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  1. O

    Saving a D/B Smoothbore

    I still have 10 fingers and I agree with your perspective....
  2. O

    Grip Safety

    Do you mean a sliding thumb safety or do you mean a depressible device that will prevent the sears from disengaging? Thumb safeties were about universal by the cartridge era but I've never seen one fitted to a muzzleloader; muzzleloaders commonly relying upon the 1/2 cock notch of the tumbler...
  3. O

    Saving a D/B Smoothbore

    Any idea what they actually use for charge? OG
  4. O

    Saving a D/B Smoothbore

    Nice Job, I've had a few bad experiences with the structural integrity of aged Damascus barrels over the years so I'm rather curious as to the re-proofing standards applied to black powder firearms in Britain. As you know, we have no such requirements here in the states so we pretty much...
  5. O

    Restorian The English Sporting Gun

    Hello Feltwad, I do agree that a fine old firearm should restored in a way that reflects its history and use. There is nothing nicer than a well cared for 200 year old antique with wonderful mellow patina; but what should you do with a basically sound firearm that has a disfigurement that...
  6. O

    Stain on maple stocked American muskets

    Just a thought on the issue of stain. There are early references at Springfield Armory over the use of an alcohol / walnut shell based stain for coloring stocks on martial arms. The thought occurs to me that there must be a very large number of plant based materials suitable for making dyes that...
  7. O

    Stain on maple stocked American muskets

    Thanks Artificer for the referral to Eric Kettenburg's article on traditional varnishes; I've seen bits and pieces of info over the years but never as much good information in one place before. Very useful, thanks again. old gunsmith
  8. O

    Stain on maple stocked American muskets

    Hello Dave, I would think that the issue of original finish treatment would be situational, that is to say according to the taste of the local gunsmith who would be doing the modification to an existing arm or a new fabrication using salvaged parts from earlier arms. To my knowledge, there...
  9. O

    CVA Mountain Rifle Misfiring

    Sorry to drop in to the conversation so late but I have a couple of random thoughts to pontificate. I have a couple of solid bolster rifles that have their ignition channels bored at an angle from the flash chamber below the nipple into the bore. In both cases I've found the depth that the...
  10. O

    Barrel harmonics

    I've always looked at it this way: in a modern gun the stock supports the barrel; in an antique style, the barrel supports the wood. old gunsmith
  11. O

    Renaissance Wax

    We find Renaissance to have a number of uses around the shop, many of them already mentioned. We also find Renaissance to be an excellent mold release when doing fiberglass repairs to wood to prevent the metal parts from adhering to the repairs, We also use it as a final coating to refinished...
  12. O

    1851 Navy Colt Value

    Hello to Col Batguano: I have a number of clients who deal in antique and collectible guns and on occasion will work for a couple of auction houses. I also try to make a point of following auction prices. And as a young man I was a "picker" of American martial arms for a living. As you may...
  13. O

    1851 Navy Colt Value

    Boy, those grips are really something! I can't tell from the photo what the motif of the carving on the panel might be but if the motif is for the American market rather than the Mexican market, then the grips are worth as much as the revolver, maybe more. Even as grips for the Mexican market...
  14. O

    Landed an original 3-band Enfield

    Just thought I would propose a heretical opinion: sometimes restoration instead of preservation makes sense. Some folks would look at this rifle and try to remove the corosion and accept the pitting as a legitimate part of this rifle's history- that's the preservation perspective. Some folks...
  15. O

    How to remove heat scale?

    Mild acids like vinegar and muriatic will remove heat scale but you get a very rapid rusting where the fluid meets the air, consequently you really need to submerge the part in the bath to be safe. I think you might have a problem using acid in your bore. I might suggest you try a super...
  16. O

    cutting the patch at the muzzle?

    I find that pre-cuts sometimes get dragged to one side and load off center, though I can't say how much that will affect accuracy. I feel that muzzle cutting probably makes for a more uniform load. Regards, Old Gunsmith
  17. O

    Ramrods and Brass Black

    Common household bleach wiped on a few times will cause brass to turn a greenish "vertagris". Regards, Old Gunsmith
  18. O

    artificially aging steel

    One of the ways we age steel to produce good patina is to use a damp box made out of plywood long enough for the whole barrel to be hung inside. It's a good idea to varnish the inside of the box to waterproof it. Rig a 40 watt light bulb as a low heat source near the bottom of the box. (hang the...
  19. O

    Hard Fouling

    You might try a animal based lube such as mutton tallow and the old standby "black solve" both availablein fron Dixie Gun Works. When shooting out in Colorado where it was hot and dry I found the tallow to work well when using both Goex and Swiss. Black Solve has been around since the 1950's and...
  20. O

    Very Un-happy

    About 10 years ago there was a problem with an antique cannon barrel recovered from one of the rivers in Maine. The article I saw in "Down East" magazine said the barrel was colonial period and had been under water for a very long time. It had been out of the water a couple of years outside in...
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