Author Topic: Another "dragoon" type pistol - Finished assembling the pistol  (Read 9462 times)

Offline davec2

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2955
    • The Lucky Bag
Another "dragoon" type pistol - Finished assembling the pistol
« on: February 20, 2022, 07:53:05 PM »
Several years ago now I had a .58 cal heavy straight sided rifle barrel that was too heavy and too short for me to do much with.  I cut off 12 inches and turned it round to make a pistol barrel.  I also had a maple pistol stock blank and some castings (butt cap, trigger guard, side plate, etc) in a pile of spare parts, so I started in on making another dragoon type pistol.  Not wanting to use any of the spare locks I had, I bought a set of dragoon lock castings from Blackley's in the UK.  I got this far with all the various aspects of building a pistol and then "time, tide, and formation" pressures took over......work, house repairs, other commitments with family and kids, weddings, funerals....you get the idea.  Anyway, the pistol parts went under the work bench in a box and have been there for almost a decade.  I recently finished setting up a new work shop and have been slowly moving all of my tools and gear into it.  In the process, I found the box of pistol parts.  After looking them over, I decided it was a shame to leave them in that condition, so I have started in on finishing the work. 

Everything has been on hold for nearly two months.  My Mom (96) was having some severe health issues and my sisters and I dropped everything to be with her.  She has made a miraculous recovery but now I have a ton of work to catch up on.  Getting back to work on the little rifle for my grandson and finishing up this pistol will, hopefully, keep me a little "saner" than I would otherwise be....


« Last Edit: September 03, 2022, 06:18:52 AM by davec2 »
"No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into a jail; for being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned... a man in a jail has more room, better food, and commonly better company."
Dr. Samuel Johnson, 1780

Offline Daryl

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 15826
Re: Another "dragoon" type pistol
« Reply #1 on: February 20, 2022, 08:51:45 PM »
Project well along, Dave. Looking forward to it's progress, reports.
Glad you  mom's doing better.  90's are very tricky, fragile years.
Daryl

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

Offline Bob Gerard

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1343
    • Powder Horns and Such
Re: Another "dragoon" type pistol
« Reply #2 on: February 21, 2022, 02:40:48 AM »
I will be keeping a happy eye on your project- no doubt another beautiful Drahoon pistol in the making!
Also happy for your family that your mom is doing better!

Offline Ed Wenger

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *
  • Posts: 2457
Re: Another "dragoon" type pistol
« Reply #3 on: February 21, 2022, 03:06:24 AM »
Dave…, very glad to hear your Mom’s doing better, and looks like another sweet build in the making!  Best,

      Ed
Ed Wenger

Offline RossN

  • Starting Member
  • *
  • Posts: 19
Re: Another "dragoon" type pistol
« Reply #4 on: February 21, 2022, 05:27:17 AM »
I'm always happy when I see  new thread started by you Dave, and I'll be looking forward to following this one along.

Great news about your Mum too, extra time with your parents is a blessing, and we seldom realise how just much.

Offline Rolf

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1764
  • There's more than one way to skin a cat.
Re: Another "dragoon" type pistol
« Reply #5 on: February 21, 2022, 11:28:25 AM »
96 is an impressive age. Glad she recovered. Hope you have her for many more years.
Look forward to following your pistol project. Curious about the lock set. Are you going to use the cast guts? What size screws?

I have 2 sets wogden dueling pistol locks, 2 Le Paige percussion sets, and 1 set for a double barrel wogden pistol.
The "guts" on all these kits are so tiny that's it is impossible to drill holes for 3mm screws. Going to have to make all the guts from scratch.

Best regards
Rolf

Offline ScottH

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 574
Re: Another "dragoon" type pistol
« Reply #6 on: February 21, 2022, 09:14:50 PM »
Good to hear mom is doing better!  :)

My mother is 86 and my mother in law is 96, every day is another blessing!

Offline DavidC

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 355
Re: Another "dragoon" type pistol
« Reply #7 on: February 21, 2022, 09:30:01 PM »
I look forward to seeing your mom's pistol when you're done with it!  ;D

Offline davec2

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2955
    • The Lucky Bag
Re: Another "dragoon" type pistol
« Reply #8 on: February 21, 2022, 09:42:53 PM »
Thank you all for the kind words about my Mom.  She may have to shuffle around with a walker but she has recovered amazingly well and is mentally still sharp as a tack.  She and my Dad were married for 65 years and he made it to 91 before he passed away 4 years ago.  They were both the children of immigrants (all four of my Grandparents came from Italy at the turn of the 20th century) and were fiercely patriotic Americans. My folks are both part of that generation who spent almost all of their childhood years "making do" with very little during the Great Depression...and then, as teen agers and young adults, being shrouded in the swirling maelstrom of the Second World War.  My Dad went to war in the Pacific at the ripe old age of 17.  Yet they were always happy, positive, optimistic, generous, kind, and hard working.  There was never any hint of "victim-hood".  No "woe is me I've had such a hard life".  And most certainly they did NOT feel anyone owed them anything because they had had a rough go of it. In fact, they always shared what little they might have had with others and would never accept anything they didn't feel they had earned.  They were not "snowflakes" to be sure.

Sorry....off topic I know....but as I watch my Mom at the close of a life almost a century long, I am even more impressed by my folks faith, their spirit (you should her her rant when the news is on TV  ;)), their patriotism, and their fight.  God bless them all.

Back on topic....in descending order from the things I dislike the most when building a Dragoon type pistol, 1) inletting a spurred butt cap, 2) inletting a pistol trigger guard, 3) inletting the rear ram rod pipe.  One of the things my Mom always said about any task was "Worst things first"....then everything else seemed to go easier.  I had done the butt cap and rear ramrod pipe during previous work so I started in on the inletting of the trigger guard.  I will post some pictures later today.

Again...thanks for the kind words.
"No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into a jail; for being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned... a man in a jail has more room, better food, and commonly better company."
Dr. Samuel Johnson, 1780

Offline smart dog

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *
  • Posts: 7013
Re: Another "dragoon" type pistol
« Reply #9 on: February 22, 2022, 01:39:03 AM »
Hi Dave,
This will be fun to watch!

dave
"The main accomplishment of modern economics is to make astrology look good."

Offline davec2

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2955
    • The Lucky Bag
Re: Another "dragoon" type pistol
« Reply #10 on: February 22, 2022, 11:35:43 AM »
Well....I'm off to the Mojave Desert to conduct a couple of weeks of rocket engine testing, so this project will be on hold for a bit.  But today I cast and partially engraved a thumb piece for the pistol, contoured it to fit the pistol wrist, did the inletting, and then made the screw that holds it in place through the wrist.  Here is the thumb piece annealed and then lightly hammered into fitting the stock contour......



Here is the start of the inletting......



Thumb piece fully installed....



And then I almost finished the trigger guard installation.  A little more to do but not far from being done....





More when I get back
"No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into a jail; for being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned... a man in a jail has more room, better food, and commonly better company."
Dr. Samuel Johnson, 1780

Offline Marcruger

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3702
Re: Another "dragoon" type pistol
« Reply #11 on: February 23, 2022, 05:45:10 PM »
Love that thumbpiece.  Up to your usual levels of excellence.   

Offline davec2

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2955
    • The Lucky Bag
Re: Another "dragoon" type pistol
« Reply #12 on: March 11, 2022, 09:24:33 PM »
Back from the desert.....but still up to my a$$ in alligators as far as work is concerned.  However, for my own mental health (as far as that goes), I spent a little while doing some minimal carving on the pistol stock.  There is not much in the way of fancy carving on a Dragoon type pistol, but I did do a little molding around the barrel tang, lock and side plates.








I also had a chance to start working some of the internal parts of the lock.  The cast bridle is always a hard part to hold to do any machining so I soft soldered it to a piece of steel bar stock so I could mill the end of the stand off portion parallel to the bridle plate.  Also ordered some 12L14 bar stock because i need to make all of the 6-40 screws for the lock.

"No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into a jail; for being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned... a man in a jail has more room, better food, and commonly better company."
Dr. Samuel Johnson, 1780

Offline gunmaker

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 691
  • the old dog gunmaker
Re: Another "dragoon" type pistol - Some carving and lock work start
« Reply #13 on: March 11, 2022, 10:17:37 PM »
Man stops working on a Flintlock, and goes off to test ROCKET engines, some kind a "time Warp" we live in...

Offline Bob Gerard

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1343
    • Powder Horns and Such
Re: Another "dragoon" type pistol - Some carving and lock work start
« Reply #14 on: March 12, 2022, 02:35:02 AM »
The level of talent in this group is astounding. Watching Dave and others make these masterworks is a privilege.

Offline Nazgul

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 191
Re: Another "dragoon" type pistol - Some carving and lock work start
« Reply #15 on: March 12, 2022, 01:27:52 PM »
Very impressive work.

I enjoy watching this in progress.

Don

Offline davec2

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2955
    • The Lucky Bag
Re: Another "dragoon" type pistol - Polishing the brass
« Reply #16 on: March 14, 2022, 05:32:49 PM »
Thank you for the kind words.

Gunmaker.......yes !!  Some sort of weird time warp.....In addition to testing rocket engines I am in the process of building a new control center / blockhouse to run the tests from.....Here is a picture of the new blockhouse and the type of testing I run from it......





Back to the pistol.....I like to polish brass parts up to about 600 grit in place on the stock so that sharp edges do not get rounded.  After that I will pull the parts off and finish with a finer grit.


« Last Edit: July 04, 2022, 07:50:04 PM by davec2 »
"No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into a jail; for being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned... a man in a jail has more room, better food, and commonly better company."
Dr. Samuel Johnson, 1780

Offline Craig Wilcox

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2532
Re: Another "dragoon" type pistol - Polishing the brass
« Reply #17 on: March 14, 2022, 06:11:22 PM »
Always proud to say I know a rocket scientist!

Enjoy watching your Dragoon build, and the precision that you strive for - a good influence on me.

Some reason I really like the 600-grit finish on the brass.  I think that with a polished bright finish, any slight imperfection stands out like  - well, not going there!
Craig Wilcox
We are all elated when Dame Fortune smiles at us, but remember that she is always closely followed by her daughter, Miss Fortune.

Online James Rogers

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3163
  • James Rogers
    • Fowling Piece
Re: Another "dragoon" type pistol - Polishing the brass
« Reply #18 on: March 14, 2022, 06:20:26 PM »
Always proud to say I know a rocket scientist!

Enjoy watching your Dragoon build, and the precision that you strive for - a good influence on me.

Some reason I really like the 600-grit finish on the brass.  I think that with a polished bright finish, any slight imperfection stands out like  - well, not going there!

Ha! I frequently tell people I know a real rocket scientist as well!
I was just discussing Dave's work with my daughter over the weekend and pulled that phrase out of the hat.    8)


Offline Marcruger

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3702
Re: Another "dragoon" type pistol - Polishing the brass
« Reply #19 on: March 17, 2022, 04:11:17 AM »
Stunningly crisp work as always Doctor Crisalli.  I look forward to seeing that graceful pistol all finished up. 

Offline davec2

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2955
    • The Lucky Bag
Re: Another "dragoon" type pistol - Polishing the brass
« Reply #20 on: March 17, 2022, 04:33:29 AM »
Ok......now the brass is all polished.......



"No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into a jail; for being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned... a man in a jail has more room, better food, and commonly better company."
Dr. Samuel Johnson, 1780

Offline Bob Gerard

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1343
    • Powder Horns and Such
Re: Another "dragoon" type pistol - Finished polishing the brass
« Reply #21 on: March 17, 2022, 09:09:10 PM »
Dave, when you are finished building this handsome pistol let me know so I can come pick it up 😎

Offline davec2

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2955
    • The Lucky Bag
Re: Another "dragoon" type pistol - Finished polishing the brass
« Reply #22 on: March 17, 2022, 11:20:13 PM »
Bob,

You don't know the half of it.  I already have a matched pair of smooth bore Dragoons with steel barrels and I have two more stocks with inletted brass barrels that I had Ed Rayl make for me a few years ago.  So.....I should be up to my neck in Dragoon pistols soon.....not sure why ....except I like the shape... :o
"No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into a jail; for being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned... a man in a jail has more room, better food, and commonly better company."
Dr. Samuel Johnson, 1780

Offline Bob Gerard

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1343
    • Powder Horns and Such
Re: Another "dragoon" type pistol - Finished polishing the brass
« Reply #23 on: March 18, 2022, 12:03:16 AM »
Dave- you are enjoying the gifts that the Good Lord has given you and putting them to amazing use. Go with it my friend  ;)

Offline davec2

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2955
    • The Lucky Bag
Re: Another "dragoon" type pistol - Finished polishing the brass
« Reply #24 on: March 18, 2022, 05:23:24 AM »
Bob,

I was wrong.....I have four more pistols to complete.  The two smooth bores with walnut stocks and brass barrels and two more with .54 cal rifled barrels and Brazilian rosewood stocks that will be silver mounted....I think the Good Lord may have given me too many "gifts".... ???


"No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into a jail; for being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned... a man in a jail has more room, better food, and commonly better company."
Dr. Samuel Johnson, 1780