Making a Steel Nose Cap for an old Parker Hale 3 Band Volunteer Rifle

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Why in the world would you do that I thought, then went ahead & started one any way. The real reason is that the Parker Hale and Pedersoli Whitworth replicas are not really replicas of anything I've ever seen. All the Military Match Whitworth rifles have steel butt plates, steel trigger guards, lock escutcheons, and steel nose caps. NONE have any of those pieces fabricated from brass.

So I bought an old Parker Hale 3 band rifle about 2 weeks ago and I was hoping it was a Whitworth, but no it had Alexander Henry rifling (I think), but in our world it was close enough. It is a mess too! It had 4 veneer patches in the barrel channel applied with epoxy and a tang sight base screwed into the wood........ not the first one either. The front sling swivel had been moved to the middle band and the swivel thinned to fit, but that's another story. So I thought let's do something with this (rare PH Volunteer) rifle that hasn't been done yet. So this is a journey of some length and hopefully it will turn out OK. The ultimate plan is to make all 3 items in steel as the originals were made. The trigger guard is extended to the rear & the sling swivel is mounted at the rear of the guard. The butt plate is the same shape, just made of brass. This rifle is closest to the Enfield Model 1862 Whitworth in form except for the brass parts.

The rifle was used for target purposes and was made in 1981, so 43 years ago it started life. Alexander Henry or Rigby rifling .451 caliber & 36 inch barrel. Here's a photo or 2:
102aa.jpg
102ka.jpg

It doesn't look like this any more, but that is for later. Here's a pict of the nose cap:
102na.jpg
It's hard to see but it's not good when compared to my London Armory Company original:
IMG_0550a.jpg

Believe me the fit between the 2 is worlds apart. So this is where the steel nose cap comes in. I used the Parker Hale as a "go-by" and went from there:

IMG_0542a.jpg
IMG_0543.JPG

So here is where I is now:
IMG_0547a.jpg
IMG_0548a.jpg

Lots more machining & filing work to do, but that is what retirement is for, at least for me.

later, Mike
 
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One step closer than yesterday. I worked on the my milling machine today and got a lot accomplished. Here's 3 Enfield nosecaps; the first is the one I'm making, the second is from an antique London Armory Co., the last is from the Parker Hale Volunteer I'm remodeling:

IMG_0551.JPG
The middle nosecap appears thinner because it is. The barrel is 39 inches long and is .785 inches in diameter at the front of the nosecap and the Parker Hale rifle with a 36 inch barrel is .814 inches in diameter at the front of the nosecap.

Another photo in the same order:
IMG_0552.JPG

The last photo show my work mounted on the Parker Hale:
IMG_0554.JPG

Still a ways to go, but getting closer. Until tomorrow my friends.

later, Mike
 
Well the nose cap is about 90% - 95% finished. Here are 2 photos of it:

IMG_0559.JPG

IMG_0561.JPG

The first photo isn't focused on the nose cap, but on the background - I hate these new fangled cameras.

Anyway on to the trigger guard. I have to figure out how long it is to be because the 1862 Enfield Whitworth moved the sling swivel to the butt end of the guard and added about 2-1/2" to the length. Here's a photo of what it is suppose to look like:

96aa  Pattern 1862 Whitworth 36 inch barrel.jpg
96f.jpg
I'm planning right now to make the trigger guard in two parts. The first part will be the guard area around the trigger & the second part will be the extension toward the butt. I'll weld the two parts together. I'll make the screw swivel on my lathe and see if I can modify the guard swivel to fit.

later, Mike
 
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