Anyone make tools?

[Aldarith]

Friends,

I am in need of a musket tool/ wrench.

I would prefer something interesting and handmade over the commercial options.

Does anyone out there make/forge tools?

 

[Rudyard]

Well Iv'e made chisles & planes & checkering tool s & jigs to grouve fore stocks ,but such are normal enough I expect .
Rudyard

 

[BillKilgore]

I made a tool yesterday to remove a stuck ball. I think it will work better than an attachment for a wooden ramrod.

 

[rich pierce]

What all does that tool do?

 

[Aldarith]

What all does that tool do?

It's an EIC percussion musket tool, an indian made copy of a brunswick tool essentially.
It has a nipplewrench and a pick/punch but also a very interesting screwdriver head that works on both screws and bun nuts.
I expect it can also be used for decapping, given the wedges, and possibly other things I haven't imagined yet.

 

[Artificer]

It's an EIC percussion musket tool, an indian made copy of a brunswick tool essentially.
It has a nipplewrench and a pick/punch but also a very interesting screwdriver head that works on both screws and bun nuts.
I expect it can also be used for decapping, given the wedges, and possibly other things I haven't imagined yet.

Do you want the tool for a percussion or flintlock musket?

Gus

 

[Artificer]

P.S. I collected original and repro 18th and 19th century gun tools for years, so I may be able to help you, but I have to know at least what type of gun and preferably the make and model and whether original or repro.

Gus

 

[Aldarith]

P.S. I collected original and repro 18th and 19th century gun tools for years, so I may be able to help you, but I have to know at least what type of gun and preferably the make and model and whether original or repro.

Gus

Hey Gus!

Thanks for the response.

It's for me to use with repro guns, Italian. I have a Zoli Zouave and an Armisport P53.

 

[Artificer]

Hey Gus!

Thanks for the response.

It's for me to use with repro guns, Italian. I have a Zoli Zouave and an Armisport P53.

Great. OK, now we know where to begin.

Since so few Zouave rifles were issued during the War, I don't have a good handle on what was issued for them, so will have to check the books. I think they had a tool with an open end wrench to fit the nipple and one or two screwdriver blades.

There were original local blacksmith made "Y" shaped tools, not a whole lot different than the one you pictured, but these were all pretty much chalked up as being made in the South for Confederate Forces only. I'm afraid this kind of tool will be very expensive to have made as a custom repro, because most blacksmiths who do such work don't really like to make them because you have to have a different one for each nipple.

For the Enfield, there were a variety of tools made. The most famous are variations of the Sergeant's Tool, though what is often left out and much more common in the period were the "Other Ranks" or "Private Soldier's" Tools which did not include the kitchen sink.

One example:

ORIGINAL 1853 BRITISH ENFIELD MUSKET TOOL Sergeant's | #17109186 (worthpoint.com)

A more well-known example:

One with ALL the Bells and Whistles

British No4 Pattern 1859 Enfield Sergeants' Tool (collegehillarsenal.com)

I couldn't quickly find an example of a "Private Soldier's" version of this tool, but will see what I can do.

The problem with most of the repro's of these tools made is they may or even will not fit the Armisport Nipple

Gus

 

[Aldarith]

I would absolutely not be against replacing all the nipples in order to standardize them, the catch is that I can't get the nipple off the Zoli zouave without a wrench to investigate the threads.

I am less interested in having a collection of individual tools and more interested in having a tool that is scalable.
I suppose that means a wrench with a changeable bit would be needed, so I suppose I should resign myself to multiple tools or standardization before proceeding.

 

[appalichian hunter]

Pull the barrel out of the stock, go through your regular toolbox and find a small open-end wrench that fits the square part of the nipple. Soak the nipple in some penetrating oil for a bit then use the wrench, until you find the correct tool. During 26 years of civil war participation this worked, and brother you have not seen nothing like a private's rifle as far as problems. As the company safety officer and hey sarge can you fix my rifle I have seen some dillies. A few minutes or maybe an hour or so and the private was back in business. Original or repro equipment is nice but sometimes ya got to think outside the box. And yes, this was done out of view of spectators. No craftsman wrench laying out on display. Good luck in your quest.

 

[Artificer]

I am less interested in having a collection of individual tools and more interested in having a tool that is scalable.
I suppose that means a wrench with a changeable bit would be needed, so I suppose I should resign myself to multiple tools or standardization before proceeding.

Sorry to inform you that there is no way to standardize the nipples or screwdriver blades. SOME manufacturers sort of standardized their nipples amoung some of their models, but not all of them.

I used to sell nipples of all sorts for many years at the NSSA nationals, along with gun parts.

I may be completely surprised, but I'm pretty sure you can't standardize the nipple between the Zoli Zouave and the Armisport Musket.

Gus

 

[Artificer]

Pull the barrel out of the stock, go through your regular toolbox and find a small open-end wrench that fits the square part of the nipple. Soak the nipple in some penetrating oil for a bit then use the wrench, until you find the correct tool. During 26 years of civil war participation this worked, and brother you have not seen nothing like a private's rifle as far as problems. As the company safety officer and hey sarge can you fix my rifle I have seen some dillies. A few minutes or maybe an hour or so and the private was back in business. Original or repro equipment is nice but sometimes ya got to think outside the box. And yes, this was done out of view of spectators. No craftsman wrench laying out on display. Good luck in your quest.

WOW, do I know what you mean! For years in the different time periods I've done, I kept TWO "field repair kits." One that I could use in front of spectators and the other modern one hidden in the tent until the spectators left.

Gus

 

[Artificer]

I would absolutely not be against replacing all the nipples in order to standardize them, the catch is that I can't get the nipple off the Zoli zouave without a wrench to investigate the threads.

I am less interested in having a collection of individual tools and more interested in having a tool that is scalable.
I suppose that means a wrench with a changeable bit would be needed, so I suppose I should resign myself to multiple tools or standardization before proceeding.

A little more on standardizing nipples between different models and especially different manufacturers. The problem is twofold. First, both of them have to have the same thread size. Second, the shoulders have to match or you have to have different wrenches.

Zoli musket nipple threads have come in these sizes over the years: 5/16-18, a 5/16-20, 5/16-24 or an 8mm X 1 Musket nipple. Armisport Enfield Nipples are 8x1mm, so you MAY get real lucky, but you have to remove that nipple before you can check it.

Gus

 

[Dude]

I've re-purposed a 1/4" drive socket for nipple wrenches. Find the right size - if say, it's 5/16", grab a 5/16 socket. With a dremel cut-off wheel, remove enough material each side of the flats so the socket can fit down and drive the nipple.

 

[Grenadier1758]

I've found beat up 3/16" nut drivers that I cut the notch for a nipple wrench for revolvers. A little more meat for the side of the nipple.

I've done the same nipple wrench fabrication for one of my 1/4" hex drive impact tool. It must have worked as none of the nipples in my revolvers have dared to seize up for me to do a lot of testing.

 

[toot]

what tool do you use to attach to the end of the rod., to turn it with out it slipping?

 

[BillKilgore]

what tool do you use to attach to the end of the rod., to turn it with out it slipping?

I used a pair of vice grips to screw the rod into the ball and to pull the ball out. I plan to attach something for a T handle in the future. My “nose picker” worked very well.

 

[DuncNZ]

I used a pair of vice grips to screw the rod into the ball and to pull the ball out. I plan to attach something for a T handle in the future. My “nose picker” worked very well.

Make sure you make a muzzle guard for your rod . I made one similar with a long wood screw and a cylindrical centering guide just above the screw to stop the screw moving to the side of the ball and scratching the rifling , I used it occasionally for pulling balls , but mainly for getting cleaning cloth right to the bottom of the patent breach on my Uberti Hawken . If you are trying to remove a ball with powder behind it and something goes wrong ( not every ball it pulls will be your own ) T handles can remove fingers . A big plastic screwdriver handle may not be PC but it works .

 

[appalichian hunter]

I use a T handle range rod, but I will tie the rod handle to a solid post or tree, and pull the ball from behind the rifle, just grab on the gun in the wrist area and apply steady even reward pull, that way if something would go wrong your hand and you are to the back of the gun, and hopefully the blast and ball along with the rod goes into the place where you tied it off.