1770s British Rifled Officer's Fusil FINISHED

[smart dog]

Hi,
Well here I go again.  I have 3 projects going on at the moment, Josh's rifle, a pattern 1730 Brown Bess and a 1770s rifled officer's fusil.  I've wanted to build the rifled fusil for a long time and Chris Laubach sold me the perfect barrel and stock for it.  I had TRS parts for a Twigg fusil including the buttplate, triggerguard, and parts set for the lock.  There were not many rifled fusils made by the British in the 18th century but Bailey shows examples by John Hirst and John Twigg in his book on British military flintlock rifles.  So I am making a rifle based on examples by those makers.  Fusil just means "gun" in French.  In the English military context it meant flintlock guns issued to "fusiliers", which were units tasked with defending artillery.  The flintlocks were safer around the powder for cannons than infantry with matchlocks and burning match cord.  As such, it had no implication of style or bore.  Flintlock muskets issued to fusilier units were fusils. Later it tended to be confused with carbines, which were lighter, shorter, and of smaller bore than muskets.  But "fusil" technically was not associated with any official military specification.  So officer's fusils, which were usually smaller and lighter guns than muskets, really just meant guns carried by officers.  There was no official pattern and most were purchased privately by the officer or regiment.

 My project is based on guns by John Twigg and John Hirst during the 1770s.  As such, it looks like a 1770s fowler with rifled barrel and fitted with a short bayonet that is stored in the butt.  The acorn trigger guard is correct for this period and there will be the coarse checkering on the wrist that began to be fashionable in the 1770s.








 In addition, the lock is flat-faced as it should be.  In the 1770s only livery, military, and cheap trade guns had round-faced locks. I built it from TRS castings but replaced the cock with one from a Chambers early Ketland lock, which has much better geometry.  I will cut the proper two-stepped molding around it later.






The barrel is a Colerain "D" weight octagon to round 42" inches long and 0.62 caliber.  I cut it back to 39", which improved the balance immensely.  It has to be fit for the bayonet.  The stock is English walnut, which Chris had the barrel inlet and 3/8" ramrod groove and hole already done.  The thicker ramrod will be fine for a rifled gun and I am taking measures to keep the gun really slim despite the thickness of the rod.  The hardware will be brass and I will cast the side plate, which will be a panoply of arms. I will also create a wrist escutcheon.

The standing breech is from TRS and I filed the breech plug fitted to the barrel into a hook for the breech. Note that it tapers toward the top.  That provides a nice snug fit.  Also note the lug on the bottom for the cross pin, an essential feature.







I fit the standing breech to the barrel then solder it in place.  Then I inlet it into the stock attached to the barrel.  The result looks like it grew from the wood.  The breech has a sighting groove and hump, which will enhance the elegant profile of the gun.  It should be a very elegant piece.






dave

[bob in the woods]

I really like that gun !  It will be a beauty       Where did you find the bayonet ?   

[Justin Urbantas]

Looking good Dave.
I am interested to see how you do the bayonet lug.
That little bayonet and trapdoor buttcap are neat.

[Justin Urbantas]

I have tried a few times unsuccessfully to get in touch with TRS lately. Have they been good at having parts in stock

[smart dog]

Hi Folks and thanks for looking and commenting,
Justin, TRS has been good lately.  I ordered two batches of standing breeches in different styles from them last fall and they came in less than 2 weeks.  The parts for the Bess arrived in about the same time frame.  I confess that I have another order of parts they did not have in stock and are still waiting on the foundry.  It has been over a month so far for that order.

dave

[Jim Kibler]

Looking nice!  One thing sticks out to my eye...  The cock.  It looks weak.  Sort of like it's stretching upward.   Compare it to all the great locks in Great British Gunmakers.  They tend to have more of a breast.  The earlier flat faced locks have less but still significantly more than this.   I find it helpful to look at the shape of the curve from underneat the bottom jaw extending around the cock.   I guess there may be some examples to be found shaped more like your version, but aesthetically I think they don't stand up.  Hope you don't mind my thoughts.

All the best,
Jim

[smart dog]

Hi and thanks for looking,
Jim, thanks for the comments.  The cock closely duplicates the profile of the original except the position of the square hole and shoulder work much better by allowing the cock to overhang the pan more.  In my opinion, if I beefed up the breast the cock would look way too massive for the lock because it has to be fairly tall.  Also, it is a very sturdy flintcock because the neck is pretty wide.  Below is a picture of the assembled lock with the original cock from TRS.



The cock provided does not work well without really long flints.  I assume it was accurately cast from the original but the position of the shoulder and tumbler hole really does not work very well.  My replacement solves the problem. To my eye it will look good when I cut the 2-step molding, reduce the height of the head of the top jaw screw a little, and properly shape the tumbler screw head.  I am also going to put a sole on the frizzen to add mass.  To me it is too light and thin.  Perhaps it was cast from a much worn original.  Again, thanks for the comment, Jim.  I understand your point and would prefer it as you suggest if it was not so tall.  However, when you look at Twigg guns in GBG there is quite a bit of variation in lock designs.  Some Twigg flintcocks look gangly, which does not appeal to me, and others have the beautiful shape that I think you were describing.

dave   

 

[Pukka Bundook]

I'm looking forward to your progress on this one, Dave.
It will be Very elegant!

Good start!

Richard.

[Jim Kibler]

Dave,

Yeah, your's is pretty much spot on as compared to the original example.  There is a bit of variation in the Twigg guns in Great British Gunmakers, but none of the ones I saw were as weak as the original you posted pictures of.  I'm sure there were tiers to the work produced.  An officers fusil, would have not commanded the price of a top grade sporting arm and therefore It likely wouldn't have had the same care.  This of course seems to happen fairly often with British gunsmiths.  Heck, your lock maybe more correct than if it was closer to a high grade Twigg!

All the best,
Jim

[Justin Urbantas]

Hey Dave. How do you come up with the  stock profiles and dimensions for your builds?  I can't find a source of full size plans for proper English guns.

[henry]

I think it is most unlikely that you will find such plans; I am not sure they ever existed. I draw my own from good photographs.

[smart dog]

Hi Justin,
As a start, this tutorial section will help and it includes 2 drawings of originals with many dimensions listed:
https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=48844.0

I don't use any commercially available plans.  I draw my own using a small collection of classic original English fowlers that I own, photos of fowlers that I've acquired over the years, notes I've taken on specific guns I've examined in museums and collections, and my library of books and published papers.

dave

[Justin Urbantas]

Thanks Dave. I think my biggest hindrance is that I don't have access to any original guns to look at/examine.  Anything I do is based on my ability to best guess from pictures.

[Justin Urbantas]

Would this officer's fusil be a little more stout in the stock, as it was a military gun?

[smart dog]

Hi Justin,
A little but not much heavier.  It really is mostly a fowler by design but rifled and cut back for a bayonet.  The fore stock won't be as egg shell thin as you see on fowlers but it will look overall pretty slim.  The 2 guns I am using as inspiration both look like civilian fowlers with rifled barrels. I honestly am not sure I understand what "officer's fusils" were for.  Some commanding officers encouraged their officers to carry fusils in battle rather than the traditional spontoons.  Others discouraged them because they believed loading and firing their own gun during battle would distract officers from leading their men.  I am not sure that many fusils were not simply an officer's personal gun for hunting while on campaign.  For many British officers, the first chance they ever had for hunting big game was when campaigning in North America, India, and Africa.  Don't think that the short bayonet on this gun necessarily was a military application.  Many sporting guns on the European continent had similar arrangements and the bayonet probably functioned as a hunting sword for killing wounded game.  The word "fusil" really just means gun and "officer's fusil" really just means a gun carried by an officer for whatever reason.  There was no standard official pattern as far as I know nor any official doctrine guiding the use of fusils by officers, so the term could cover a range of designs and uses from a sturdy military carbine to a sporting fowler.  It might actually be better to think of these guns much like the privately purchased brace of pistols often carried by officers.  However, having said that, I really don't have a clear concept of them in my mind nor has any of my research cleared it up.

dave

[smart dog]

Hi,
Got a bit done today.  I made and attached the barrel loops for the keys.  The rear loop is dove tailed into the octagon portion of the barrel and the forward loops are soldered to the round section of the barrel.  I inlet them in the stock and then fitted the keys.  If you look at my tutorial on making an 18th century English fowler, I show how keys are easily inlet. 



I began shaping the fore stock with a plane and pattern maker's rasp.  I always do that by forming facets that eventually get rounded.  By doing that the shaping is even and I can establish the dominant profile easily and evenly. 




I began making the 3/8" diameter ramrod pipes.  I use 0.0325" thick brass sheet, which is easy to cut with shears.  After cutting out the rectangle, I anneal it by heating to red and quenching in water.  That leaves the brass dead soft. 


Then I form raised beading on each end using a little steel plate with a groove filed in it.  I also use a cold chisel with the blade rounded to hammer in the bead.  The plate and chisel work very well and makes forming beads, which also strengthens the pipe, very easy.





Then I wrap the sheet around a drill of the proper diameter.  I usually bend it part way, then anneal the brass again, then pinch it closed in a vise.  I run a bead of TIX solder in the tab to hold it together although that is not required.  I have an original high end English fowler with silver mounts on which the sheet silver tabs are not soldered.





Next up is making the rear pipe and tang.

dave       

[Blacktail]

It's so enjoyable watching the progression of your work. Thanks for taking the time to post this.

[Daryl]

Smart Dog, another exciting build. Thank you.

[smart dog]

Hi,
Not a lot to report today.  I had a visit by a friend from Quebec and spent most of the day helping him with his "Little Fella's" rifle project for his daughter and designing a late flint era British hunting rifle for himself. I was able to make the rear ramrod pipe.  My strategy for these English fowler rear pipes is to make the pipe from sheet metal and then solder on a cast tang.  Based on the originals I own, that was how brass and silver rear pipes were made.  The cast tang is thicker, making it less springy and easier to inlet, and you can file a terminal tooth or point in it that anchors the end of the tang in the wood.  I won't need the tooth on this pipe but thicker metal allows me to shape it better.  I buy cast rear pipes for fowlers from TOW or MBS and then cut off the tangs. 

I make a sheet metal pipe that matches the forward pipes but it has a little more length or extension for the cast tang to be fitted.  I fit the cast tang on to the pipe and solder it with Stay Bright or Hi-Force 44 silver bearing solder. On this gun I do not want a big step at the rear pipe.  I want the tang for the pipe to be only slightly raised above the ramrod hole because I want the bottom of the stock to taper upwards from the trigger guard to the rear ramrod pipe. That sounds like a minor detail but it will make a huge difference in the profile of the gun and prevent the illusion of a bulge at the rear pipe, which happens if the bottom profile is parallel with the bore of the barrel.

Here is the rear pipe almost ready for inletting.  I will taper the tang more and shorten it a little.  Here is the middle pipe ready for inletting.



More coming,

dave 

[smart dog]

Hi,
I inlet all the ramrod pipes today.  First the forward pipes, I mark a line for the tab on the bottom of the ramrod groove and then punch a series of holes with an awl. 


Then I drill out those holes a little narrower than the tab. 



I cut out the wood between the holes with a broken fret saw blade ground to a narrow tip and mounted in a scalpel handle.



Next I clean up the slot with a needle file that has the end ground and sharpened as a skew chisel,  It cuts away wood and then files it away.


After cleaning up the slot, I insert the pipe and trace its outline on the wood.  Using a tiny gouge, I cut the wood to receive the raised collars on either end.



Then using inletting black and gouges, I cut the mortice until the pipe fits down in all the way. 





For the rear pipe and tang, I first cut and file away as much excess wood at the step as I can to reduce the amount of wood I have to inlet into.  Then I use one of the other pipes, which are well matched in dimensions,  to cut the mortice for the rear pipe.



That makes it easier to insert the actual rear pipe in the mortice to outline and cut the tang.  The pipes are all in and I will drill the holes for the pins a bit later.





dave 

[Justin Urbantas]

looking good Dave. I'm curious how you sharpen that tiny gouge. I have a few, but they are all dull can be.

[alacran]

Dave I must commend you.  You are a genuine and selfless educator. You take the time to instruct and that takes quite a lot of time away from building. Not to mention your ability as that is self evident. Thank you.

[Kingsburyarms]

Dave, as always, a wonderful job, great photography and teaching us about these British Arms!!!! Thank you

[Curtis]

Thanks for posting the ramrod pipe beading idea Dave!  I will have to use that sometime.  Very nice work.

Curtis

[smart dog]

Hi,
Drilled for the pins holding the ramrod pipes.  I used 2 pins per pipe on this gun for extra security.  When I drill the holes, I don't use any jigs.  I simply make sure the edge of the ramrod channel is square and true along its length.  Then I measure the depth of the ramrod channel from that edge. I mark that depth on the side of the stock and then draw a line or lines down from the ramrod channel edge to locate where I want the pin or pins to go. With an awl, I mark the hole or holes along that line but a little below the depth mark. I repeat that on the other side of the stock. Then I drill about halfway in from one side and again from the other. I can eye ball the drill to be level and perpendicular with the stock and it works great.  After the holes are drilled, I insert the pipe and drill again to make the holes in the brass pipe.  I use 5/64" pins and drills.  They break far less often than 1/16" drills that many builders use. 





I drilled for the barrel tang bolt.  I start by drilling a small hole in the center of the tang where the bolt will go and perpendicular to the surface of the tang at that point.  You can use jigs and center punches to align the hole top and bottom but I find I can eye ball the drill and have it come out in the middle of the bottom.  With an undersized hole, I can correct small misalignment with bigger drill of round file.  Then, I drill the hole the size needed for the tap, in this case a #21 drill for 10-32 threads.  I enlarge the hole at the bottom to fit the round boss on the trigger plate that will be drilled and threaded for the bolt.





I inlet the plate in the stock.  For this plate, the rear is shaped like a chisel blade and cuts into the stock anchoring it in place.



. With the trigger plate in place, I again drill through the stock with the #21 drill.  I remove the plate and drill again through the stock with a #8 drill for clearance of the bolt. I install the plate and using a 10-32 pulley tap, I thread the hole in the plate.   This makes sure everything is lined up just right.


The hole in the tang is drilled part way through with a drill a little smaller than the diameter of the head of the bolt. I drill down just enough to create a squared shoulder in the hole. Then I use a 5/16" countersink to cut the bottom of the hole to the shape of the tapered bolt head.  Finally, I turn a shoulder on the head of the bolt that fits into the hole. This is far superior to just counter sinking the hole and allows the head of the bolt to eventually be contoured nicely with the tang.





I inlet most of the lock guts except the mainspring. I neglected that spring simply because I just did not feel like doing it today.



With the sear of the lock inlet, I could position the trigger. I want the trigger bar to hit the sear about halfway back from the trigger pivot pin. I cut and file the slot in the trigger plate accordingly, and then use it as a template for drilling a series of holes the length and depth of the trigger bar.  Using a router bit in a Dremel destroyer tool, I rout out the holes for the trigger slot. It all takes just a few minutes. 
Finally, I trimmed off more wood from the fore stock and rounded it a bit.  Much more will eventually come off. Then I also began shaping the wrist.  That is where I am at the moment.

dave