What Are Must Have Tools for pistol building (English Heavy Dragoon)

[Benjamin Martin]

@Justin Urbantas I Sent The Email Address to you

[Benjamin Martin]

Anyone have tool recommendations?

[rich pierce]

Read Mike Brooks tutorial and see what he used to build a rifle. https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=31173.0

[smart dog]

Hi,
There is no such thing as an English heavy dragoon pistol.  The pistol you are thinking of was called the pattern 1738 or pattern 1756 land service pistol.  The British had no "heavy dragoons".  They had "dragoon guards" and "light dragoons".  The dragoon guards were previously known as cavalry or horse.  Here is a photo showing a pretty good commercial reproduction done for Colonial Williamsburg. The upper pistol is the land service arm.



I plan to rework the repro to make it more authentic.  It needs to lose some wood especially the pregnant fore stock. Pistols are a bit more of a challenge holding in vises compared with long arms.  A pattern makers vise is helpful.  Flat chisels and gouges are a must.  You will want a large gouge just a little smaller than the minimum diameter of the barrel.  You will want some small flat chisels 1/8" and smaller to stab in the edges of the mortises.  Half round rasps are very valuable for shaping the handle. You will need drills as well as taps and dies for 6-40, 8-32, and possibly 10-32 threads. Although you can use 6-32, I prefer more threads per inch on a screw that small in diameter.  You will need round, half round, and flat files in coarse and fine cut.  You will need a hand saw.  I prefer the Japanese saws that cut on the pull stroke.  You need a hacksaw, ball peen hammer, mallet, screw drivers, and soldering equipment.  A propane torch to solder and anneal metals is required. You will need a 5/16" diameter drill 18" long to drill the ramrod hole.  There is more but that is a start.

dave

[whetrock]

What are you using the 6-40 for, Dave?

[smart dog]

Hi,
Lock screws on pistol locks mostly but sometimes I need small machine screws to anchor nose caps and other mounts. Sling swivels are another item that I often use NO 6 screws for.   In addition, the small screw can be a quick fix for a ramrod that partially blocks the forward lock bolt although I usually turn the center of a larger 8-32 or 10-32
bolt thinner to clear the rod when I need that fix, which I do a lot on slim British fowlers.

dave

[Benjamin Martin]

Hi,
There is no such thing as an English heavy dragoon pistol.  The pistol you are thinking of was called the pattern 1738 or pattern 1756 land service pistol.  The British had no "heavy dragoons".  They had "dragoon guards" and "light dragoons".  The dragoon guards were previously known as cavalry or horse.  Here is a photo showing a pretty good commercial reproduction done for Colonial Williamsburg. The upper pistol is the land service arm.



I plan to rework the repro to make it more authentic.  It needs to lose some wood especially the pregnant fore stock. Pistols are a bit more of a challenge holding in vises compared with long arms.  A pattern makers vise is helpful.  Flat chisels and gouges are a must.  You will want a large gouge just a little smaller than the minimum diameter of the barrel.  You will want some small flat chisels 1/8" and smaller to stab in the edges of the mortises.  Half round rasps are very valuable for shaping the handle. You will need drills as well as taps and dies for 6-40, 8-32, and possibly 10-32 threads. Although you can use 6-32, I prefer more threads per inch on a screw that small in diameter.  You will need round, half round, and flat files in coarse and fine cut.  You will need a hand saw.  I prefer the Japanese saws that cut on the pull stroke.  You need a hacksaw, ball peen hammer, mallet, screw drivers, and soldering equipment.  A propane torch to solder and anneal metals is required. You will need a 5/16" diameter drill 18" long to drill the ramrod hole.  There is more but that is a start.

dave

I have seen the term "English Heavy Dragoon" in many places that is the only reason I referred to it as that , but I do understand that that a "English heavy dragoon" would be naming a wide genera of pistols. For there are many years they were made. Thanks for the tips on the tools Everyone. Any bit of info is MUCH APPRECIATED.

[Daryl]

All those "Middlesex"(there is or was a Canadian importer as well)guns are made in India. Some are close, others I have seen, including the one I bought were garbage. Garbage locks, garbage barrels, garbage stocks & garbage water soluble finishes.
Most of the musket barrels start as 1" "high tensile strength" tubing that is ground and polished to a taper. Those Indians are quite talented  however the tubes do not end up with consistent ballel walls.
That's what I know about those guns.

[smart dog]

Hi Benjamin,
Unfortunately, all of those write ups on the pistol are wrong with respect to its proper name and they perpetuate the misinformation that the British had "heavy dragoons".  The write up by MBS is particularly wrong because the pistol was rarely used if ever during the American Revolution.  There were no British Dragoon Guards or heavy cavalry sent to America.  They would have been useless in America.  Only the 16th and 17th light dragoons fought in the Revolution and they were armed with either Elliott or Royal Forester's light dragoon pistols.  There was no one likely to be issued the big land service pistol.  Officers had personal side arms privately made and purchased and the rank and file infantry did not carry pistols. Sailors had their own sea service arms. 

dave