Lehigh, Bucks, Bedford County Book Suggestions

[rootnuke]

I've been kicking around some ideas about building something in a Golden Age flintlock with a look in the school of Bucks, Bedford or Lehigh County. I like the smooth flowing drop from the breech to the butt. I think also that I have honed my skills to go up I level from early flint lock design to Golden Age.

Does anyone know any book titles and in turn from first hand experience know that they sufficiently illustrate original rifles of these schools?

To give you an idea here a a couple of books at TOW;

Bedford
Bedford
Golden Age

Unfortunatly I have not found any books that have illustrated Lehigh County.

If there are any builders out there that have suggestions regarding well illustrated books on the above schools it would be much appreciated.

eace:

 

[rich pierce]

Root,
Lehigh guns are pretty difficult to "get" from books. They are 100 ways from Sunday different from building a Lancaster gun, etc. The stepped wrist, the wrist wider than tall, the flow of the wrist from the buttstock, and other subtleties are hard to see in flat photographs. If you want to start getting a good feel for them, go to www.firelocks.com and see Erik Kettenberg's stuff then go find Allen Martin's website. These guys will blow you away. I am not sure I'm ready for a Lehigh because it's been 20 years since I saw an original (I got lost for a period of time). I'm just getting back into it after being awol on black powder from 1990-2003.

Here's the big question: Are you ready to build from a blank? That's the real learning curve where it gets steep! If you've not done it before, some folks would say you've assembled rifles but not built them.

Bedford guns have a unique look but they have a lot of drop at the heel and if you flatten them out they look odd. They need to be made in small calibers to be right.

I think the Bucks County guns are a great Golden Age style for the current builder that allows for a lot of creativity and they don't look like everybody else's gun. They have great "shooting architecture" like Lancaster and York and Lebanon guns, but a distinct look. Kindig's and Shumway's Rifles in Colonial America are your best bets for Bucks County, and Kindig's has several Bedford guns, but not the multiple views Shumway presents. The Weiker and Schuler Bucks County guns offer a lot of room for creativity. In my opinion, only a master should attempt to make a grand rifle like the signed Verner.

 

[Bill Bounds]

Hey:
I could take a drive over to bedford musuem and poke around some, bet ya some folks in town have a bedford co. gun or two about. I searched my library for the books you had posted and two are available at another library and I think i'll order them in to look them over.
this guy sound like he'd be a good guy to ask questions of...http://www.firelocks.com/page49.html
OOPS,, looks like Rich already put him in there.
Bill

 

[LSU TIGER]

To add to what Rich said, Lehigh rifles also have a vee shaped forearm, as opposed to the rounded style of Lancaster and Berks rifles. The nosecap was usually open ended (wood showing, not brass), and the ramrod groove also runs to the end of the forestock. Many cheek pieces carried a version of the "hunter's star" in silver. One of the most striking features of the Lehigh rifle is the finish. Commonly described as red , actually, the varnish was tinted red to give the stock a reddish cast. If I were to build a Lehigh, I'd stain the stock with aqua fortis, neutralise with lye solution, and use an oil finish with a distinct red cast. The LMF cherry stain is too blatently RED to be realistic, even when cut 4 to 1 with alcohol.

I don't know of a Lehigh precarve stock (not to say that there isn't), so you may have to work from a blank. :: That'll mean a trip to Sears or Home Depot for a band saw!

 

[Stumpkiller]

I'm a great lover of the Lehigh (but not a builder) and, as Rich & LSU noted, they are unique among longrifles in many features.

Other unique or distinctive features:

The forearm channel is shallow and more than 1/2 of the barrel is exposed.

The upper buttplate extension is squared off and inlet into the wood, as opposed to running the full width of the butt/cheek.

"Indian" head/bust ahead of the triggerguard. I think it's a Liberty Head in a phrygian cap, but that's just my theory.

That was back when our money was pretty, too.

The wrist is oval/egg shape and wider than it is tall.

The lower profile of the wrist is concave to the forend. This is a tough one to describe. Following the line back from the lower surface of the forend, it goes up before it drops (and there is always a step inside or at the tail of the grip rail on the trigger bow), and the drop to the short toe-plate is a gentle concave curve. This "cut-out" is what makes the wrist waider than it is tall.

It seems the Lehigh smiths were trying to remove as much wood as possible, though the early ones still have the relatively wide butt.

 

[LSU TIGER]

That's a Germanic "step wrist," Stumpkiller. The "Indian head" or "Liberty cap" in front of the trigger guard can be either an inlay or incise carving.

:hmm: Here's a thought, Rootnuke, call Fred Miller. He has many patterns, and may have a Lehigh pattern. I don't have his number, but I'm sure someone here does.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Fred's number is 1-570-922-1861.

He did the barrel inletting on my Lehigh. :redthumb:

 

[Delta Factor]

...Lehigh rifles also have a vee shaped forearm, as opposed to the rounded style of Lancaster and Berks rifles...

Can you (or anyone else who knows) expand on this? I can't quite picture what the difference would be.

I am also looking into the Lehigh Valley style for a my next rifle build (to be honest, my first build completely on my own).

Like rootnuke, I'd like to see any books out there written specifically towards building this style, but haven't been able to find them yet.

 

[Zonie]

The first rifle I made was Pacatonica Rivers "Lehigh Cty." rifle.
I don't know how well it fits the descriptions here and I can't look at it as it is also the only home constructed component gun that I have ever sold. (seems like I let it go for $900).

As I recall, the forend from the factory was not triangular, but my research told me it should be, and it was an easy task to reshape it.

I did not put the little "indian" face on it for several reasons, not the least of which is, I am not convinced that all Lehigh's had this. In fact, I really doubt that they did.
I also consider the face such a primitive characture of a person that I think it detracts from the beauty of the gun.

As for the Bedford, if you want to buy a book, I would recommend The BEDFORD COUNTY RIFLE and It's Makers by Calvin Hetrick. A very inexpensive paperback covering Defibaugh, Stoudenour, Stoud, Amos, Moore, Rusley, and Peter White. In fact one of the guns shown, by Peter White is a Flintlock, which dispells the notion that Bedford Co. Rifles are all Caplocks.
(Actually Peter White was making guns in Bedford County in 1806, long before precussion was even invented.)

George Shumways RIFLES of COLONIAL AMERICA, Volume I devotes pages 237 to 258 to the Lehigh showing rifles 56 thru 61. These were made by: Peter Neihart, Herman Rupp, John Noll? and 3 unknowns.

Anyway, Check out Pecatonica River. :thumbsup:

 

[rich pierce]

...Lehigh rifles also have a vee shaped forearm, as opposed to the rounded style of Lancaster and Berks rifles...

Can you (or anyone else who knows) expand on this? I can't quite picture what the difference would be.

you should go to this site: http://www.firelocks.com/earlymollnose.JPG
EK's picture of a Moll nosecap

I'll just repeat myself:
I'd not recommend a Lehigh for anyone's first project.
There are no books specifically aimed toward building a Lehigh
If you don't get to handle a Lehigh rifle, while you are building yours, you will be unable to make it come out "right" unless you are a gifted person.

 

[user 922]

The Lehigh rifle is probably the most stylish of all longrifles. It is also the most difficult to get "right", and when it's wrong, it really looks wrong. There's some proportional forgiveness in a Lancaster style gun due to the relatively straight architecture but there's none in the Lehigh.

Eric Kettenberg and a few others have mastered the style. It'll be a while before I try one.

The Bucks County gun is a little simpler but also needs the correct details e.g. the buttplate, or else it really looks wrong. It's a nice project because all the correct parts aren't available off the shelf and some have to be made or altered. Most of the carving is incised and one can get by with little or no engraving. Mine is a left handed Schuler/Weicker style and was a lot of fun to research and build.

 

[rootnuke]

Does anyone have this book...

And if so, would you say it is a good reference for Lehigh detail?

on TOW site this portion of the contents for the book caught my eye being that Bethlehem School is so much like Lehigh.

# The Bethlehem School

* A. Verner
* Unknown
* The Angstadt Family
* Peter Anstat
* G. Feder
* John Rupp
* The Moll Family
* John Moll
* Peter Moll
* The Pannabecker Family
*

 

[Delta Factor]

rich,

Thanks, that picture is exactly what I needed. I've seen Kettenburg's site, in fact that's where I first got the idea that I'd like a Lehigh gun of my own, I just hadn't noticed that picture before.

You're probably correct about the difficulty of this project for a beginner, but I like these guns so much I just have to give it a try. Hopefully it won't be an embarrassment!

Rootnuke - in case you don't already have it, a friend of mine just ordered "Pennsylvania Longrifles of Note" by Shumway, and I can let you know if it has any good info/pics of Lehighs. I also have scans of a Rupp gun from R.of C.A. by Shumway and can share them if you'd like.

 

[horkeye]

Does anyone have this book...

Yes, I have it, but :imo: I would not say it is good from a reference point, I think you would be better off with Rifles of Colonial America Vol I or II, I can never remember the correct title but I'm sure someone will correct me.

:thumbsup:

Lehigh County, propa longarms.

PS I'm partial to the Herman Rupp 1793 style longarm (No.57 as shown on page 242), but very difficult to obtain suitable kit? :curse:

 

[Herb]

Whisker's book "Behold the Longrifle Again" (TOW) has BUCKS Co. rifles, John Shuler (2), good views, George Weiker, also enough to build close; LEHIGH: John Moll, Peter Moll (2), Peter Neihart, Hess, Peter Kuntz and an ornate unsigned with plenty of detail; BEDFORD: Daniel Border, John Amos, William Border and Thomas Oldham. The Oldham has plenty of detail, I built it. Actually, an amalgam of three of Oldham's rifles, Whisker's "Gunsmiths of Bedford, Somerset and Fulton Counties" has pictures of the other two. This photo shows part of the one I built.

 

[rootnuke]

Rootnuke - in case you don't already have it, a friend of mine just ordered "Pennsylvania Longrifles of Note" by Shumway, and I can let you know if it has any good info/pics of Lehighs. I also have scans of a Rupp gun from R.of C.A. by Shumway and can share them if you'd like.

Thanks but I have I&II of RCA. I had a tough time making my Lancaster. I had to scan the images I needed then adjust the clarity, sharpness and then dink with contrast. One dimentional photos suck.

Does anyone have an original Rupp or Moll laying around I can take some pictures of and measure?

 

[C_Laubach]

rootnuke,
I can send you a tracing of the stock profile of an original J. Moll Sr.

 

[rootnuke]

rootnuke,
I can send you a tracing of the stock profile of an original J. Moll Sr.

:shocking: ::
That would be great, I'll pm you.

 

[George Pittelko]

I'm now anxiously waiting for my 'Isaac Haines kit' from Jim Chambers. Currently I'm researching the Lancaster rifle style. The other day I was at 'Books A Million' and found the excellent book by R.L.Wilson, Steel Canvas - The Art of American Arms. You'll find over 60 pages of colored Kentucky rifle photos in this 384 hard bound book - I think that you will find your rifle style in this excellent book.
The book lists at $65 and is currently on sale for $25.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Welcome.

Barnes & Noble had that over Thanksgiving & Christmas. There are a couple real nice Herman Rupp rifles pictured.