Carolina Gun / Iron mounted

[Hatman/2nd line]

My high tech grinding apparatus . Designed by 14 NASA engineers in 18 months time . Time to start grinding .... meh

I didn't realize that the barrel would be ground down like that, something new learned!

 

[PathfinderNC]

Rob, OK, I’m lost here. You grind down where and why on the barrel? Was it unfinished?

 

[BillyC]

I believe he is making a round barrel octagonal by hand grinding it.

 

[Rob M.]

I believe he is making a round barrel octagonal by hand grinding it.

You gotter bud !

 

[Rob M.]

Rob, OK, I’m lost here. You grind down where and why on the barrel? Was it unfinished?

Gotta grind and file the flats on the barrel at the breech end . Ken turns em round but I gotta put the flats on them .

 

[PathfinderNC]

Gotta grind and file the flats on the barrel at the breech end . Ken turns em round but I gotta put the flats on them .

Oh that’s what you’re doing! Got it

 

[Rob M.]

I seriously doubt anyone is gonna be doin this but ....bottom flat first , then top flat , then ,T.H. and S.P. flat , then the others that are left .... Back and forth to each one , one after another , always changing .... Till breech is 1" approx . and flats are square ....it ain't easy .

 

[PathfinderNC]

I seriously doubt anyone is gonna be doin this but ....bottom flat first , then top flat , then ,T.H. and S.P. flat , then the others that are left .... Back and forth to each one , one after another , always changing .... Till breech is 1" approx . and flats are square ....it ain't easy .

All by hand without a milling machine. Man oh man!

 

[Rob M.]

I

All by hand without a milling machine. Man oh man!

IT takes awhile ! LOL

 

[BillyC]

All by hand without a milling machine. Man oh man!

I thought it was hard putting an octagon on the tip of a powder horn. I can’t imaging grinding the entire length of a barrel and keeping it straight and even.

 

[Kansas Jake]

Actually Rob, I have a couple of old 30” 12 gauge blanks that are cylindrical with no taper for 3-4 inches that I may try to turn into a short trade gun. Your how to is helpful.

 

[Rob M.]

Its difficult but not impossible. You just do it in the steps as I mentioned before and the flats become closer and closer as the flats get the tops and sides are square and where to emphasize your efforts , little this way or that . Corrections the whole time but toward the end is where it starts to get critical and it can , and usually does , have to be cleaned up with hand filing on the Touch hole and Side plate side . These sides and the top are the top are the critical ones. You stop often and look down it length wise and check to make sire sides ....

 

[Rob M.]

Actually Rob, I have a couple of old 30” 12 gauge blanks that are cylindrical with no taper for 3-4 inches that I may try to turn into a short trade gun. Your how to is helpful.

You can do it . Ever needs any tips etc. just holler . Remember too ....some trade guns had flats as short as 4" on the breech of the barrel . Most were 5" -6" ... Thats a LOT easier than the 10 " flats on a Carolina gun . Might want to try it

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

Were the breech section flats of Carolina guns tapered like French guns?

 

[Rob M.]

Actually Rob, I have a couple of old 30” 12 gauge blanks that are cylindrical with no taper for 3-4 inches that I may try to turn into a short trade gun. Your how to is helpful.

Remember... You can Breech them by hand too, no lathe needed. Here is a 24 ga. barrel I breeched and ground the flats on to make a short NW gun with . 12 ga. will certainly work but if you ever want a more appropriate and not so brutal gauge barrel just holler at me . These 100 year old 26" Belgium blanks are $26 a piece ....see if I can post pic of the NW gun I just made for me as well with one of these barrels ....

 

[Rob M.]

Were the breech section flats of Carolina guns tapered like French guns?

Yeah , they were bud ....

 

[oreclan]

All by hand without a milling machine. Man oh man!

Back in the late 70's Bob Faddis and Gary (?) of Cresap's Rifle Company re-enactment group hand made a swamped barrel with nothing but files. Bob said it took them 8 hours!

 

[Rob M.]

I've swamped pistol barrels by file but not a rifle length . Just takes time and perseverance

Back in the late 70's Bob Faddis and Gary (?) of Cresap's Rifle Company re-enactment group hand made a swamped barrel with nothing but files. Bob said it took them 8 hours!

 

[Rob M.]

Rob when you were building shorty I liked how you explained how you like to try and level the lock with Center of the barrel.Could you try to do the same with how you in let the trigger and how (deep you drill for the pin ) and the length of the pin, and ruffly the size hole for the sear.Just so I can rap my old head around it,thankyou .

When lock is in and your ready to start the trigger ...with lock out take a pencil and mark on the edge of the lock mortice bottom , mark front and back of the hole for the sear ... Flip gun , bottom of gun up , where trigger will be .With those lines mark those lines across f your center line . Thats the sear tunnel . I use 1/8 " stock for trigger so I use an under size bit , and drill on the center line between the lines you just marked . Center punch then drill along that line ....with drill bit and thin chisel open that up to be a slot ....once open now you can operate the lock with thin piece of metal or flat screw DRIver . The slot isn't long enough so now you work on that . The front needs to extend forward so trigger front is in thick wood so you can drill for the pin , approx 3/16-1/4 perhaps. Once that is approx .and cleaned out. Then extend the rear so it has room to move ....it doesnt really matter how long it can be a bit too much and no big deal , not crazy long of course ....extend it and clean it out . Make it so trigger won't bind ....then push trigger up till hits the sear , lock in .....hold the trigger very still ...remove lock and trace area of front of trigger ...punch mark on wood in lock mortice where the drill will go down into top front corner of trigger ....put lock back in , slide trigger in , push forward till hit wood and up till just touches the sear ....hold , font move ....drill at ready . remove lock and drill straight down on your mark , when it hit the metal , mark metal. Stop drill ...pull out trigger then drill at mark . Put trigger back in , with bit or finish mail line up hole in woof , and hole in trigger .... Hold tight and drill through test of the wood out the other side .... It head off finish nail and file flat ....that's your trigger pin . Put your lock in and trigger in and test it all out

 

[Rob M.]

I'm pretty boogered up in the back so I have to do this in small increments , the grinding of the flats . Little at a time , it'll get done though ... takes a long time though ....