Greetings to all, hope you having a Blessed Christmas. I hope this story doesn't get too long,windy as I am, ya never know
Back almost 2 years ago, I got a halfstock blank of spalded? read hateful, maple from my bud Bob W. The board was about 40 years old,and has yielded several challenging long and half stocks.
As I am not equipped with much in the way of band saws,routers, etc, I usually get with Bob on a blank build for necessary machining. My arthritis and other hand issues wont stand working all this by hand anymore. My brother,Greg, set up a nice woodworking shop in his basement,and now that he is retired, has turned his hobby into making money. He is a consummate craftsman.
I took the blank and a Pecatonica Hawken precarve stock I was building to his shop, and we laid out the pattern, and cut it out, planed the top
and laid out the 1" barrel channel. He had never routed out an octagon,so we made do with a variety of bits, and did better than I expected, tho it would still need some glass bedding.
I had a 1850s Postley Nelson 1" x 36 x .30 cal club,oops, barrel,and fitted with new modern 5/8-18 plug and tang, fitted barrel into stock.
Then,I took it to another member of our Mountaineer Flintlocks club,Pat, to glass bed the barrel.
Once that was cured, went to Mr Ollie's shop a couple miles from my place, and he trimmed some more wood off, so I could begin to inlet the lock and other stuff.
Once that was done, and the buttplate cut in and fit, back to Bobs for a visit to the paddle sander. That man is scary with that thing, but has build many fine rifles with it. He says he got the idea from a gunbuilder at friendship.
Any way,it gets a lot of nasty,hard a-- wood off without killing ones wrists.
I recently got on the ball and finished it a couple days ago.Took it to the range yesterday,and shot it for the first time in who knows how long.
40 grains 3f, 283 roundball,015 ticking spit patch. Off bag rest at 25yds, rifle weighs 10lbs. All shot fired went into scoring rings,with one fluke into the 10 ring x.
When Greg and I were working on the stock, I had it in my mind I would build it for him. When he got it would be anyones guess. I have built and sold 5 guns I can remember since we started the project.
Today, I put a bow on it,put it in a case,and took it to him to show,or so he thought. When he got it out of the case enough for the bow to show, I sez,Merry Christmas, my brother. You can see the look on his face, Man it was great.
When we can get a chance to get to range and get him shootin,it will be better. he has fired several of my flinters and cap busters, and a couple of the black guns.
He is a USAF vet, crew chief on c141s, and I an very proud to call him my brother. In the past, we have had severe political differences,but that was in the past. We both realizes we aint getting any younger,and with our various health issues from a 40 year working career as some kind of mechanics, we need to just go ahead on,y'all.
h8)
Anyway,hope you enjoy the pics, I am gonna try sending them from my phone. Best regards to all you fellows,and your families. Dave Fortner
