The Braintree Hill gun shop

[smart dog]

Hi,
I thought some of you might like this.  The gun shop at Braintree Hill is humming.  My apprentice, Maria, graduated high school with another substantial scholarship for college.  She works at her horse stables but she works for me 3 days a week.   She has 3 and maybe 4 British muskets and carbines to build before autumn and I have to reproduce the Hawk New England fowler, make another English fowler, and 2 John Manton late flint sporting rifles.  She is also refurbishing a model 1766 Charleville musket. The shop is big enough for both of us to work mostly independently and the result is a shop that is humming with activity.  Drills are drilling, rasps are rasping, hammers are pounding, files are filing, and saws are sawing creating an old atmosphere of busy skilled work.  It is a sight to see and hear.  This is not Colonial Williamsburg.  We are not reliving the 18th century but we uphold the spirit and feeling of all those old gun shops in which skilled gun makers plied their trade.  Moreover, we can bounce back and forth between the American experience and the British. We break every day at 3pm for tea overlooking the mountain view, and then get back to work. It is heaven.

dave

[Preacher Dave]

Thanks for the update on Maria and your shop. I'm looking forward to seeing more pictures of some of the projects as the two of you move forward. Will you lose her come fall when college starts?

[smylee grouch]

Sounds like busy almost hectic times. Just curious what locks you will use on the sporting rifles.

[Dwshotwell]

I love this post, but particularly the part about breaking for tea every day and enjoying the view. Truly does sound like heaven. Enjoy.

[smart dog]

Hi Dwshotwell,
I guarantee that the sounds alone from the shop would make you smile.

dave

[smart dog]

Thanks for the update on Maria and your shop. I'm looking forward to seeing more pictures of some of the projects as the two of you move forward. Will you lose her come fall when college starts?

Hi,
Yes, she will be at school in the fall but I may not lose her.  We will see, however, my hope for her is to soar wherever her talents and ambitions send her.  She may come back next summer but if not, that is fine.  I know her experience here is helping to set her up for a wider future.  That is all that is important.  We will just have to see what the future holds and I am good with that.

dave

[smart dog]

Sounds like busy almost hectic times. Just curious what locks you will use on the sporting rifles.

Hi,
One lock will be a Pedersoli Mortimer lock that I completely work over including getting rid of the stupid gothic stamp of Mortimer on the lock plate.  It will be a fine lock when I am done.  The other may be a Kibler or Chambers but I need to see if it can be transformed from an export quality lock to a high end sporting gun lock. I am not sure what I will do.

dave

[smallpatch]

Dave,
I just have one thing to say…….. SHOW OFF !

[Osprey]

Wonderful!

[smylee grouch]

Will be looking forward to seeing some nice hand made art.

[smart dog]

Hi Smylee,
Well here is the next gun out the shop, a Ferguson that heads to Louisiana.

























dave

[Bob Roller]

Sounds like busy almost hectic times. Just curious what locks you will use on the sporting rifles.

Hi,
One lock will be a Pedersoli Mortimer lock that I completely work over including getting rid of the stupid gothic stamp of Mortimer on the lock plate.  It will be a fine lock when I am done.  The other may be a Kibler or Chambers but I need to see if it can be transformed from an export quality lock to a high end sporting gun lock. I am not sure what I will do.

dave

 I wish I had bought a few more Chambers Late Ketlands.I made a few with the improved "3 pin mechanism"and linked tumbler.
Only the external parts were used and these are good looking locks.Shop work for me is about over because my lower back has
become a bother,stenosis and there have been times it took a real effort to walk the 100 feet from the shop to the back door of the
house.Standing at the bench for any time is out.I made 14 Twiggs with this mechanism and was pleased with the outcome and the
comments they drew.I do have a preference for these English locks and guns,
Bob Roller

[Joe Stein]

Wonderful!  It sounds like it will be a joy to go to the shop each day.

[smylee grouch]

Great looking work. Thanks for posting all the good quality photos.

[Jim Kibler]

Sounds like you and Maria are doing great.  I bet it feels good to be part of an energetic and productive shop.  I spent many years working alone and know having coworkers can be nice.  Great job!

[smart dog]

Hi Jim,
It is nice and actually surprising to me.  I am very much an introvert and usually being around people every day drains me. I like to live and work alone mostly but Maria is a delight and somehow we energize each other.  There is another thing.  In teaching and mentoring Maria, I have to be able to describe how and why I do each task the way I do.  It is an exercise in reflection.  I have to make sure I have logical and good reasons for what I do because she will pick up right away on anything questionable or illogical. I never declare, "well that is just the way you do it".  She knows very well that dogmatic people are best ignored.

dave   

[Dwshotwell]

There is no better way to master a subject than to teach it to someone else. Someone smarter than me wrote that at some point but I’ve seen it in action more than once. It forces you to think about your process and often you end up becoming better in the process.

[smart dog]

Hi,
The shop is humming and the sounds and activity really make you think of an 18th century gun shop.  It was a nice day for a change so I opened the barn door and the ambiance would remind you of Gayle Hoskin's paintings. My apprentice, Maria, is making 2 pattern 1769 Brown Bess muskets from rough blanks and a combination of Pedersoli, Miroku, and TRS parts. Here she is whacking in the barrel of one.













In the background you can see another musket barrel to be inlet and a crate being built to ship a Ferguson rifle.

There is also a lock for a New England fowler being fabricated and the complete refurbishing of a Miroku Charleville musket.  The Charleville was terribly corroded and needed a lot of rehabilitation including reworking the lock. It caught badly at half cock when you lightened the trigger pull because the arrangement of the tumbler notches was very poor. We took care of that





 The stock was covered by thick brown dull waxy gunk that someone thought was an authentic finish.  Maria took care of that and reworked the stock to look very much like an original in the Fort Ticonderoga museum, which we visited to compare notes.  Maria did the research, examined some originals and reworked the Miroku gun accordingly.  Here is the stock almost finished.
   



There is a persistent myth spread by folks familiar with WW1 and WW2 weapons and also some 19th century American muskets that all 18th century British and French stocks were soaked in linseed oil that created a dull in the wood oil finish.  This is rubbish.  No armory would finish a gun in just oil that would take months to cure.  They used varnishes usually with linseed oil.  The end result was somewhat glossy not dull and "in the wood".  I'll post completed photos of the Charleville soon.  You could put it in a display case at Fort Ti and no one would know it was a reproduction.

Right now, we are a beehive of activity and it is really nice.  I included some sunset photos.  So many days of storms and rain, it is nice to have a clear day.
 







dave

[Bob Gerard]

It’s really a wonderful thing when we take a pause from the moment and realize, “These are the good ol’ days”.
Enjoy !!!

[2 shots]

 it would be great if Maria could show up at kempton.   both of you are lucky people. living the dream as they say.

[Hank01]

Could say i'm jealous but would it do any good? Dave, you are living the life!

Hank

[alacran]

Enjoy the moment Dave. Your hard work and generosity have given you this gift.

[smart dog]

Thanks for looking and commenting guys.  Alacran, you are completely right.  I am very fortunate to enjoy this summer of work with Maria in my shop.

Attached are photos of the finished Miroku Charleville.  We did not take any prior photos of the whole gun except Maria has a few of various rusty components. The musket was badly corroded and the stock almost black with some dull waxy finish.  It had been like that for years and the current owner purchased it in that condition. The unit referred to it as "that dirty French musket".  Well, no longer.  They are about to be gob smacked by Maria's work.



























dave

[rich pierce]

Mighty fine.

[mountainman]

That's an amazing transformation!! Beautiful work Maria!