A Sharps project

[Phil Coffins]

At a collector’s show I found an original1863 Sharps carbine in my price range (modest) that has a good bore and it’s all there and working. Even the priming system is working. What knocked the price down is all the parts had been blued. Fortunately all the markings are clear, not buffed out like many I’ve seen. My intention is to restore it as close to right as I can by doing a proper color case hardening on these parts (except the barrel of course) and a bit of work on the wood. Any student of Sharps will easily recognize it as refinished but it will look as close to as issued as I can get. A set of lead jaws to hold the barrel needs to be cast so the barrel can be removed then all the parts for color case can be annealed before each gets touched up. Photos and targets in the future.
IMG_0369 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

 

[64Springer]

Keep us posted on your progress.

Real case hardening has been on my bucket list for a long time.

Need to gather up the ingredients and get busy.

My ceramic kilns should work as a heat source.

 

[2 shots]

hard to find one at at a fair price these days. everyone seems to think they have the only one ever made.

 

[Phil Coffins]

Here’s the parts after annealing, without oxygen there is no scaling to deal with.
IMG_0370 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

 

[Col. Batguano]

What a great project! Guys that know their way around a shop can really come up with some wonderful stuff in the end.

Of course, the really BIG savings come if you know how to do household plumbing and electrical repairs.

 

[Old-Duckman]

I KNOW that you will do it justice...Can't wait to see the finished project!

 

[Phil Coffins]

Got the case coloring done, about what I was aiming for and the markings are all clear. Next a bit of cleaning of the wood then it can go back together.
IMG_0376 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

 

[64Springer]

Looks great.

Did you high polish the pieces prior to the treatment?

Care to share materials used and sources for purchasing.

Thanks.

 

[Phil Coffins]

Looks great.

Did you high polish the pieces prior to the treatment?

Care to share materials used and sources for purchasing.

Thanks.

High polish would be Inappropriate as I wanted to match the finish it had originally. 320 grit was as fine as I went after draw fileing some select spots of pitting. There’s plenty of pits still on most of the parts.
Brownell‘s had everything needed from furnace to charcoal, even got basic instructions from them.

 

[PathfinderNC]

Metallurgy fascinates me. It looks like you are in your element there. Phil! It’s going to look great I bet.

 

[lexington1]

Looks good! I just got a Brownells furnace and want to start casehardening. This is an inspiration to me.

 

[2 shots]

wolf is smiling down on you

 

[Phil Coffins]

The lever latch spring was broken and the lever latch was messed up. I found original Sharps parts at Dixie and was very pleased with them when they got here, installed them and thought some would be interested in them. Note how the screw head is polished and fire blued originally. The lock is shown to show how perfectly the sear and tumbler are matched even on this war time production. I’ll have an assembled photo soon. The bridle is the original color case and the lock plate and trigger bar is my work.
IMG_1007 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

 

[64Springer]

We'll never see production work like that again in modern gun world.

True craftsmanship.

 

[TDM]

The case color looks great @Phil Coffins

 

[appalichian hunter]

Going to be a very nice gun when you get it completed.

 

[Phil Coffins]

I’ve done about all that I can with this old Sharps, if it will stop raining for day or two some shooting is in order.
IMG_1013 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

 

[64Springer]

STUNNING.

 

[sleepingbulldog]

Fantastic work!

 

[ETipp]

That’s awesome, Phill