Building another flintlock

[Eric Krewson]

More to the story;

Joe wasn't a blacksmith and sent queries out the gun builders who were about having the correct pieces made, he was quoted $450 for the work. Too much, so he set up an old BBQ grill with a heat gun for air, made a forge and started banging on metal. It took about two weeks for him to get the hang of it, he has been forging his own mounts ever since. 

[caveman2533]

Up here in pensyltucky if I was to build a gun to hunt the late Muzzleloader season it would have to be at least a .45 and a flinter. No percussion  allowed in that season and must be at least .45.  The Bogle's are good looking guns

[stickbender]

     calm your heart down a beat or two J.W., Dixie Arms sold a swivel breech gun, made by .....scrscchkttzztffztt, darn brain fart again, aww crap, they also made an under hammer percussion
boot pistol, and rifle....  Can't think of it at the moment.  Ahhh, power up, it was a Hopkins and Allen.  The rifle was called a buggy gun, and the pistol was a 10 inch barrel boot gun.  I almost bought one, back in the early 70's, but the thought of the cap falling off of the upside down hammer system, and how to safely cock it, by turning the gun up, or not, so I did not.  But that might be what the guy's father had.  But whatever it is, let us know.  Good luck, and I have my fingers crossed for you, that it is an original.  I don't know if Dixie still sells them or not, or if the H&A company is still in business.  I doubt it.

                                    Wayne

                                   

[Eric Krewson]

Time to drill for the tang bolt. This bolt goes through the tang and is threaded into the trigger plate. I use a drilling jig in my drill press to make sure everything hits where it is supposed to. I never get a perfect countersink on these holes but close enough.





Tapping the trigger plate;



Done;

[Eric Krewson]

Drilling for the barrel pin holes is next;

The barrel supports the stock on a flintlock not the other way around. I installed three lugs under the barrel that I will drill for pins that will go through the stock and attach the stock top the barrel.

I mark the lug where I want the drill to hit;



Line everything up and drill. Hitting the lug goes well most of the time, in this case I saw the drill bit bend as it started in, and missed the lug. I always buy extra lugs, just in case.



Toothpicks hide the errant hole that came out in the wrong spot. They won't show on the finished gun.



The next try hit perfectly.



Pin in and placed correctly;

[mullet]

Thanks, Eric, always wondered how that was set up.

[Eric Krewson]

Here are the details;

I put a broken arrow with a field point in my drill vise and adjust it to where the bit hits perfectly on the field tip point. I drill a pilot hole in the trigger plate to rest on the field point, level everything up and drill. I have the barrel on a support with sandbags holding it in place so nothing can slip side to side or up and down.

For the barrel pins, I put the barrel in the drill press vise and line up the bit with the lug. Next I put the barrel back in the stock, put barrel and stock back in the vise, line up my marks on the barrel and drill.

[Eric Krewson]

Time to drill and tap for the lock bolt. These pictures are staged as I screwed up my first attempt by trying to drill through the stock and breech plug at the same time. My bit skated on the breechplug and came out 1/8" high at the lockplate. It had been a while since I made one of these guns and had forgotten the exact sequence to get the job done. I did it right the next time and hit perfectly.

First step, decide where you want the bolt to screw in the lock bolster(thick part).



I should have just drilled a pilot hole on my first attempt but drilled and tapped for a 10/32 bolt which made an exact hit crucial. I didn't have an exact hit the first time. I filled my first hole with a dowel and redrilled.

Take your barrel out and drill through the stock and into the lock plate with an 11/32" tap sized hole.



Run your tap through the stock and tap the hole in the bolster.



Put the barrel back in and mark your breechplug for drilling, don't try to drill it in the stock.



Drill a generous hole for your lock bolt, you don't want any interference between your lock bolt and tang as this could split your stock when you fire the gun.



I open the hole even more. to be on the safe side.



Test fit, perfect, I cut have to cut the bolt off to the correct length. I did drill a tight fit clearance hole through the stock after I was sure the lock bolt would thread perfectly into the lock plate.



 

[Eric Krewson]

So, for the first time I have the lock and trigger reassembled and bolted in, barrel in and held tight by the tang screw, time for a function check;



The set triggers don't work. I pulled them and saw a tiny soot mark on one side of the trigger inlet. I removed the black mark with my chisel, reinstalled the triggers and voila, they work perfectly. The lock functions just like it is supposed to as well.

[Eric Krewson]

It's buttplate time;

When you build one of these guns you want a perfect fit for yourself. To find out just what length of pull and drop in the stock will fit me I use a "try stock". Pretty simple but once I get it properly adjusted I can close my eyes, shoulder the stock, open my eyes and be looking down the sights with them perfectly aligned. I transfer the measurements from my try stock to my work in progress.

An adjustable try stock;





The buttplate comes as  fairly rough casting so cleaning it up and getting rid of the casting sprue is the first order of business.



 

[Urufu_Shinjiro]

Still enjoying the heck out of this thread, looking good Eric!

[Eric Krewson]

 It takes a little grinding and a lot of filing to shape up a buttplate.

Getting rid of the casting sprue is first, the file is chalked to prevent it from picking up filings and scratching my work surface.



Next you need to turn sharp edges into flat edges so you can have a clean inlet.



After filing out all the marks you can it is time for sandpaper for hours of endless sanding. I go to 220 grit which works well for browning.



Done for now, inletting it into the stock is next.

[chamookman]

Really enjoying this Eric - Thanks ! Bob

[JW_Halverson]

Cleaning up rough castings is something I have always enjoyed.  Sick, huh?

[Parnell]

Man, I knew this type of project required lots of work but I'm pretty taken back Eric.  Wow.
Really interesting.