Author Topic: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit  (Read 46279 times)

Offline Curtis

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #25 on: July 28, 2019, 06:56:40 AM »
Thanks Curtis for taking the time to post your tutorial. Sure enjoyed it. What's a drip bar?

Daryl nailed it!

Curtis
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 Bob Roller

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #26 on: July 28, 2019, 03:21:27 PM »
Elegance in the grand style of the British gun makers for sure.
It almost makes me want to make up one of these locks for no
real reason but to practice fancy filing.

Bob Roller

Offline Curtis

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #27 on: July 30, 2019, 07:19:11 AM »
For a change in pace I did some cleanup work on the trigger guard and barrel key.  I still can't get over how nice these castings are to work with - for the key I cut off the sprue and ran it across a file to remove the casting scale and it was ready to install.  I trimmed the trigger guard sprues and did some cleanup filing.











While I was at it I deepened the guard hole in the trigger plate with a #3 drill, and tapped it 1/4-28.



Curtis
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 Taylorz1

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #28 on: July 30, 2019, 07:32:51 AM »
Lookin good Curtis ! You will be shooting that gun next week ! I find I do better work if I break up the file Nd cleanup work into multiple sessions spread through the project. I don’t have the discipline to do a good job all at one go. Looking forward to the next installment !!

Offline Curtis

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #29 on: July 30, 2019, 08:14:10 AM »
You are in luck Taylorz1, the next installment is already here!  I'm right with you on spreading out the cleanup tasks.

I will soon be inletting the lock, however before doing that on a build I like to secure the barrel at both ends so it is in it's absolute final position when the lock goes in.  Especially with a patent breech and a drip bar.  I marked the lug location, placed the barrel on a flat surface wit a file under the lug area, and slid the barrel back and for once keeping the bottom flat of the breech flat on the surface.  This gave me a center mark to work from.



I marked the limits of my cuts, then using a new 14tpi hacksaw blade I cut a row of slots to depth, chisel the extra metal out and file the flat for the underlug.







To my eyes the slot looks perfectly level.  BUT IT'S NOT!  It is a good thing for the underlug to be straight, and it is critical for sight dovetails to be on the same plane.   It is difficult to accurately judge a flat in a convex round surface.  So I used a trick Jack Brooks had told me about in class one time, sighting down "winding sticks".  An age old technique that works.  I used a couple of parallel sided files as my winding sticks and here is what I saw:





So I did some corrective filing until the winding sticks looked like they were happy:



Next I filed the dovetails into the slot and fit the underlug.



Once I was happy with a tight fit, I tapped the lug out with a hammer and punch, carefully and thinly coated the slot and bottom of the lug with low temp solder paste.  After re fitting the lug,  I staked it in tight and used a propane torch to heat the barrel and lug until the solder melted.  Since I will be shooting heavy target loads I want the lug to be solid as a rock.



To reduce the amount of filing I chiseled off most of the overhang.  It also was a good test to see how solid the lug is! Then I cleaned up with a file.





Then it's time to put some inlet black on the underlug, replace the barrel in the stock and mark the beginnings of the mortise.



I made reference marks with dividers and relieved the mortise a bit and refit the barrel for another marking.



Utilizing a mortising chisel I cut things deeper, and repeatedly inserted the barrel to mark material to remove.  After a few fitting and cutting sessions the mortise is complete!







Next item will be to cut the slot for the barrel key.

Thanks for looking, Curtis
« Last Edit: July 31, 2019, 07:39:56 AM by Curtis »
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 Bob Roller

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #30 on: July 30, 2019, 04:53:47 PM »
Outstanding tutorial. None of the cast parts are products of 3rd rate tooling.
Don Brown told me he spared no expense to get this right and the breech
plug and tang are proof of that.Here is something to read,
                                         
Quality is NEVER accidental
It is always the result of high
intention,sincere effort,intelligent
direction and skillful execution
It represents the wise choice of
many alternatives,the cumulative
experience of many masters of craftsmanship
Quality also marks the search for ideal
after necessity has been satisfied and mere
usefulness achieved.
W.Foster

I do not know who this man or woman was but whoever
it was had a handle on the subject. My mother always said it was
a woman,Willow Foster.
Here re my own ideas about quality

Quality is the conscious rejection of mediocrity
It represents a tangible gesture of indifference
to expediency in and of a goal itself
It is a demonstration of excellence for its
own sake.It reflects no ordinary line of thought
nor does it relish the commonplace.

Bob Roller
« Last Edit: July 30, 2019, 05:02:41 PM by Bob Roller »

Online D. Taylor Sapergia

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #31 on: July 30, 2019, 06:58:12 PM »
Your philosophy, Bob, is spot on.  I have a saying I use as frequently as I can, during a build.  "It's perfect, but it's good enough."

My father was a man like you, Bob.  The things he accomplished were a marvel to his contemporaries, and when they praised him for his work, he would simply say, "Routine".
D. Taylor Sapergia
www.sapergia.blogspot.com

Art is not an object.  It is the excitement inspired by the object.

Offline Bob Roller

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #32 on: July 31, 2019, 12:21:48 AM »
Your philosophy, Bob, is spot on.  I have a saying I use as frequently as I can, during a build.  "It's perfect, but it's good enough."

My father was a man like you, Bob.  The things he accomplished were a marvel to his contemporaries, and when they praised him for his work, he would simply say, "Routine".

Taylor,
I think your rifle and pistol builds reflect this attitude as well.
Your father was good at whatever he did and he knew it without throwing it
at whoever he was speaking to."Routine"to a man like that means,It's done
and done well"
Thank you for your comment on my own ideas about quality.I think--Know
I am past my prime and have had to redo some small parts recently.
No more lock orders and if I make any more I will post them here.

Bob Roller

Offline Curtis

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #33 on: July 31, 2019, 07:11:07 AM »
Wonderful insights on quality there gentlemen!  Positive posts like those are part of what makes this site great to visit.   ;D

I had a phone conversation with Rod a while back, he seems to be a very dedicated to the quality of his parts.  He has been spending a great deal of time working on improvements to make the kits even better.

Curtis
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

Online runastav

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #34 on: July 31, 2019, 11:55:00 AM »
Very Nice work Curtis :)
Runar

Offline snapper

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #35 on: July 31, 2019, 03:28:58 PM »
I first got to really know Rod England a few years ago while we were both shooting at the World long range matches for the USA.

Rod and I practiced and hung out that week together.  Rod is a good guy and he has spent quite a few years getting the pieces and parts ready to go for a complete rifle.   When I would see him at Oakridge or Friendship in the past few years he would pull something out of his truck or his pocket to show me the next piece or part that he got nailed down.

Rod is dedicated to putting out a high quality product.

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

Offline Bob Roller

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #36 on: July 31, 2019, 05:23:24 PM »
I first got to really know Rod England a few years ago while we were both shooting at the World long range matches for the USA.

Rod and I practiced and hung out that week together.  Rod is a good guy and he has spent quite a few years getting the pieces and parts ready to go for a complete rifle.   When I would see him at Oakridge or Friendship in the past few years he would pull something out of his truck or his pocket to show me the next piece or part that he got nailed down.

Rod is dedicated to putting out a high quality product.

Fleener

Rod has asked me for locks of this type but I can't do much for him now.
I think,since 1987 when I made my first "4 pin"lock I have sold about 40
of these----maybe.I also made patterns from an original lock on a Whitworth
boy's rifle which is another "4 pin" scaled down and 7 of those are around
One more started several years ago and languishing in a drawer now.The
man that wanted it cancelled the order when he found out they were $400.
Yesterday I started a 3 pin mechanism for a German styled Schuetzen lock'
and have made a few of these of Henry/Stanton pattern with the 3 pin bridle.
It and one more caplock and that's it.

Bob Roller

Offline Curtis

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #37 on: August 01, 2019, 07:19:12 AM »
Rod is making his own locks now, they are CNC manufactured.  I will post more photos when I inlet the lock but here are a couple for reference.  Notice how low the mainspring sits, much like an original English lock.  This helps with fitting up to larger barrels, etc.





From conversations with Rod I gathered he didn't get much if any in the way of molds or anything else to do with manufacturing from Don Brown's estate, and he has had to pretty much start over from scratch.

Curtis
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 #38 on: August 01, 2019, 08:29:08 AM »
In preparation for installing the barrel key, I start removing most of the excess wood on the sides of the forestock.  I am not finish shaping yet, just getting rid of the bulk of excess.



Next I get an accurate measurement of where the center of the slot in the underlug is.  Here I am using a pin locating guide made by Dave Kanger years ago, it is a great tool for such tasks.  The masking tape is my addition, helps me keep track of the correct hole in the guide.   Since the barrel is round at the location of the underlug I used a flat rule clamped to the octagon portion of the barrel to keep the guide square with the world.





The barrel is replaced in the stock, held firm in position and a line scribed on both sides of the stock.  I also pricked a point on the vertical centerline of the lug, again both sides.



Utilizing the prick points, I drilled a 1.16" hole using a drill guide.  For small bits like this I clear the chips every sixteenth inch or so, it goes a long way in helping the keep the hole straight.



Once the hole was through, I verified the location was good, then drilled the hole a tad larger using a 5/64" bit.  Next I used my barrel key tools manufactured from old needle files.  One is a small mortise chisel, the other a saw that cuts on the push stroke.





Once the slot is through I check it with a flashlight.  Looks pretty good!





I work the slot until the key almost fits, then I heat the key with a propane torch and "melt" it through the slot.  The metal is just hot enough to barely burn the wood, not so hot as to char it or catch it on fire!



There it is!  All the way through.  Now the barrel is secure and I will move on to the drip bar and lock.






Curtis


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 #39 on: August 07, 2019, 06:47:26 AM »
After cleaning up the insides of the drip bar it is time to solder it to the barrel.  I wanted to insure that it would be tight against the patent breech, and I did not want any solder to stick to the breech or find it's way into the plug threads - so I used a sharpened soapstone marker to fill the joint between the patent breech and barrel, and coated the front of the snail while I was at it.  I put a thin coat of self fluxing solder paste on the inside of the drip bar and the barrel where the drip bar will sit.  The drip bar was clamped in place and I cleaned up the solder that squeezed out.  Then I heated the parts with a propane torch.





Then the drip bar was filed flush with the breeches:



Next I begin the process of inletting the drip bar.  The standing breech was put back  in the stock and then the barrel was put in place until the drip bar contacted the stock.  I remove wood where the inlet black leaves a mark.  The process is repeated until the barrel is all the way down.





Once the barrel is seated I begin inletting the lock.  After some careful positioning and test fitting with the hammer in place I determined that the some metal will have to come off the lock bolster area as indicated with the blue marker.





Holding the plate tightly in place I scribe around the plate, then stab in the scribed line with some shop made tools.  The straighter lines are "roll stabbed" with the larger tool.







As the lock started to go in I painted the surfaces contacting metal with a blue Sharpie and carefully filed where interference was indicated.



Tapping on a wood block helps to seat the lock in the inlet and gives good color transfer.



The lock panels are tapered towards the wrist, so once the bolster contacts the standing breech, I file the bolster to reflect the appropriate angle. This will require some adjustment as I go deeper with the lock.  The angle of the bolster can be seen against the machinist's square leg.  The front face of the bolster requires some tapering as well.







Once the lock plate is close to being down I positioned it firmly against the standing breech and drip bar and clamp it in place.  I then drilled through the side panel into the lock bolster with an undersized drill, then a tap drill, clearance drill in the wood and then tapped the lock plate.



When I drilled for bolt clearance I used a numbered bit one size below the recommended clearance drill, then slightly relieved the top and front side of the hole with a small file to encourage the plate to be pulled slightly up and forward.



Now I can use the lock bolt to pull the plate tight into the mortise and remove any markings that show interference.  I inlet the plate with the bridle and tumbler installed.





It fits tightly in place and I am ready to install the remaining lock internals and adjust the inlet to fit them.



Notice how the nicely tapered spring sits low on the plate, for barrel and ramrod hole clearance.  Also note how the tumbler rests on the bridle and prevents the spring from being able to bust out the bottom of the lock mortise if the lock were accidentally tripped without a hammer or nipple in place.



Thanks for looking,
Curtis
« Last Edit: August 08, 2019, 06:35:13 AM by Curtis »
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 #40 on: August 08, 2019, 07:09:45 AM »
This is truly an exceptional quality lock, the nicest I have ever handled.  (never had the opportunity to handle a Roller lock yet) The tolerances of the tumbler fit, as well as the sear pin are very tight, basically a press fit yet the parts all move freely.  The lower leg of the mainspring remains and flat in the loaded full cock position



I cleaned up the trigger casting a bit and drilled holes for the trigger screw and spring.





Then I drilled and tapped the trigger plate for the trigger screw, and reamed the clearance side with an 1/8" reamer.  After completing that I recessed the trigger screw head with a mill so it tightened at the screw shoulder and head at the same time.  The screw was filed down nearly flush where the threaded end protruded.







Next the trigger was installed in the gun and the lock was replaced as well as it would fit.  I had put some inlet black in the end of the sear to mark where it was hitting the trigger blade.



The trigger blade was filed till it slightly cleared the sear.





Everything was assembled and the trigger was test fired.  It works!!  ;D  Now I am ready to move on to the next phase....





Curtis
Curtis Allinson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 #41 on: August 08, 2019, 09:04:51 AM »
Looking good! I have a question though. Why don't these long range rifles use set triggers? You would think that if extreme accuracy was your goal, you would use the lightest/best trigger available.

Offline T*O*F

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #42 on: August 08, 2019, 02:59:33 PM »
Quote
Why don't these long range rifles use set triggers?
Because the rules don't allow them and there are weight restrictions on the trigger pull, as well as the rifle itself.
Dave Kanger

If religion is opium for the masses, the internet is a crack, pixel-huffing orgy that deafens the brain, numbs the senses and scrambles our peer list to include every anonymous loser, twisted deviant, and freak as well as people we normally wouldn't give the time of day.
-S.M. Tomlinson

Offline Bob Roller

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #43 on: August 08, 2019, 03:15:12 PM »
In reply to Justin's question about no set triggers here is an answer.
These are ENGLISH rifles and the very high quality of these locks
eliminates the need for a set trigger and most of the people that
bought these new were military or former military and weren't used
to a light touch trigger of any kind. The single set triggers are seen
on English hunting rifles for whatever reason and of course a wide variety
of pistols but not on long range rifles.Also,there are RULES against set triggers
and locks tuned until the weight of a shadow can set them off.
I used a Whitworth semi military long range rifle for 11 years and the superb
Brazier lock needed no help from ANY kind of spring driven trigger.
In 2001 I started one of these rifles with a Green Mountain barrel and
used Don Brown's semi finished stalking rifle stock,a TOW trigger guard
and butt plate.my copy of the 4 screw Stanton lock,Don's assembled trigger
and finally got it to the range for testing in 2003.I also made my own tang
sight* adapted to the 2 "ears" that are on the standing breech and a Lyman
17A front sight with a spirit level base I made for it.On the original guns,
most of them got windage from the front sight only.It shot better than I
could and results against breech loaders at 500 Meters was outstanding
using a 560 grain grease grooved bullet from a custom mould that I still
have.
*This tang sight had an 8x40 thread elevating screw and that is the .025
calibration of an American micrometer and the staff was so marked using
my milling machine's calibrations.
Bob Roller

westbj2

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #44 on: August 08, 2019, 09:18:47 PM »
Curtis,
I have been watching your progress on the A.H. Ron England rifle.  The following comments are offered in the spirit help, advise, and a 30 year love affair with British match rifles.
So far progress includes at least 3 areas that cannot be called ‘wrong’ but indeed are non-typical of work commonly found on these rifles.
First, I have never seen a dove-tailed underlug for the cross nail (aka barrel key) on a match rifle.  Rather the common method is shown in the pictures below.  The under lug blank is mortised into the barrel, then the edges of the mortise are upset with a chisel locating the lug for finish work.  Lug blank is fitted to mortise using a slight taper on all 4 sides of the lug. Then, the standing excess material around the lug is peened down and filed to finish.  Also, a retainer pin is found on the left side of the forend adjacent to the lug.  This retainer pin fits the slot in the key keeping the key captured in the stock.  This pin (about a 1/2”long) is usually threaded and the screwdriver slot is quite small as there is no head on the body of the screw.
[  Thomas Turner
[[          Rigby
          Alex Henry


Trigger assy:  Again typically, the trigger pivot screw  head is small enough to leave about a .040 -.050” wide ring of material around the rear half of the trigger assy at the pivot.  Also the screw head is flush with the body of the trigger base.


Typically, a small trigger return spring is mounted on the plate and extends to the trigger body itself.  This spring is just powerful enough to keep the trigger up against the sear.



Other observations.
I can’t tell from the posted pictures what the nipple seat looks like.  Without exception, the bottom of the threaded hole is shaped to the form of a rounded radius with a small flash hole going down into the breech.  A platinum lined nipple is required because of pressures and erosion caused by firing.  A standard steel nipple can burn out in as few as 10-20 shots.   The platinum nipple is radiused on the bottom to match the breech radius.  When the nipple is seated properly, the two radisus fit tightly together leaving only the communication hole down into the breech.
Breech cross flash channel plug.   You have two choices……A stainless steel plug will give functional and correct appearance but is not H.C.   These plugs were always made of platinum.
Tang screw always reflects a slight taper over its length. Properly fitted, the taper causes a slight rearward  movement of the standing breech essentially locking the wood and metal together.

Jim






Online Daryl

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #45 on: August 08, 2019, 11:45:56 PM »
Curtis, is this half-bent or full?
Would sure make capping at 1/2 bent easier than if closer.
Nice fitting, all 'round' - inlet and soldering. Thanks for the tutorial on that.


Daryl

"a gun without hammers is like a spaniel without ears" King George V

Offline helwood

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #46 on: August 09, 2019, 03:05:35 AM »
Greetings,  Very nice work Curtis.  Enjoy following your projects.      Hank

Offline Bob Roller

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #47 on: August 09, 2019, 03:24:42 AM »
Greetings,  Very nice work Curtis.  Enjoy following your projects.      Hank

Perhaps,like a Hawken rifle,we will do well today to make a good representation
even if all the nuances of the old ones are not in place.I am glad to see this tutorial
even though I have no plans to make another long range muzzle loader again.

Bob Roller

westbj2

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #48 on: August 09, 2019, 04:04:32 AM »
 Quote:  "make a good representation even if all the nuances of the old ones are not in place".
Bob,
 
You seem to have drifted a bit away from 'Quality is the conscious rejection of mediocrity' you noted earlier.  These rifles are the final evolution' of the percussion system and represent the British term "Best Gun" to the fullest. They deserve our best efforts.  Since when is close enough good enough?
Jim

Offline Curtis

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Re: Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit
« Reply #49 on: August 09, 2019, 06:17:12 AM »
Looking good! I have a question though. Why don't these long range rifles use set triggers? You would think that if extreme accuracy was your goal, you would use the lightest/best trigger available.

Justin, it looks like Dave and Bob already gave you better answers than I had on the subject!  Good question.

Curtis
Curtis Allinson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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