ERA Clubb Butt Fowler arrived

[Kevin M]

Well after a about 16 1/2 months my Clubb butt in the white has arrived. I will take some pictures tonight and post them tomorrow. It turned out decent. I am glad I got it in the white so I can fix a few of the things that bother me. The only glaring problem is that they put the wrong butt plate on the gun. I originally asked for a 1st model bess plate on the gun to make it look like it was put together with spare parts from other guns. Then when they called me for the balance on the gun and to double check all the things I wanted before they began work we decided to change it to a sheet brass buttplate. I guess they didn't write it down. Oh well! Will post pics asap.

 

[Marc Adamchek]

Alright! I know how long waiting for a flinter can be, and how long it can SEEM. When it finally arrives it's a great feeling.Please let us see your gun and let us know your opinions. One specific thing I'm curious about is the weight. I've been hemming and hawing about which smooth bore I'm going to get in the (hopefully)near future. I keep wondering about the club butt. I love the look of them, and it's perfectly PC in my neck of the woods. Only hang-up: At 51, I'm not up to carrying heavy guns through the woods all day, and I've wondered if they're as beefy as they seem like they would be (to me). Again, congrats on the new arrival!

 

[Flint1]

Is a club butt the same gun sometimes referred to as a buccaneer?

 

[Okwaho]

No, a club butt fowler refers to a type of fowler from the New England area in the 17th and 18th centuries. The butt was substantial and many were made in the Hudson River Valley area as well in other New England states.

The Buccaneer was a long barreled French Fusil with a rather oddly shaped butt which was sometimes referred to as a male or female.The name arrives from certain Indians who lived in the islands of the Caribbean Sea. They used to smoke or boucaner their meat on grills "placed in a hut called a boucan" hence their name.They were also used aboard ship by sailors shooting from the rigging.
Tom Patton

 

[Kevin M]

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[musketman]

Nice photo coverage, would like to see some photos of it being fired too, once everything is finished... :thumbsup:

 

[Kevin M]

Ok so I posted some pics of the gun. Its in the white so I need to finish the metal and the wood. The only problems I see that will need attention are some gaps in the wood around the buttstock and the trigger scrapes the trigger guard. I also need to equal out the wood on the sides of the barrel and finish the wood at the muzzle end of the gun. The weight is great. If you have ever seen or held a Jack Hubbard gun it feels like that. Not a bunch of excess wood. Its a lot lighter than my .62 cal viriginia rifle. Of course that has a straight barrel. The lock is really smooth. I wanted it with a sheet brass buttplate and it has a 1st model bess buttplate. Makes it unique though.

 

[Kevin M]

I will hopefully have it finished in 2 weeks for the Ft. Buenaventura rendezvous in Ogden, Utah. I have to fix the front site as its a little off kilter, but I am very excited to shoot it. I have never owned a smoothbore.

 

[Swampman]

That buttplate inletting is not so good. I could fix it with Elmer's and black acrylic paint. Overall, I think it could look pretty nice with some heavy aging.

 

[Kevin M]

Yes I need to figure out a way to hide the gaps on the buttplate for sure. What is your method with the glue and paint? I also noticed that the side plate is just screwed on. How deep does the sideplate need to be inletted. Like a 1/3 of the way into the wood?

 

[Swampman]

I think the sideplate should be flush. When my Bess was finished, I filled the inletting gaps with Elmer's Glue and black acrylic paint. I just kept filling and working worth it until I was happy.

 

[Kevin M]

Maybe I can mix some sawdust and glue and then stain and see if that will look ok.

 

[Itegorm]

Just a word of caution if you decide to go the glue and sawdust route. Make sure the glue you use will take the stain, many will not. Also differnt glues will take differnt stains. If you do decide to go the glue route I would suggest using hide glue (Titebond makes a bottled type that can be found through most good hardware stores) and use a leather dye for stain. I have used the hide glue and leather dye a few times and had good luck with it.

 

[Swampman]

That's why I use the glue and black acrylic paint after the gun is completely finished. It's the last thing I do to dress the gun cosmeticly.

 

[hollandbriscoe]

Elmers makes a stainable wood glue. I have used it and it takes the stain well. However it does come out a little darker than the wood so you might want to experiment and possibly put it on after a couple of coas of stain have been applied.

Jack

 

[CrackStock]

Just fill it with darkened bee's wax.

CS

 

[petlis]

I too have a new in the white Jackie Brown Dutch fowler coming in a week or two.How are you going to finish your fowler?Will you use a dark stain and will you leave the barrel to age on it's own or are you planning to help it along?
I was thinking for mine a very dark stain with linseed oil and then bees wax finish on the wood and the barrel and iron hardware would be blued and aged.
Best of luck with yours and would love to see pics when your done...Pete :thumbsup:

 

[Swampman]

That will be good until you leave it in a hot car.

 

[Kevin M]

Well I have never done the wood finish on a longrifle. I did a pistol about 10 years ago and used some leather stain on it and I cannot remember what I used to seal it. I like to rub all my guns down with beeswax and neatsfoot oil. Just lightly. Keeps them shiny and free of rust. Yes in the warm weather it does get a bit tacky and I have to wipe on and then wipe off with a rag. I got a bottle of stock and stain finish from Rustic arms. Going to try it out on a piece of maple to see how it looks. Someone mentioned using artists linseed oil from Walmart. They liked it because it dried in a reasonable amount of time. I will probablly work up a couple of different combos to see what I like best. I am going to shine up the metal and then let time take its course. I thought about rubbing it all down with lemon juice to get a grey patina, but I think I will just leave the metal shiny for lack of a better word.

 

[Swampman]

Neatsfoot oil smells so much like mineral spirits, that I don't use it.