New Build: .54 Flintlock

[blackpowderscout]

Finally got a chance to get over to Supercracker's place and get a little work done on my next gun. It's a .54 rifle using Jim Chambers' parts.

I have been in Georgia for the last couple months at a school so I haven't been able to do squat to this but I was extremely pleased with what Supercracker has done with it in his spare time thus far. He inletted the barrel, breech plug, lock, trigger plate, butt plate, and side plate...LOL!! All the hard stuff!!! He did a FANTASTIC job though, very nice tight inletting.

This afternoon I inlet two of the ramrod thimbles. And smoked a pipe and BS'ed. Good times.

Here's what we got so far:











More to follow in the coming weeks. This one's gonna have some nice touches that I'm really excited about.

[fishindad]

Nice! Cool to see the process. Cant wait to see the final pics!

[30.06]

another fine looking hand crafted gun!

[blackpowderscout]

Went back over today. Supercracker is doing a heck a of job!

Getting ready to drill the tang bolt:




Filing a little space in the breech plug for the rear lock bolt


Looking good! Triger is in, triggerplate, lockplate and bolts, all three ramrod pipes....












The markers are just some ideas we have for some engraving....

I'm getting excited!

[30.06]

looks great! does he only work on blackpowder guns?

[blackpowderscout]

What other kind of guns are there? LOL!

I'd have to let Supercracker answer for himself on that one. I'm sure he'll be along some time.

[Supercracker]

What other kind of guns are there? LOL!

I'd have to let Supercracker answer for himself on that one. I'm sure he'll be along some time.

To be fair, I didn't know you were doing another thread til last weekend. lol

No, right now it's just muzzleloaders. While I do work on antique breechloading hammerguns for myself. The legalities, technicalities, liabilities and mountain of paperwork involved to be able to work on anything other than MLs is just too daunting. Besides. I already have about 18 months worth of ML stuff in here to work on. lol

My goal is to be building late 18th - early 19th century sporting guns, but I have a long, long, long, long, long way to go before I get to that kind of skill level. The work that those smiths were doing by hand before there was even freaking electricity is nothing short of amazing. Some of it truly defies belief.





Mortimer 6 BORE double rifle. That's a .92 caliber

[Supercracker]

This was Napoleon Bonapartes gun.

The next time you run into a gunsmith who finds things like getting a buttplate on straight too tall of an order remember, this was done by a little old French guy, before the invention of electricity working with nothing but hand tools in King Louis' garage.

This is the level I want to be at someday.

[30.06]

Those are some beautiful works of artisinal craftsmanship. I was just wondering, i have some old gunparts, M1903 springfield armory parts that were left by my great grandfather. He had built himself a beautiful m1903 sporter, and i am going to build one with the spare parts he left. i have everything i need but the receiver and stock, and am looking at a synthetic stock, as there is no inletting required. This will be the first gun i build, and i will have to have it headspaced by a gunsmith, maybe one day i will be able to afford a nice piece of wood to put under it instead of black plastic.

[blackpowderscout]

Well, I finally got around to getting back over to Supercracker's shop to fiddle around some more.

We took a hacksaw to the barrel today...........

Only to dovetail a rear sight in though...LOL







Almost there!!!

[Supercracker]

Ok, PROGRESS. I've been so incredibly tied up and busy with work that I haven't even attempted to do anything else for the last couple of months.

Over the last couple of weekends I managed to get all of the inletting done, the metal polished, the stock wood smoothed up and now I've started the long process of hand rubbing in an oil finish. While that's being done there's a little engraving to do....then it's pig time.




On the home stretch now. First coat of oil. One down, 15 or so to go. lol

[jtcmedic]

Looks nice.

[FLQuacker]

What a project!

Very cool...not sure why but it reminds me how bad I want to build a guitar one day...

[blackpowderscout]

Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait......I'm tired from 2 weeks of sleeping in a swamp but I'm excited about finely shooting this rifle!

[lonehunter]

Oct to round barrel, Is that a smoothbore or rifled barrel?
Good looking build!