My Apprentice and Our English Fowler Project

[smart dog]

Hi,
Lots of stuff happening this winter.  I have an apprentice, Maria Gray.  She is a local high school senior who is greatly focused on history.  She is a member of Herrick's Vermont Rangers and Warner's Green Mountain Boys.  She intends to major in history in college.  Maria is extremely smart and a lightning quick study.  She wrote a grant proposal to her school for a senior project making a flintlock gun and learning the history of their manufacture.  The school system in Bethel, VT awarded her $1000 for the project.  Maria is the second high school student supported by their schools (different school systems) to work with me to build historical guns. I am informed that more are coming.  Maria and I dug deeply into the history of arms carried by those units.  It was clear that many carried muskets, including the long land pattern Brown Bess but also civilian fowlers.  The fowler fit Maria better because she wants to use it for reenacting but also for hunting.  She is tall and needs quite a bit of drop in the stock such that the muskets would be horrible guns for her.  I showed her a range of examples of fowlers available to 18th century New Englanders and she chose an English export fowler (not a trade gun, which seems to obsess so many who think colonists only carried old muskets, rifles, and trade guns, a terrible distortion of reality).  So we are making a good quality English export fowler based on my work and a gun restored by Jim Kibler that I own. The lock will be a Chambers round-faced English lock, the barrel will be a 20 gauge Rice Dolep barrel, the stock is a nice piece of English walnut that I bought from Jim Kibler some years ago.  We have not decided on whether the mounts will be brass or iron (steel).  I have a Fabulous iron plate forged by Ian Pratt, which is a possibility. This will be fun and I will post updates as we proceed.  Here are our preliminary drawings but we have to add more drop.  They are tracings of original 1760s fowlers that I own.


   






Maria really gets into the 18th century.  She has my copies of Grinslade's "Fowlers", John George's "English Guns and Rifles", Dixon's "The Art of Making the Pennsylvania Longrifle" , my working copy of Neal and Back's "Great British Gunmakers 1740-1790", and papers by DeWitt Bailey and Joe Puleo on the Wilson family and Ketland family of gunmakers; respectively.  She enjoys reading by candle light.  I advised her to freeze the candles first and they will last longer.




dave



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[2 shots]

 sounds like you are off to another great project, with another great student..those who get to work with you are extremely  lucky .

[James Rogers]

Neat project! I'm going to guess ideally she could use a lot of drop for the shoulder but at the same time needs height on the comb at the cheek area?

[smart dog]

Hi James,
Yep.  You have it exactly and I may need your help.

dave

[Wingshot]

It’s so refreshing to hear about any youngster immersing themselves into History like you described. Kudos to you for mentoring and furthering interest in what many believe is a dying avocation, hobby, or whatever one might call the passion. I’ve been into the shooting sports since I could walk and remember hearing (even way, way back then) that “our youngsters are the key to the survival of this lifestyle”. Truer words have never been spoken.

[smylee grouch]

Thank you for your efforts in promoting the history and the sport of muzzleloading.

[Daryl]

What an excellent project, Dave.

[Pukka Bundook]

Dave,
I like the lines of that gun already!
It just looks right.
So pleased you are doing this!!

[Bob Roller]

Dave,
On 8 July 2018 I walked into an Aldi's grocery store here and want thru the only check out line that was open.On that day a very beautiful young woman who has a Masters Degree in American History came into my life and now owns my collection of military history pertaining to WW2.
I told her about living in Chicago in a German neighborhood in that time and of meeting former German military people including a man who had been on the Bismarck and was able to get off of it as one of a few that did and a  tank commander that had been in Russia and survived..Her name is Amanda Beam and she is teaching in the 8th grade.She is interested in our muzzle loading activities and wants to get to a CLA Show.She also has seen pictures of some of my work making English style locks and was fascinated by them and had no idea anyone was doing such work here or anywhere.I hope your young friend is as willing a student as Amanda is to me.She is now 32.
Bob Roller

[duca]

Wow! That’s really Cool 😎. Yes, please keep us updated

Anthony

[David G]

What a special undertaking ! Rootin' for you and Maria to get this project worked out to perfection.

[smart dog]

Hi,
Thanks everyone.  This will be fun and we will turn out a good gun in the end.  The big difference with Maria, is she wants to know everything.  She doesn't want a kit.  She wants to work from a blank, learn woodworking, metalworking, engraving, welding, the whole thing plus the details of history relevant to her gun.  She wants to learn about the British gun trade as well as the colonial trade.  She is ambitious and dedicated.  Anyway, the project will move forward slowly at first because we still need the barrel.  Jason Schneider is making one for her and we will work on history, design, and some of the metal work until the barrel arrives. 

Richard, that stock design should look right because it comes right off an original gun.

dave

[J. Talbert]

Sounds like a fun project.  Looking forward to seeing the progress.

Jeff

[ScottH]

Sounds like a great project! Let her know that a bunch of ALR members are ready to cheer her on through the process. 

[BOB HILL]

Another great project, Dave.
Bob

[taterbug]

Very cool!

sometime when she's bored or waiting on parts, have her look up "Grime's Graves Norfolk".  just one more part of the English gun trade.  Most of the old houses around there (200-400 years old), and the roads and almost all concrete, were made using flint scraps from the mines.   Interesting when an errant dart skitters across the back patio. 

[Bob Gerard]

Best wishes to you both in this wonderful project! It will be a topic to certainly follow. You are doing such great things

[smart dog]

Hi Guys,
Thank you all but this is not about me.  Just like my project with Josh, who was blind.  I am just the vehicle and they are the story.  Thank you for complimenting me but they came to me to achieve their ambitions.  I am just helping that along and providing the skills and knowledge to make it happen.  It is their ambitions.  That is the story. 

dave

[Daryl]

Ahh, but, you are willing and able to assist them in accomplishing their dreams.

That's on you, Dave. Well done.

[Clark Badgett]

From my experience, when a woman learns to do metal working of any kind, she is usually far better than a man is at it.

[Jeff Murray]

It is so refreshing to read this type of story about a young person with the drive to pursue their interests, and the willingness to work for it.  Wish her fabulous success.

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

THIS is what ALR is all about! Thanks for sharing Dave!

[Jim Kibler]

I like the stock profile.  Looks real nice to my eye.

[Pukka Bundook]

It really looks good Jim!

Dave,

Looking at your drawing in the opening post made me wonder if a library of original stock profiles would be of value to the community?
We have quite a few here wishing to create a Longrifle or English sporting gun who do not have access to originals.
If we could garner outlines for folk to use, it would go a Long way to getting those interested on the right track.
To be honest, we see a good few guns made that are Very well fitted, but the lines are a little off.  This could be a great resource to help eleviate that problem.
Just thinking out loud...

[smart dog]

Hi Richard,
That is a great idea!  James Rogers, you, Jim Kibler, me and quite a few others have originals that could be traced and photographed. Long rifle makers have excellent resources in the CDs compiled by KRA as well as books.  However, there isn't anything similar for British guns from the same period.  I suggest we start with British guns and see how it goes. An issue is that the digital profiles have to be scalable so measurements or a scale have to be included with each one.  I will do this for guns I have and create a thread in "Miscellaneous Tutorials" as a trial balloon.  We can add to it later if folks are willing to share.

dave