An Early Vermont Rifle

[dave_person]

Hi,
IT'S ORANGE! Curt will have no trouble finding his gun during a hunt, other hunters will see him and not shoot him, and he will be noticed by everyone on the shooting line. Win, win, win!!

I use orange, red, or yellow water-based aniline dye to paint the stock during whiskering. The color shows up all the scratches, especially on maple, and when it is all scraped and sanded away, I know I scraped and sanded the entire stock. Any residual color gets overwhelmed by the ferric nitrate stain I will use but if any orange still shows, it will compliment my staining.











dave

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
I added the carving and the brass wrist plate. The carving at the barrel tang is inspired by Hills but not a copy. His carving varies a bit from rustic to crude so I refined things a little but kept the feel of it. I also added a simple incised carving behind the cheek piece. Again, Hills' carving at that location on his 2 rifles is pretty crude and not very appealing. So I interpreted my own design that does homage to Hills. I inlet the wrist plate and then popped it off for engraving. I designed a simple monogram with his initials and engraved it along with Hills' curvy border.







I think that is the only scroll I 've ever carved that follows the "golden mean". I guess it's never too late to follow the rules. After sanding and scraping the stock, I stained it with ferric nitrate dissolved in tap water 1 part crystals to 6 parts water by volume. Looks like really weak tea. After blushing with heat, I painted the stock with a lye and water solution, which made sure any residual acidity (theoretically there should be none after blushing when using ferric nitrate) was neutralized but more importantly, it enhances the red tones. When dry, I rubbed the stock vigorously with a maroon Scotch Bright pad to lighten the color. Finally, I put on the first coat of finish, which was Sutherland Welles wiping varnish medium sheen diluted 50% with mineral spirits and tinted slightly with LMF Lancaster maple stain. The wiping varnish is polymerized tung oil mixed with polyurethane varnish. I emphasize "polymerized" because somebody will inevitably write that they used tung oil and it took months to dry. They did not use polymerized tung oil. Anyway, here is where I am. I intend to rub back the stock again to lighten certain areas before adding any new finish.








dave

 

[rchas]

Beautiful work! And thanks for the idea about using the dye, I am going to try that on my next build.

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
I engraved the patchbox with designs used by John Hills and the seal of the state of Vermont. The seal was designed by Ira Allen and adopted in 1779 and was kind of rustic with letters that looked like inexpensive period type and images that were crudely drawn. Nonetheless, it has a real period feel and charm. It is also the design currently adopted by the state. At one point a more refined seal was adopted but was eventually replaced by the original Allen seal. I like the look. I may add banners on either side of the seal with the dates 1777 on one side and 1791 on the other. The earlier date signifies when Vermont was born as a political entity and the other is the date it became a state. Before the Revolutionary War, the Green Mountain Boys were vigilantes terrorizing settlers in Vermont from New York and they fought against vigilantes from New York. It was violent and bloody. The Rev War stopped it and was the making of Vermont. One of the great ironies is that when Seth Warner's Green Mountain Boys were adopted into the Continental Army, New York was ordered by Congress to arm them.






dave

 

[Brokennock]

Love it.

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
More engraving done. I am trying to emulate John Hills' style but not copy him. I added banners on each side of the Vermont seal indicating the dates when Vermont became a political entity separate from New Hampshire and New York, and the date it was made a state. Those dates encapsulate John Hills' life in Vermont. I also engraved the side plate with the name of the owner in the manner of John Hills. More to come soon.

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
Finished it. I think I preserved the rural feel despite refining some things relative to the original rifles. The carving behind the cheek piece is simple, partly reflects the rather crude incised lines Hills carved but embellishes them a bit. Same with the carving around the barrel tang. The staining and finish came out well and the wood really shows the figure. It has a Rice "C" weight 54 caliber barrel cut back from 44" to 41". The lock is a Chambers early Ketland lock that I modified. I case hardened the plate, cock, and top jaw and then temper blued them. I also cased the frizzen and tempered it to 375 degrees F. Trigger pull is a crisp 2.5 lbs. The rifle weighs 8lbs. The sights are high and clearly quite a bit of height will come off the front sight but I will wait until the owner and I shoot it.






























I have to finish making a New England fowler but after that I am done with New England guns for a while.

dave

 

[Hatchet-Jack]

Congratulations on another fine gun Dave!

 

[19112tap]

Very well done, nice elegant rifle!

 

[PathfinderNC]

I think Curt will be a very, very happy man!!!

 

[Toneloc]

Wow, impressive! Well done.

 

[Splitear]

Absolutely stunning!

 

[Flint Striker]

Dave - you’re an absolute artist!

 

[Brokennock]

Truly fantastic. The work is outstanding and having the local connection and information of the influencing original period builder makes it extra special.

Thank you for sharing.

 

[deertraks]

Outstanding!

 

[Eric Bye]

Exquisite! I really like the engraved seal of Vermont on the side plate. One of these days I may have the good fortune to see this gun in the flesh - one more thing to look forward to!

 

[KC Clem]

That's a beauty, well done.

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
Thank you all for the compliments. I appreciate the comments. I am pretty happy with it although it was a bit constraining bouncing around between what I would do and what John Hills did. But that is a big part of the challenge and I like challenges.

Eric, it has a really nice balance but still enough weight to be a good target shooter. The stock likely would fit you pretty well because you and Curt are of similar size and build. The lock is lightning fast and I can probably get the trigger pull down to 1.5 lbs. I want to wait until Curt shoots it before that final tweaking. There is absolutely no creep in the trigger and it does not hang loose at any position of the flintlock, rest, half cock, or full cock. My biggest disappointment was not being able to find a really suitable trigger guard. The one I used is the right shape but the bow is a little too large. Regardless, I like it and think it looks pretty good.

Thanks again folks.

dave

 

[LSB]

Absolutely beautiful!

 

[Robby]

Dave,
Every picture in this thread has disappeared, only your last post, it is showing a string of little blue boxes with question marks in them.
Robby