Failed attempt...

[J.D.]

All in all, IMHO, it looks pretty good. You did a fine job on the inlets, even though a couple might have been too deep.

If I could offer a coupla suggestions for improving upon your work; the lock panel and forestock look to be a little clunky; too thick.

I suggest removing a little wood from the forearm and thinning the area around the lock.
here is a link to a few originals on the Cody Museum Firearms page, for the sake of comparison.

For some reason, the direct link doesn't work, so we will have to start at the beginning.
http://www.bbhc.org/collections/BBHC/index_CFM.cfm

Click on "manufacturer"

Then click on the little arrow on the drop down box and scroll down about half way and click on "Samuel Hawken St. Louis, MO," then "submit".

The new window should reveal six original St. Louis Hawkens for your personal viewing pleasure.

Click on the thumbnails to view detailed photos.

Note the size of the lock panel surrounding the lock, and the thickness of the forestock as seen in the top view, and especially in the view showing the close up of the barrel stamping.

Don't worry about a few boogers that all gunamkers have on their guns. Most won't show. And most folks wouldn't know a booger if they saw it, so finish that gun and have fun with it.

God bless,
J.D.

 

[wick246]

That is an excellent resource J.D. - thank you.

I can see where I did a little shaping but I hadn't really gotten to that point yet. I think it was a pre-carved stock with the barrel channel cut, ram rod hole drilled and the lock panels rough shaped close to where they are now.

Looking at the originals, even after 170 years of wood shrinkage and abuse, I can instantly spot their workmanship above and beyond my own. Amazing.

 

[Otter]

I'm sure I can make a decent shooter out of her and with a little luck (or a lot) maybe she won't look to disfigured.

wick - I have recently become acquainted with a longrifle builder and collector of original longrifles. After inspecting about a dozen of his originals, I was taken by the fact that the old time builders weren't nearly as "perticlar" about what their guns looked like as much as whether they shot well or not. Not that they looked like pipes in tree trunks, but the inletting for the locks, tangs and other such stuff were less than perfect. I think many of us strive for, and often times expect, perfection and the old timers were willing to settle for "pretty darn good". From what I saw in the pictures of your project, you are much closer to perfection than you think . . . just sayin' . . .

 

[Onojutta]

I'll add to that by saying there is a modern tendency to over-emphasis carving and ornamentation as well. In the true old days, it was a rifle first and a work of art second. The fanciest rifle wasn't worth a hill of beans if it couldn't shoot true to keep a man alive. The original builders didn't spend as much time on carving. That was a quick way to add some decoration to a functioning rifle.

 

[J.D.]

That is an excellent resource J.D. - thank you.

I can see where I did a little shaping but I hadn't really gotten to that point yet. I think it was a pre-carved stock with the barrel channel cut, ram rod hole drilled and the lock panels rough shaped close to where they are now.

You are welcome Wick, I try to encourage new builders to look at old guns, so's they can see what they should look like. I don't know of many builders that really get it right, but there are a few and they have studied LOTS of old guns to learn how those lines should blend into one another.

Precarves have a lot of extra wood on them that needs to be removed to duplicate the lines of a sleek original, so don't be afraid to remove some wood, especially from the fore end.

Looking at the originals, even after 170 years of wood shrinkage and abuse, I can instantly spot their workmanship above and beyond my own. Amazing.

Yeah, I am humbled by the work of the better 18th and 19th century gunsmiths. However, even they made mistakes and they usually served a 7 year apprenticeship, so don't sweat the small stuff.

Get in there and build away. Shoot the daylights out of it and enjoy your handiwork. The more guns you build, the better you will get, so the next one will be much better than your first. :wink:

God bless,
J.D.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

On an old and well used gun it can be very difficult to tell whether the inletting was on the poor side or whether you are looking at wear and tear that happened as the lock was removed and replaced for cleaning and repair etc. The same with other parts--the rifle rubs clothing and saddles and the ground and the older it gets the less care in handling it gets. Wood can also shrink a bit in 150 or more years. A gunmaker who couldn't inlet well probably became a carpenter or a farmer in pretty short order. Buying a gun was one of the biggest expenditures a man would make in his lifetime and shoddy workmanship would not be tolerated.

Sometimes shortcuts were taken where they weren't likely to be seen, such as under the buttplate or in the barrel channel where a rough finish might be gotten away with, but where it showed things fitted in an acceptable fashion.

 

[roger sells]

I would finish the rifle and shoot it a bunch. If you don't like it then sell it. Most folks, including myself, will want to build again and again improving each time. The thing is to keep a shooter for yourself and enjoy the sport. Does the lock have any markings on the back side of the plate? Most Hawken trigger and lock assemblies out there today have been available for a while, so you may be able to get the replacement parts if you can identify who the maker is. If you can't identify the maker, you will probably be able to get a trigger assembly that will closely match the inlet you already have in the stock. The lock can be a problem if it is not available today. Track of the Wolf catalog has life sized pictures of the parts that you can use for comparison when trying to identify what you have. The stock has great figure and is too good to not use if possible. I have worked through an issue like you and it sometimes takes time and work. I had purchased one of the last kits (incomplete parts) produced by a company before closing the door. I had to make a lock plate to use a killer piece of hard maple, but it was worth the effort. Good luck.
Roger Sells