Paul T Posted May 16, 2015 Report Share Posted May 16, 2015 That looks superb Personally, I think the worm damage adds character to it and makes it look 'believable' and correct. A perfect, blemish free piece of wood would look fantastic, but quite out of place on a old gun that should show a bit of patina and also some life history. I'd be very pleased with that, well done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonwolf444 Posted May 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2015 Paul T - That was the hope, When your the one who's sat down working on something you will always see every single flaw so I'm glad from the outside it looks believable to you. I have had a good few shots with it today on some clays in the field and its much pointier and better and quicker to the eye; i won't shoot pyrodex on game, the pyrodex i have is the Pyrodex P pistol grade stuff, it burns too quickly and while it will throw the lead out the end of the barrel and will kill at short ranges it does not perform comparably to real black powder down range, when i have used it on game in the past its been mostly a failure; perhaps my loads are imperfect however the black powder loads i have used untill i ran out recently have been real game getting loads so i'm just going to wait till i can be bothered to go to Leeds to get some more black powder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul223 Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 How many screws do you need for the but pad? I may have a pair of screws that would / could suit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonwolf444 Posted May 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 Just two would do very nicely! My parts box came up short in this regard. PM sent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lord_seagrave Posted May 25, 2015 Report Share Posted May 25, 2015 Just a quick note to say I have loved reading this thread. What a privilege to share in your craft Demonwolf444 - keep it coming! LS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonwolf444 Posted May 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2015 Cheers i have hundreds ( perhaps a thousand or more? ) of photo's documenting a handful of restorations. I don't put them all up because this is my life and it feels a little invasive to put everything online for the world to pick at however i do get a lot from sharing my work with people so its comments from people that makes it worth while to continue to post. Back to the gun i have checkered the wrist using what i call "The William Powell Method" which is is not but if you watch William Powells video on youtube on their gunmaking and watch carefully how they lay out the checkering that is the method i used and i learned it from their video Its an incredibly simple idea and while my previous method worked fine their method is quicker. I took a full day to ensure the checkering was laid out how it should be, this is one of the other unspoken difficulties of stock making, while cutting a checker takes a small amount of skill its straight forward process the hidden difficulty is getting it to look right for the type and age of the gun. A quick look at checkering. Early fowling pieces where there is any checkering at all have a very square checkering pattern, the lines intersect at very close to right angles, i suspect at about 70 degree's in very early guns as you can see in this picture below: This gives a short and very squat square looking checker, which is then associated with these early guns. As time progresses the angle seems to decrease slightly, in percussion guns you start to see slightly more elongated diamonds in the checker The angle then decreased to perhaps 50 degree's i have not measures its just a guess but the pictures illustrate my point. Then when we start to get to the early breech loading period the checker becomes significantly elongated into diamonds, throughout this there is obviously variations between makers but we get to something below that we all recognize Laying out checkering. In most english guns its a good guide line to say checker up to the spur in the trigger guard and down to the end of the trigger guard no more no less. There are lots of different ways to checker, Outline a panel and then infill it with checkering made of two master lines - this is quick and easy. To do two separate panels where the boarders are the master line but the panels are distinctly separate or only joined by a single connecting line ( this is often seen on low grade english guns ). To do one continuous panel that wraps fully around the wrist with no breaks where the boarders are the master lines, this is the most time consuming and technically challenging, sometimes called "full wrap around checker" Most early guns; even low grade early guns have a full wrap around pattern, the other types only really being used when guns are being made quickly in large numbers. The other thing to consider is flat top or pointed checkering? Again most early guns were flat top checkered and its best to replicate this if your checkering an early gun, some collectors are firm on this and that it is the only way to checker a vintage gun, while they are right, i feel if you have a vintage gun and you enjoy shooting it regularly you may as well point up the diamonds if you really want to as you will wear it down in ten years or so anyway. Back to the gun, The checkering was one of the glaring screw ups of the first attempt. Below is a picture of the gun and all the problems should now be evident. We can now list all the way in which the checkering went against the rules set out above. The diamonds are to long for such an early gun. The front of the checker goes well beyond the trigger guard spur to the point it's practically wrapping around the lock plate. Because the angle is wrong for a gun of this vintage the checker goes well past the end of the trigger guard and therefore climbs up the stock towards the comb. The diamonds are pointed and would look even worse if they were not as the lay out would look even worse. I still need to checker the forend and do the final sand, fill and finish the stock but here is the wrist checkering, its a full wrap around pattern, currently boarder less but i may ad a single line boarder. I'm reasonably happy with it and i think it sits right on the gun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonwolf444 Posted May 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2015 Think i will have to get it out in some natural light to get a better impression of the over all effect as the phone camera is not great inside. My order from blackleys is still being processed; can't wait to get new hammers sorted. Once i have done all the filling and finishing the wood worm and carvings in the affected area's should clean up a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonwolf444 Posted May 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2015 Checkered the forend today along with doing some bits to other projects, pleased with how it came out, should be able to easily hide the join of the for end section piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.