops of stain and applied it liberally to the gun.



I think it will work out nicely, I will post some pics after it dries.

Curtis
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Curtis Allinson
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Sometimes, late at night when I am alone in the inner sanctum of my workshop and no one else can see, I sand things using only my fingers for backing

Offline Justin Urbantas

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #144 on: March 09, 2020, 05:18:53 PM »
your rifle is looking great!  I've never sanded past 320 grit on a stock before.  I should have my lathe up and running again within a month, and I could make one for you. It's about 80 years old, so finding parts has been tricky.
I have this sight at home, and was planning on using it on my rifle.
https://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/883/3/RS-DP-SOULE-3
I wonder if it would work with the sight base on the tang? 
My other thought was to cut off the sight base on the tang, weld up the hole, and drill and tap the tang to mount the base.
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Offline Justin Urbantas

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #145 on: March 09, 2020, 05:35:41 PM »
I have a few question for you Curtis.
Have you weighed your rifle?
I saw in rules for international competition,  the long range rifles have to be under 13lbs.
Does it fall under that weight?
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Offline Bob Roller

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #146 on: March 09, 2020, 05:40:45 PM »
That rifle is looking good. In years now gone,I have made several of these tang sights and the
last one was in 2003.
Bob Roller
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Offline Daryl

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #147 on: March 09, 2020, 05:47:43 PM »
Justin. That is the sight I use on my Sharps.
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Daryl

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Offline Justin Urbantas

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #148 on: March 09, 2020, 05:58:02 PM »
It obviously works well for you Daryl. You always beat Taylor. haha
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Offline D. Taylor Sapergia

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #149 on: March 09, 2020, 07:44:16 PM »
Once (last year) isn't always, Justin.  But he really did shoot well.
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D. Taylor Sapergia
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