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Making an English Turn-off Pistol for Fort Dobbs

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Hi Sam,
I don't know. I've looked at 270 year old originals that appear to have little wear on the threads and were quite shootable. On this pistol, there was no powder fouling visible on the threads after shooting. It seemed to make an excellent gas seal. But I cannot answer your question because I just don't know.

dave
 
Hi,
Thank you all for looking and commenting. I did enjoy doing this one and am pleased it came out well. As I wrote previously, having made one before really helped but it also helped to closely examine a bunch of original pistols. Turn-off pistols of all sorts are not particularly rare and they come up for sale frequently. They were so popular in early 18th century Britain. I made the barrel wrench today. I made the ring from thick flat steel and pinned then welded it to a round steel handle. It came out well. I'll post photos tomorrow. I have to polish it and then case harden the ring. I am going to give it a nice temper blue. Then it is fully cure the stock, polish the gun with Renaissance Wax, and ship it to Fort Dobbs and wait for the state of North Carolina to pay me.

dave
 
Hi Folks,
Thank you for looking and I appreciate the comments. This was a fun project just like the previous turn-off pistol I made. I finished making the barrel wrench. I welded the ring to steel rod and then finished it off. I've only seen a couple original barrel wrenches. I suspect they easily get lost over time. None I've seen were very ornate, Just a simple utilitarian tool. I tried to give mine a air of competence and craftsmanship. I case hardened the wrench and tempered it to a brilliant blue. I then formed a lanyard ring from brazing rod, installed it on the end of the wrench, and then soldered the joint. It works very well but I found it may not be needed. It is easy to screw and unscrew the barrel with your hand during firing. I will let the finish cure this week, then apply a little Renaissance wax and polish it. Then build a box and ship it to North Carolina.

dave




 
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