patch box

[lew wetzel]

this is the patch box i got at the cla show friday.i made the top and bottum side plates.i didnt like how plain it lookrd with just the hinged lid and finial.so the side plates really added some character to it....i am trying to get as much done why i am waiting on my lock from chambers.i ordered a brass colonial lock from them at the show.cant wait to get it and get it installed also.

[ironwolf]

  Cool looking box Lew.  One question though.  Do you not file a draft onto the edges of your parts to be inleted?  That would effectually make the bottom of the part smaller than the top surface.  Then you could use blacking to show where the sides are touching, and shave off ONLY the high spots.  Much less gappy when done this way.  Should also be no gap between the lid and finial.

  Just an observation.
  Kevin

[lew wetzel]

kevin,no i didnt.i still have some things to learn.a little gap wont bother me on this gun,this is gonna be my trekking rifle.and i want it to look old when i am done with it.i will probably leave it out in the rain for a few days.i am in some what of a hurry to get this done as i have a trek coming up and i want to field this gun for it.my next build is a jaeger and i plan on doing some practice inletting before i begin.im better at wire inlay than i am at inletting parts.

[Dave B]

Lew,
It looks like a fun project. I had some one tell me about the use of soft solder to join the lid and the finial to gether as one pice by a third pice off flat stock that crosses between them on the top side. Obviously you want to have the contour of the lid done before you do this but it will keep every thing inplace when dropping it into the wood. Once your in place with screws you warm up the cross piece and pop them apart sand off the solder and your perfectly matched. I used the technique on one of my patch boxes and it worked fine.

[long carabine]

 Leo, I have the same patch box on my Virginia rifle minus the top and side plates. Its in Iron, what style is it considered? Tim

[lew wetzel]

i would say it is in the style of virginia guns.this rifle i am building is in keeping with that style.though the butt end is not as thick in the middle,cheekpiece area as the earlier guns,i did try to keep everything else in this style...

[smallpatch]

That side opening patch box is usually attributed to a Bucks county A Vernor rifle I believe.

[flehto]

Lew...sounds like you're out of breath "running" from one project to another and  in too much of a rush.  IMO, that's not the way to build MLers. Irregardless if the rifle shown is  for "trekking" or, whatever that means , the workmanship should be first rate or in any case, the best one can achieve.  Each MLer we build should be better than the previous one and constant discipline in quality of our work is req'd .  Your initiative and motivation are to be complimented...just slow down a might...Fred

[lew wetzel]

fred,trekking is going out into the wilderness and immulating the men such as wetzel,boone,kenton.working on your wilderness skills,such as fire starting,building shelters,tracking,ect,ect.
you are right though,i need to slow a bit.and work on finetuning some basic skills and learn some more advanced techniques...

[rich pierce]

kevin,no i didnt.i still have some things to learn.a little gap wont bother me on this gun,this is gonna be my trekking rifle.and i want it to look old when i am done with it.i will probably leave it out in the rain for a few days.i am in some what of a hurry to get this done as i have a trek coming up and i want to field this gun for it.my next build is a jaeger and i plan on doing some practice inletting before i begin.im better at wire inlay than i am at inletting parts.

Lew, you have a great future as you really have the "bug" and also your personality is really good for it- you are not afraid to try something new to you; you're not intimidated at all.  I would advise working slowly and getting the most out of each build, rather than building any guns quickly.  Right now is the best time to get your inletting skills honed to perfection.  I think inletting and shaping should be the #1 and #2 goals of any new gunbuilder.  For me, #3 should be finish of wood and metal, and decoration should come later in the priority of things.  When we look at established builders, we always see perfect inletting and shaping and their plain guns really stand out as much or even more than their highly decorated guns.

But I think every new builder wants to do it all every time, and my first scratch built longrifle had all the bells and whistles.  The inletting I did back then is hard for me to achieve now that my eyes are no longer young, but back then I didn't know anything about shaping or architecture and didn't know as much about original guns and regional styles.  Luckily, you've chosen a craft that will always challenge you.  Keeps it interesting for a lifetime.

(Fred and you replied while I was typing- you are on the right track now)

[lew wetzel]

rich,thanks for the incouraging words...i love flintlocks and the history surrounding them.i really do need to slow down and focus on the details.

[40Haines]

Lew.

Nice job.

Let’s see some of your caving; what I can see looks petty good.

The boys might be right about taking a deep breath once in a while.

One thing that helps me is I always have at least two projects going at one time.

This seems to keep me in the putzing mode.

Work on something for a while; work on something else for a while.

This helps a bunch when you get to a hard spot, gives you a chance to think while you keep busy.

Each of us develops their own style that works the best for us, but, the advice offered here about ALWAYS giving 100% is sound and true.

I am looking forward to watching your skills develop

Good Luck

Leo

[lew wetzel]

leo,my carving isnt that good,one side looks better than the other.the wire inlay i did on the stock looks real good.i will try to get some more pics posted this week .this is my 3rd rifle.i sold the last one and after i wish i could get it back and burn it.especially since i went to the cla show....my stepdad bought it off me said if i ever became a famous gun builder he wanted one of my first.it shoots real nice but isnt very pleasing to the trained eye.

[Leatherbelly]

 Chris,
  I really like your "drive" and your motivation. I think you will do well if you take your time. With saying this,you might do well to take a mentor,like Ian or Jim K. Sit with them,watch their tecnique,ask lots of questions,do the research. Rich  hit the nail on the head with regards to inletting and shaping. A plain rifle done correctly always outshines a fancy one that is banged together. Man, I'd love to build rifles with the likes of Fred Lehto,Bill Shipman, Rich Pierce, Dave Price but these gents have 120 years of experience amongst them,maybe more. Building a gun has many little projects that take you to your goal, a finished gun. I'm going to start with a precarve and see if I can get the inletting part down first. Then I'll try shaping it up to look right and fit me.If i screw up,and i will,it is not a big cost or loss of interest on my behalf. I'll know how to do it better next time.
 Thanks to all the great masters on this forum. We can all learn from them.

[lew wetzel]

thanks leatherbelly,i try to stay busy,and so far i have just built what i think i like.i have a jeager planned next and then i might try to copy an original or do a swivel breetch.i am still in a learning phase and have some basic skills i need to hone(inletting) for one.i am gonna get away from the precarves and do one out of a blank.i noticed at the cla show how wide the butt area is on alot of rifles and from what i have seen of the precarves they dont seem to be that wide especially in the cheek area.good luck on your build..and i would love to have a mentor to work with but all the guys near me are to busy to be instructing on a one on one basis,i get what i can out of the class every month in lodi and ian and jim are great instructors.

[don getz]

Rich.....I thought you would be at the CLA show?   Wha happened?  You really missed a good one.....Don

[rich pierce]

Yeah, I could kick myself.  Sorry to miss it and everyone there.  And I missed Dixon's too!  Bad summer.  I have had to tackle some jobs around the house that got neglected too long (it's more fun to make rifles or flints or just think and read about guns).  I have water damage at 2 corners of the roof and have been learning how to scab in new rafters, replace roofing boards, fix all the trim behind the gutters, etc.  All this became apparent when we had the very wettest spring and early summer on record- LOTS of pounding rains of 2-3".  Looks like once I get things structurally sound I'll have to replace the roof (shingles) too  (by now yiour eyes should be glazing over).

See- thinking about that stuff is not nearly as fun as longrifles!