Blank question

[S.Kenton]

Hi all,
I have a nicely figured walnut slab that was given to Me from a friend. The slab is 65 inches long and 12 inches wide.. but is just under 2 inches thick. So will I be able to make a Fowler out of such a thin slab of wood? That's my plan as of now..thanks

 

[ohio ramrod]

It would be better if it was thicker, but a light fowler could possibly be made. :idunno:

 

[S.Kenton]

Very I nice.... that's what I'm looking for a light Fowler in a 20 gauge.

 

[S.Kenton]

I measured my rifles and seen that most of them are just over an inch and half wide at the butt plate. I don't have a Fowler to measure so I figured I'd ask. Actually I don't have any references for the deminsions of a Fowler period.

 

[S.Kenton]

The piece of wood is actually wide enough to get two blanks out of... if I send it to ya Ohio RR wanna make it and keep the other blank for yourself? :wink:

 

[BigBoreBLR]

You're limiting yourself to cast off, and how well squared up the the wood in the lock area.

Not only barrel thickness you would have to pay attention to. But, you might be getting down to the thickness of the lock was well. Then pan face of the barrel to outside surface of the lockplate thickness. Not sure if some locks are a touch thinner.

I could be wrong, but without a ton of material to work with you're limited to the cast of the stock as well as the cheek piece fit. May be a double reason to make this a little gun.

 

[rijerolmon]

Going thru this now with a "thin" stock. I crowded the barrel channel off center but still could get only mini cast off and a thin (9/32) lock panel. The folks at Track did some measuring for me and I've got an L&R Queen Ann lock coming that they say will fit. Just one more challenge. :hmm:

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
Yes, you can do it with a little to spare. You could even use a larger barrel than 20ga. Most folks don't realize how dainty original fowlers were. If you cock the barrel diagonally across the blank, you should be able to achieve cast off if desired. The problem with a thin blank is that it does not give you much wiggle room to avoid defects in the wood if there are any. The English rifle below was built like a fowler with no cheek piece. The maximum width across the lock panels is 1 3/4" and the butt plate is 1 15/16" wide max.

dave

 

[MSW]

i hate it when he posts that sort of thing ... now i have to clean the drool from my keyboard .....



again...

 

[S.Kenton]

Hahaha... wipin my drool too! Thanks guys! . I'll have to make a trip to Ken Netting's for a barrel, lock and a few other small items, while I'm there i may try and get him to Cut the stock profile for me and drill the ramrod. Kens an awsome guy!

 

[stubshaft]

[/quote]

Dayum, that's beautiful!

 

[kodiakmarine]

Dayum, that's beautiful!
[/quote]
:metoo: You took the words right out of my mouth... - John

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
I don't want to divert attention from the OP's thread. If you want to see more photos of the English rifle click on the link:
http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showpost.php?post/1596653/

dave

 

[Kansas Jake]

Dave, I always appreciate how you are helpful with suggestions without demeaning the work of others. You are a gentleman.

Again, I'm always amazed at your work.

 

[dave_person]

Hi KJ,
Thank you for the nice note. It means a lot to me because my father was a gentleman and taught my brothers and me to be the same. I am glad to think he may have succeeded.

dave

 

[Col. Batguano]

Is there anything special about this piece of wood other than it was given to you from a friend? I mean, are we talking about a $1500 piece of specially marbled English Walnut, or a $75 blank of American Black Walnut?

You are about to invest 100-180 hours of time in this project, (value your time how ever you choose) and it would be a shame to be ever so short when it comes to the wood you need for final dimensions. Dave's measurements of 1 15/16" across the butt plate doesn't leave you a lot of wiggle room if there is any slight miscalculation, mis-measurement, or ever so slight warp in the blank. Dave has built scores of guns, and he REALLY knows what he's doing, so I would certainly trust him to do it right, and, more importantly, to NOT start a project he didn't think he could complete properly with materials on hand.

The other thing to think about, (and particularly with walnut) is grain direction, particularly through the wrist. Figure is nice, but you have to understand that it is grain direction that determines shear strength. Walnut (and particularly Black Walnut) does not have the shear strength that maple (and particularly sugar maple) does. Dave2rc had a very ingenious way to deal with this in one of his builds by inletting a big mortice under the rear foot of the TG, and then epoxying in a cross-grain tenon with some particularly strong material. Another way to deal with it would be to drill a long hole from the back of the breech through the wrist, and glue in a metal rod right down the middle of it.

I'm working on a build now that needs 1 3/4" final width, and started with a blank that was 2 5/8 thick. There was a slight miscalculation in barrel inletting, or perhaps warp in the board, and I needed all but about 1/8" of thickness to get my 3/16" of cast-off and place the butt plate properly

 

[kemart17]

wow, thats some sweet work!!!!

 

[kodiakmarine]

Thank you, Dave. That is fine work. Do you have a website? That rifle would do any maker proud. - John

 

[Cowboy]

Dave, That rifle is absolutely magnificent!! :bow:

Respectfully, Cowboy