Got Sparks?

Just finished putting together this lock and got it's first spark today.

I'm thinking a 20" 50 cal tapered barrel, set triggers, walnut stock sporting gun with bone inlays similar to one I saw in the Winchester Museum many years ago.

 

[dtruex]

You aren't going to actually put that on a gun and hide that beautiful interior, are you? At least put a glass sideplate on and inlet all the way through! ::

 

The lock is real easy to pull out and look at This is kind of what I have in mind. I cut a styrofoam pattern of the stock. Anyone here have or shoot one? It looks like it would be handy in the woods.

 

[FireMaker]

:master: Wish I had your skill. Very nice.

 

[Leonredbeard]

Vern,
That is the exact lock I have on the redhairedgal. You are in for a special adventure. :redthumb: Is this your first wheellock? You will find her temporamental, just like the red heaired girl at the dance, a bit of a tease ::, Hee Hee! I had mine out today testing someone's theory about shooting half balls. I got off the required amount of shots, and that in front of a friend who had never seen one. For me it would fire on the first spin. Load it for him, clean, span and prime just right and it would take two and one time three spins for it to fire for him. :shocking: You did a really nice job cleaning up the castings and polishing. :master: I have mine together now for over two years and have not polished up the areas that are purely show. I got it into operation and have been playing with it and developing and researching ever since. Have fun ::.
God bless.
volatpluvia

 

[musketman]

The lock is real easy to pull out and look at This is kind of what I have in mind. I cut a styrofoam pattern of the stock. Anyone here have or shoot one? It looks like it would be handy in the woods.

Styrofoam stocks, the newest wave to hit the muzzleloading public... :winking: :haha: (Don't let the inline makers get wind of this, or maybe you should...) :hmm:

What wood have you chosen for the stock, something equally as magnificent, I hope...

By the way, nice lock...

 

No, I built the wheellock pistol first using the Rifleshop 623 lock. It works real smooth and fires with no problems (so far)! If you saw the target, it shoots very well but took a bit of getting used to just a front sight. You have some real beauties. I hope to have a few myself in a couple of years

 

I have a piece of European walnut that I think will work out well. The original I saw was stocked in walnut. I just need to go to the butcher shop and get a bunch of long bones to boil out for the inlays, nosecap, and thimbles.

 

[Teleoceras]

Vern:

OHHHH YEEAAHHH!!!!!

That is going to be one fine looking gun! :RO:

 

Yes, I'm going for an original Jaeger I've been working on the set triggers for it today. Should have them finished in a few days. It's hard to find photos or plans for wheellock set triggers but I managed to find a photo of an original I took some time ago. And I started work on the barrel. I hope to finish the turning and tapering tomorrow.

 

Today, I got the set trigger ready to polish and temper. Trigger was made from a photo of the trigger in a wheellock built around 1670.

 

[Leonredbeard]

Vern,
very interesting picture, and I do see how the triggers would work. But I pinned my primitve trigger high above the trigger sear in the wood. My trigger pull is about a pound or less. It is very smooth and somewhat long but a joy for squeezing.
God bless.
volatpluvia

 

I did that on the pistol and did notice that there wasn't much pressure needed with the high mounted trigger. Most of the wheellock sporting guns I've seen use a set trigger so I wanted to try it. The set trigger can be adjusted down to around 3 ounces which should be nice for target shooting. Then it can be adjusted back for tramping through the woods.

 

Got the barrel finished and the stock blank cut. All the metal work is done except for the trigger guard and the patch box release. It's patterned after a stalking rifle made around 1635 with 20" .50 cal rifled barrel.

 

[Light Dragoon]

WOW! That is going to be one sweet little rifle! Can't wait to see her completed, though. Good going!

Cheers,

Gordon

 

[SquirrelsaurusR]

Very cool. Are you going to use it for hunting? That would make for a great story!

 

[Leonredbeard]

Vern,
That looks like a flint in the jaws of the dog. I wouldn't use that. It quickly destroys the ridges on the wheel and I found it doesn't work very well. Tch Tch.
God bless.
volatpluvia

 

I may try hunting with it just for fun. I've never heard from anyone who has shot a rifle from the cheek before, but the style was very popular in Germany for over a 100 years so maybe there is something to it. At a minimum I intend to try target shooting with it. I'll just have to see what the recoil is like! And I'll bet with a nice buck in the sights, you'd never feel the recoil. I've wanted a wheellock or two for years. Finding you guys and this forum turned me on to the Rifle Shop and their wheellock kits so I decided to go for it. The pistol I built using their lock kit shoots great! I just hope this rifle shoots as good. By the way, I told my wife it's all your fault

 

No, it's actually pyrites. I've been using some material that I found near Strausburg, Virginia that is heavily pyrited limestone. It's not hard enought to scratch the wheel but the limestone keeps it from breaking up. I make up the pyrites with edges on both ends and get 25 or 30 shots before I have to turn it. I use the same thing in the pistol and we shot it all day with the original and a spare

 

[Leonredbeard]

Oooooh, Vern,
Would it be possible to get a few of those? :master: :master: :master: I am looking for something like that and drooling all over the keyboard. For a good laugh, see Pst, Claude at the competition forum. :crackup: :thumbsup:
God bless.
volatpluvia