Goodies , I like to own

[enfield]

Danke für das Kompliment . Hoffentlich öffnet unser Schießstand bald wieder , ich möchte das Teil so bald wie möglich mal ausprobieren !

(Thank you for the compliment . Hopefully our shooting range will open again soon, I want to try the part as soon as possible!)

 

[enfield]

Today , I've tinkered a goodie , which for long I wanted to have .
I cast my RB for years now , but was always unhappy with the sprue . Therefore I thought , it were nice to have a tool for egalizing this and also to guarantee an absolute round shape of the ball .
By fortune , I've found a round piece of ( unknown ) steel in my stock , but this had a hole in the middle , which I filled with some brass stock on hand .
Being 5" wide , 1,5" thick , I turned it out 3/4" deep and 4,5" wide .
I also made a press plate ( stamp ) with handle , but only 4" wide .
Now I can fill this with my RB , and by turning the stamp several times , my RB come out without a trace of the sprue and are absolutely round .
Miking gives a difference of max 2/1000" compared to 5/100" off the mould .
Really necessary - I think NO .
Nice to have _ YES !
Maybe , with the tiny .290 RB ( please feel free to have a look at my post " Ruggles Patent Underhammer Pistol " ) which I plan to shoot , it maybe gives some more precision

 

[jae]

Very impressed with your work jae

 

[enfield]

Gosh - lots of free hand filing been done ...

 

[enfield]

In the last few days , I tinkered a little machine , which easens rolling of my RB . Gears 2/1 for little money from eBay , the rest made from some scrap laminated wood . The top plate and the handle are made from boxwood , therefore I didn't need roller bearings , because this wood is already acting as bearings . Works nice .

Really necessary _ NO
Nice to have - YES

 

[Griz44Mag]

Whew, I almost screwed up there....
Hopefully you were referring to LEAD balls....

 

[enfield]

Whew, I almost screwed up there....
Hopefully you were referring to LEAD balls....

Otherways it could be a little painful ...

 

[F.G. Ford]

Nice pistol! My most sincere compliments.
Don't suppose you have a copy of your drawings
"IF" you were a real "Red Neck" you could shoot that pistol off your front porch ( not Porshe )
Fred

 

[F.G. Ford]

me too ! But I didn't expect anything else

You're sure you couldn't get any more powder down the barrel!
That is a class looking pistol.
You should be very proud.
Fred

 

[Felix the Cat]

Did you measure your barrel before and after proof firing it or were you just happy it stayed in one piece?

A lot of folks are not aware that most proof testing processes are not just a survival test. You should really measure both the internal and external dimensions before and after firing the proof test and make sure there was no change. Proof firing should ensure that the gun remains within its elastic limits and that no distortion has occurred. Ideally you should remove the breech plug and look for rings in the bore.

You should then stamp the proof bore dimension on the barrel so it can be checked in the future...!

Excellent work by the way...!

 

[enfield]

Did you measure your barrel before and after proof firing it or were you just happy it stayed in one piece?

A lot of folks are not aware that most proof testing processes are not just a survival test. You should really measure both the internal and external dimensions before and after firing the proof test and make sure there was no change. Proof firing should ensure that the gun remains within its elastic limits and that no distortion has occurred. Ideally you should remove the breech plug and look for rings in the bore.

You should then stamp the proof bore dimension on the barrel so it can be checked in the future...!

Excellent work by the way...!

Hi Felix and thank You for Your thoughts .

After the "test fire" I unscrewed the barrel and pushed a lead plug , which I have already pushed through before the test which therefore must have had a perfect , snug fit . Pushing it through didn't give any sign of the bore being wider than before , also no visible ring , which means to me that the steel is still in its elastic limits .
But You're absolutely right - such a rigid "proof" could have cold hardened the barrel steel which in the future could become kind of a "shrapnel" ...

 

[44-henry]

Neat project, though I am curious why you refer to it as a Ruggles underhammer. I have never seen a Ruggles in this style, looks more like something that would have been made post Ruggles.

 

[enfield]

Neat project, though I am curious why you refer to it as a Ruggles underhammer. I have never seen a Ruggles in this style, looks more like something that would have been made post Ruggles.

You're absolutely right , but I liked to rebuild it with some alterations , which I thought were not a bad idea to try ( trigger stop , attatchment to the frame body )

BUT : the system as is , seemed great for me to tinker with

As You can see , I'm not too far away from the one at far left , being my original Ruggles from about 1835/1836 , being stamped by Hutchings Co , who sold it , and as I wrote in my first post , unluckily , I had no better material to make it .

And YES , I'm aware , that full metal/steel frames are quite/extremely scarce .

I never tryed to make a fake but only to make my own version of a great concept .

Please forgive me my disrespect ☹☹☹

I hope that the others that I have made will better meet your requirements .

I just love the concept of the Ruggles style .

 

[enfield]

PS.: the violin case was just a joke , since my shooting buddies always told me , that my modern gun carry case doesn't fit my gun ... And everything inside it ( let alone the old 100+ old scope ) is selfmade . ( I guess , I spent more time to build these than for the entire gun ... )

BUT : also a goodie , I liked to own !

When You compare the entire systems , You will see , that I ( mostly ) strictly followed the original Ruggles patent .

 

[Gypsybladesmith]

Nicely done. Thanks for the tutorial

 

[enfield]

Since Corona is still a worldwide problem , I , thanks God , can still go working , but must keep my social contacts really low .

Therefore , as lots of You , too , I have a handful of spare time , when I have to stay at home , which I like to use for still making some goodies , which I wanted for long .

This time , I decided , it would be nice to have a patch knife , which could also serve for everyday use .

After a little search , I found a photo of an old catalan knife , which I thought , would serve pretty well . I love blades of about 4 " long .

Here I must add , that , on one hand , it is not common here in Germany , to carry a fixed knife , and , on the other hand , I also love folders .

Fortunately , I've found a tiny piece of scrap Böhler N690 stainless steel .
This steel is an alloy with a content of some cobalt , which helps to form very tiny carbides , when it is hardened/annealed .
I'm aware, that this steel isn't period correct , but - so what ! Being a little hard to sharpen , it takes an even finer edge as a pure carbon alloy , like O1 , blade !
A good friend of mine heat treated it for me to 59 HRC ( thanks to [email protected] ) .
The handle scales and bolsters , i filed from some scrap stainless steel , silver soldered , and the handle slabs are from some stag , which I was gifted from a good friend , who has hunted it in Alsace/France .

I think , it came out pretty nice and I already carry it in my pocket !

It still needs some better polish of the blade , but that's something to come , soon .

 

[Ray Settanta]

Very nice!

 

[enfield]

Once more , I've used my spare time for tinkering a goodie :

Almost ( or maybe over ) 20 years ago , I was gifted from a friend , who was a gun trader , but has passed away 2 years ago , and who was also a very valued member of my shooting team , with a cutoff of a .308 barrel , of a ( unmentionable ) rifle , which was to be prepared for a silencer .

I always wanted to make something from it , even if it were something quite stupid .

Now , finally , I've tinkered a bootleg with a system of my beloved Ruggles style , and I think , it came out quite OK .

Her name is "little ugly" , since the proportions are not so pleasing , as I think , but it fits my boot quite nice and was made in the same shape of a friend's gun of his collection .

( I have to stain the brass with some fouled patches , yet )

I know , the stock should have been made from wood solely , but I liked the idea of a brass case . Not original or period correct , but NICE TO HAVE

( See in comparison wit a 8 7/8" barreled gun in my private collection )

RIP , Toni Casagrande !

 

[enfield]

Unfortunately , I'm still caught by this unmentionable lockdown .

Therefore , I tinkered for the last weeks something absolutely unneccessary - but I like it .
By fortune , I could purchase on eB.. for little money an old Russian case for a Margolin - pistol and decided to build a case for one of my underhammers from it .
I know , these items are already collectors items , but - what the hell ...

Every single piece inside the case , incl. the gun , the lining and every tool , I made by myself .

Sure - not an expert job , but I like it and the gun is a real goal - getter in huge .315 cal.

Someone likes it , too ?

 

[enfield]

After a looong time of over 4 years ( Good God , how fast times pass by ) , please allow me to refresh this thread and show You my latest project .
Should it be OK for You , I'd like to invite You for watching my newest thread :

Rebuild of an antique American Side hammer pistol



Any comments/critics would be more than welcome !