Construction of secondary long nosecap on club butt fowler

[JH Ehlers]

If I had to make something like this I would...
If using thin brass sheet have wood running all the way through and tuck the sheet around into the barrel channel, wedge at bottom to hold everything tight to the barrel. The first photo looks like thin sheet.
If using thick brass sheet, might only have wood at the rear end and wedge to hold to the barrel. To me it looks only like a decorative feature but might be wrong.

[JH Ehlers]

Just had this thought, having been a seaman at some stage of my life. They might have lashed some kind of knife or dagger to the end. A seaman would do that kind of thing.  thats now if these guns were used by seamen 

[Mike Brooks]

Good Golly. I had no idea this would be so controversial.  Look at the several examples in Grinslades book. This is a " school" of club butt fowling guns. Very area specific. Just quirky is all, nothing more, nothing less.

[bluenoser]

Controversial??
I had to go back and read through the thread looking for the controversy.  Couldn't find it.  Looks like just another discussion and sharing of information, thoughts and ideas to me.  Some float and some don't.
Just sayin.

[JH Ehlers]

Mike, I had hope to see some people do that, I guess thats out of the question now.

[Mike Brooks]

It just gets a little old when people who don't know what they're looking at make a WAG when the answer has already been stated.

[JH Ehlers]

Apologies Mike, I went read the whole thing and saw you did clear up the mystery. I get told by my wife all the time that I don't listen, hear or read everything.
Are you going to lash a knife to the one you are going to build?   

[Daryl]

I don't think my wife has every said that to me, but she may have.

[Mike Brooks]

Apologies Mike, I went read the whole thing and saw you did clear up the mystery. I get told by my wife all the time that I don't listen, hear or read everything.
Are you going to lash a knife to the one you are going to build?   

Sword.

[Not English]

Adrie, thanks for the link regarding fowlers. Interesting reading.

[k gahagan]

Hello Rick, Love that nose cap. I've used that several times on builds including the one in the picture that was posted by Adrie Luke. I'll include pictures of a couple more although they are all similiar and done in the same way. My thoughts are this piece was fabricated after there was no longer a need to use a bayonet and you were now concerned about protecting the end of your fragile stock. First there is no wood under this cap. I made mine in one piece by making a half tube seection and flaring out the end toward the butt end to go over the stock wood that was been beveled down to fit under it. It is held down by going over the lug and a pin to secure it. I've never had any problem with this arrangement. I tapered the pin a little and it doesn't move. I though it was going over the previous lug for the bayonet but am not absolutely sure about that. One question I had with this setup is how there was a front site in that location with a bayonet in place. I'm thinking that was moved or added at some point. In any case I really like the looks of it.

[rich pierce]

Thanks, Ken! Making progress on the build. Barrel in and pinned, ramrod hole drilled, thimbles made. Gotta make a few more parts. I’m fiddling with fabricating vs modifying a buttplate. Prototype fabricated from sheet brass looks like it will work. Trigger and plate and side plate to be made also. I’ve been advised to simply solder the silver wings onto the side plate (see CB-6 and 7 in Grinslade’s book for the side plates with raised silver “inlays” on the side plates).

Mine is based on those 2 but petite with a 39”, 20 gauge Colerain turkey choke oct/rd barrel. My Wilson English round face lock is assembled from TRS castings; just have to harden the parts. Going to have to get the forge going to deep case harden the frizzen, as regular hardening does not seem enough on TRS frizzens and I don’t want to face this one. 

Question on trigger plate - builder’s choice, among “just a nut”, “boat”, and “keyhole” styles?

[Mike Brooks]

I think I always did "just a nut" on the ones I made. Of course I don't think I ever put a buttplate on one either. I just made them all very "utilitarian". They were all jug choked turkry blasters anyway.
EDIT: I guess I did do one with a buttplate! Appears to have all 1st model bess parts. Why didn't I keep these guns.

[James Rogers]

I think I always did "just a nut" on the ones I made. Of course I don't think I ever put a buttplate on one either. I just made them all very "utilitarian". They were all jug choked turkry blasters anyway.
EDIT: I guess I did do one with a buttplate! Appears to have all 1st model bess parts. Why didn't I keep these guns.

That one would be extremely "nifty" in my book!

[oldtravler61]

  Everything Mike makes is Nifty....just saying...

[Mike Brooks]

I want to see Ken Gahagen's club butt he teased us with above!

[rich pierce]

I want to see Ken Gahagen's club butt he teased us with above!

Maybe this one.
http://contemporarymakers.blogspot.com/2010/10/american-club-butt-fowler-by-ken.html

[Mike Brooks]

I want to see Ken Gahagen's club butt he teased us with above!

Maybe this one.
http://contemporarymakers.blogspot.com/2010/10/american-club-butt-fowler-by-ken.html

Ah, very high on the nifty scale. I don't get to see near enough of his stuff.