French Dragoon Pistol Kit

[PathfinderNC]

The French Dragoon Kit arrived from MBS today. Everything looks in good order and I can begin some of it next week. (Lots of brass casting bits to clean up- my files will be worn out after this build LOL)
It looks like the first step will be getting the 15.5" barrel in. I hope the Black Walnut isn't too brittle.
Because the lock mortise hole is quite a bit smaller than the lock, I think I can adjust placement a bit.
I believe this one will take a long time to build but it should be nice if I take it slow.

 

[JohnL]

Nice! Keep us posted on your progress! I started working some black walnut recently for a powder horn spout plug and end cap. It was the first time I’ve ever used it; it was a little more finicky to work. Good luck!

 

[TFoley]

The French Dragoon Kit arrived from MBS today. Everything looks in good order and I can begin some of it next week. (Lots of brass casting bits to clean up- my files will be worn out after this build LOL)

French chalk on your files will help stop them clogging up. Rub the stick all over the abrading surfaces. Then, keep them for brass only - they will be no use for anything else after that. And if you don't already have one, invest in a Dremel tool - they come with a set of very useful bits for less than a single Benjamin. Mine is almost thirty years old, and gets used a LOT. They are not a throwaway tool, either, as they have a great service back-up to maintain them when needed.

As Dave Person has been advising up in the ongoing Dublin Castle Brown Bess build - your black walnut is prone to cracking, splitting and doing its own thing. Desperately sharp tools are a must, as is great care and attention, as he would advise.

Good luck, and post the build for us ten-thumbed would-be builders out there.

 

[PathfinderNC]

I had about an hour today and looked over the parts for this Dragoon pistol. I have to say that the castings are in pretty crude shape! It's certainly going to be slow going, but that's OK.
One thing that really surprised me however is the crudeness of the L&R lock! I haven't seen a lock that looked like the whole thing was sand cast. I removed the frizzen and leaf spring and the main spring also and sanded the face of the lockplate and then hit it with the wire buffing wheel. I did the same with the hammer and the cock. It's certainly not bright but its a heck of a lot better. You can still clearly see the casting voids on the lock plate.
The internals are also pretty rough. You can even see the casting marks on the tumbler! I thought they would have milled that part at least but it doesn't appear so. It sparks very well, and we'll see how fast it is. For a smoothbore military pistol, I guess it is acceptable? I'm just wondering how long this lock is designed to last. I should probably order an extra set of springs, from previous experiences.

 

[TFoley]

I had about an hour today and looked over the parts for this Dragoon pistol. I have to say that the castings are in pretty crude shape! It's certainly going to be slow going, but that's OK.

Not sand-cast, but investment cast. The finish that you see is that left by the internals of the ceramic mould. Ruger makes a VERY high proportion of its gun components in this manner, as do a whole scad of other makers. Providing that that the basic material is of good quality you should be good to fettle it any way you care to, but beware - it is NOT forged, and as a result has no forge-aligned/strengthened granular structure - it is, or should be, totally homogenous.

 

[PathfinderNC]

Not sand-cast, but investment cast. The finish that you see is that left by the internals of the ceramic mould. Ruger makes a VERY high proportion of its gun components in this manner, as do a whole scad of other makers. Providing that that the basic material is of good quality you should be good to fettle it any way you care to, but beware - it is NOT forged, and as a result has no forge-aligned/strengthened granular structure - it is, or should be, totally homogenous.

Thanks TFoley, good information to learn.

 

[PathfinderNC]

I got the barrel in and the lock almost fully inlet today. Looks like the touch hole and the pan will line-up just about perfectly
It's coming along...

 

[JohnL]

Yessir!

 

[Flintandsteel]

It’s a nice kit, except for the lock. GERMANIC LOCK on a French pistol.

 

[PathfinderNC]

It’s a nice kit, except for the lock. GERMANIC LOCK on a French pistol.

Must have been from Alsace-Lorraine

 

[Nameless Hunter]

It’s a nice kit, except for the lock. GERMANIC LOCK on a French pistol.

Odd, this is the picture of "their" French Dragoon on their site - unless it's just a generic picture, which would also be odd.

 

[PathfinderNC]

Odd, this is the picture of "their" French Dragoon on their site - unless it's just a generic picture, which would also be odd.
View attachment 109675

I think that is the British Heavy Dragoon they offer?

 

[Nameless Hunter]

Odd, this is the picture of "their" French Dragoon on their site - unless it's just a generic picture, which would also be odd.
View attachment 109675

Never mind. I see now it is a generic picture - also used on their British Dragoon.
Eagerly waiting to see how your pistol turns out.

 

[PathfinderNC]

Never mind. I see now it is a generic picture - also used on their British Dragoon.
Eagerly waiting to see how your pistol turns out.

Here's the picture they have of the French Type D Dragoon ~ Mine has a 15.5" barrel, though.

 

[Nameless Hunter]

I was looking at the picture on this page: 1733-1760 French Dragoon Cavalry Pistol

 

[PathfinderNC]

Well, so far so good, I think. I cleaned up some of the brass parts this morning and was able to get the lock plate drilled and tapped without a disaster. I got the side plate in position and drilled, which I will inlet later. At first the side plate looked too low, but then I considered how the side panel will actually be shaped. I believe it will be nice and balanced. (I looked at other pistols similar to this style to see how they were designed and found that most all have a downward tilt to the side plate).
I was very happy the ramrod cleared the forward lock bolt (for the most part), needing a bit of tapering to do so.
I think next thing will be the ramrod thimbles the butt cap and work my way north.

 

[TFoley]

It's coming on a treat. However, much as I'd like one for myself, this line of text is becoming a lot more prevalent than before BREXIT -

We will no longer ship any orders outside of the United States

 

[PathfinderNC]

I found a great tutorial on You Tube of how to actually build this type of French Dragoon pistol. This should be very helpful!

 

[PathfinderNC]

The butt cap is on and I started to work on the grip. I have it secured with a screw for now. It has a retaining pin with a grotesque mask that will get installed later, since it needs a pin that is under the trigger guard, which isn't done yet.
I think I am gonna like this pistol

 

[JohnL]

Nice!!!