Colonial rifle build for authenticity

[OhioHawkeye]

Hi,
Oh well here are a bunch of other examples finished as they would be in the 18th century without using sand paper.......

Great photos. I don't use sandpaper on my Windsor chairs either.
With my first Kibler build, I'd taken the class in Boling Green KY. I did buy sandpaper and started to use some on my Kibler kit due to the supply list I was given. I'm so glad I took my scrapers and found a broken bottle along the way. It produces a much better finish with less fuss than sandpaper.

 

[Daveboone]

Keep in mind that the barrels of that day were iron and it is documented that it aged much differt than modern steel which
rusts quickly.

An elderly friend of mine had a rotisserie he made for roasting chickens ...about 75 at a time. Several times I commented to him on the beautiful ageing the rotisserie bars had. He told me they were iron......Hmmmm, If I can get donations of about another six barrels...bars, maybe we can get a genuine chicken roasted batch of barrels! Any takers here? (okay no one get huffy, I am having a bit of fun). Interesting observation though on how the iron barrels would have aged different than our steel barrels.

 

[Pete G]

Just WHERE is polished brass documented?

 

[Robby]

Joes' house.
Robby

 

[Grenadier1758]

Just WHERE is polished brass documented?

Military muskets were highly polished.

 

[Daveboone]

In modern times we have the luxury of building and maintaining...for a "look". Military arms were rigidly maintained and polished for the simple reason that it is easier to hold spotless as a standard than using "well aged" as a standard. LIke wise, just like today I have no doubt in my common sense mind that in 1760 or whatever, after Johnny Tremain worked a godless amount of days months or maybe even years to earn enough to buy his firearm...he was as proud of it as any of us are today of our new cars/rifles, etc.. And he maintained it to the best of his ability, and steel/iron/brass/ potmetal or whatever would have been likewise maintained as best he could, and there was no "well aged" or Patina aimed for. My non- historical two cents.

 

[oreclan]

Can someone please tell me at what point in history did the riffled barrel become common place and take over the smooth bore being the norm ?

It never did hence the shotgun's use today.
In the book The Life Genius and Legacy of Major Patrick Ferguson Every Insult & Indignity by Ricky Roberts & Bryan Brown on page 166 they state, " There is a 1705 receipt for a 'rifle-gun' made by a gunsmith in what is now Berks County, Pennsylvania, so we know rifles have been made in the American colonies since at least 1705."
I have never seen this reference before, nor do I know the gunsmith's name. Usually the 1740ish date is used for rifles being manufactured in America.
Smooth bores were cheaper to import from Europe than to manufacture here hence their extensive use.

 

[oreclan]

Very nearly right! So much so that I hope you will take this as a way you can be more right: The Pennsylvania gunsmiths switched to guns other than rifles during the revolution because Washington needed muskets and there were literally too many rifles in Continental Army hands. He loved his riflemen(mostly), but he needed muskets for line troops.

General Anthony Wayne in fact replaced his men's rifle-guns with muskets.

 

[Coinneach]

After years and years of research, and documentation on the American Colonial Rifle, And this is only for the builders who want their rifles to look the same as they did when purchased new back in 1760-1770. This is not for builders who try to replicate 100s of years of patina. #1 barrel and lock left in the white. Browning these parts didn’t come about till the beginning of the 19th century, although there is very rare instances where gunsmiths experimented in this new procedure but It didn’t become mainstream till beginning of 1800. Bluing was available but not as common as just in the white.
#2 Brass was bright and shiny. Brass was very expensive back then, and it was very well taken care of #1 by the gunsmith who wanted to show off their work, #2 the owners who wanted to protect their investment. Again this is not for the builder wanting 100s of years of patina on their rifle, but more for a builder wanting their rifle to look like it did when bought new in that time period.

Superb Craftmanship sir, thank you.

 

[DuncNZ]

I have been re reading all my books on American long rifles , and one thing that strikes me is most of the rifles in the books are what could be called deluxe models , lots of lovely carving and brass or silver fittings etc , very few are plain jane everyday working firearms as they have long ago worn out and been disposed of . A rifle does not need a lot of fooforall and dodads to make it a fine firearm . Well made , well done

 

[DuncNZ]

Military muskets were highly polished.

Absolutely , they looked nice against red , blue or green jackets with white facings and gold lace .

 

[Cattywompuss]

An elderly friend of mine had a rotisserie he made for roasting chickens ...about 75 at a time. Several times I commented to him on the beautiful ageing the rotisserie bars had. He told me they were iron......Hmmmm, If I can get donations of about another six barrels...bars, maybe we can get a genuine chicken roasted batch of barrels! Any takers here? (okay no one get huffy, I am having a bit of fun). Interesting observation though on how the iron barrels would have aged different than our steel barrels.

Chicken grease is an underrated lube

Oddly enough as well though it's the only animal fat I've ever noticed washes off of one's hands with just water. I guess it is thinner than mammal fat. Wouldn't call it water soluble, but it is definitely different.

 

[Daveboone]

And it also makes the best damn gravy of any fat!

 

[Robby]

Its always a judgement call but I think the placement of your patch box cavity/lid is off. generally it is centered on the buttplate and runs toward the center of the wrist, now that is not a hard and fast rule or anything, depending on the stock architecture it can be finessed around a bit, but 'generally' that is where it is located and your stock configuration favors that position.
Robby

 

[Hatman/2nd line]

Brian, you made a nice rifle, you can be proud of it!

 

[Grenadier1758]

Absolutely , they looked nice against red , blue or green jackets with white facings and gold lace .

Hmm, gold lace was worn on officer's uniforms and they didn't carry muskets. My unit's facings are blue and other colored facings are established by unit specific warrants.

There is an intimidation factor inherent in the use of highly polished muskets by line troops. The shine reflecting off the arms indicated regular army that wouldn't break in an inline formation. This was to put a bit of fear into the opposing line of infantry leading the opposing line to break. This worked well for Wellington against Napolean at Waterloo and in other open field engagements. It worked against Washington in the Battle for Long Island. It worked for Washington in the Battle for Yorktown. It worked for Wolfe on the Plains of Abraham

Note: when the opposing line was protected behind barriers, the highly polished arms and colorful uniforms made for improved targets. Notably Bunker Hill, King's Mountain, Cowpens and New Orleans.

 

[Hawken1980]

Thanks my Kibler kit was just shown to let people see how I finished mine as far as the barrel and brass and lock. I’m sure their are thousands of authentic guns, I was just trying to show mine as one also like a new one that might have been purchased back then. I will leave this forum

There are great guys, and sometimes they come across the wrong way.
I got lambasted for asking how to properly carry a long rifle on horseback.
because I was going to hunt small game on one my horses.

I was told it was to dangerous.
It was the wrong gun.
to go join a horse forum.

you know what I went ahead with some help of the other guys on here fogured it out and ignored the rest.
Don’t sweat the bad posts.

 

[Cattywompuss]

Hmm, gold lace was worn on officer's uniforms and they didn't carry muskets. My unit's facings are blue and other colored facings are established by unit specific warrants.

There is an intimidation factor inherent in the use of highly polished muskets by line troops. The shine reflecting off the arms indicated regular army that wouldn't break in an inline formation. This was to put a bit of fear into the opposing line of infantry leading the opposing line to break. This worked well for Wellington against Napolean at Waterloo and in other open field engagements. It worked against Washington in the Battle for Long Island. It worked for Washington in the Battle for Yorktown. It worked for Wolfe on the Plains of Abraham

Note: when the opposing line was protected behind barriers, the highly polished arms and colorful uniforms made for improved targets. Notably Bunker Hill, King's Mountain, Cowpens and New Orleans.

I hear ya, and believe ya. But a counterpoint would be: folding a t-shirt into a six inch square of perfectly flush folds, standing at "eyes-right" for 10 straight minutes, and polishing boots for hours wasn't for the enemy's benefit in my basic training. It was to instill discipline. Discipline broke French columns(along with cover on a ridge), and it broke the British at Yorktown. It is the pride of knowing that you are immortal due to the ridiculous exercise of minutia leading up to contact.

It may have an impact on the enemy, but traditionally that impact is in the actions of the column and file, not their appearance. Their appearance and actions are the result. How that is perceived by the enemy depends on the discipline of the enemy.

 

[Atticus69]

my point had nothing to do with it being a kit, I was using pictures of my gun as an example as to how a authentic gun would have looked brand new .back then, I was not saying all should look like this, I was just trying to let a few people know that in the white and polished was was authentic back then. As well as many others. I may have used wrong wording I’m sorry. And it wasn’t my years of research, it was research from others over the years that I based mine on. I’m a newby and was proud of my kit gun, maybe I used wrong wording, moderators please delete me from this forum, don’t gripe when nobody does this hobby anymore

Brian, Don't leave. There are a lot of us on here that are just getting into the building of our own guns. I am in the process of doing my first one now and can only hope it comes out looking 1/2 as good as yours. I appreciate seeing others work as it gives me both hope that I can someday do as well and ideas of what to do. My occupation makes me fully understand how building can be a stress reliever. STICK WITH US and keep up the good work. Also, thank you for your service.

 

[Hatman/2nd line]

Brian, Don't leave. There are a lot of us on here that are just getting into the building of our own guns. I am in the process of doing my first one now and can only hope it comes out looking 1/2 as good as yours. I appreciate seeing others work as it gives me both hope that I can someday do as well and ideas of what to do. My occupation makes me fully understand how building can be a stress reliever. STICK WITH US and keep up the good work. Also, thank you for your service.

DITTO!