Military heritage brown bess

[¡Señor.Casualidad!]

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Is this your bess Mr. Master blaster?
If so what did you do for the wood Finnish? Looks like linseed oil

 

[wganz]

Is this your bess Mr. Master blaster?
If so what did you do for the wood Finnish? Looks like linseed oil

Details please such as vendor and process, if any, of refinishing.
Does look like a nice piece. Have any additional pix?

 

[¡Señor.Casualidad!]

Tomorrow's the day!!!

 

[¡Señor.Casualidad!]

Tomorrow's the day!!!

Darn snow!

 

[wganz]

Besses are now contagious!!

ETA: Personally, got this one on the want/lust list:

Brown Bess Flintlock Carbine (Black Powder Muzzleloader)

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Though I'd do the 11BangBang's strip & refinish routine on the stock to lighten the color. Wood dependent, may slim down the forearm. Was thinking about pulling the barrel off & browning it; not unlike some of the pix I've seen of the Harper's Ferry Muskets. Yeah, Besses are contagious.

Order placed. To make a pit stop at @ColonialRifleSmith on the way to Texas for his Prep.

 

[¡Señor.Casualidad!]

Order placed. To make a pit stop at @ColonialRifleSmith on the way to Texas for his Prep.

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Congrats on the purchase!

 

[ColonialRifleSmith]

Order placed. To make a pit stop at @ColonialRifleSmith on the way to Texas for his Prep.

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Go it. I will be on the lookout. If you get a tracking number, please forward it to me. Rick

 

[Starman321]

Good to know! I'll start small and see how well it performs. I can always step it up if need be

My Brown Bess had the touch hole center punched and I used a 1/16" bit, no problems drilling it. But it took 3 tries before it fired with all the oil they used in the breach for shipping. Don't believe the anti India gun bull either, all lies, it's a good gun !

 

[Master Blaster]

Is this your bess Mr. Master blaster?
If so what did you do for the wood Finnish? Looks like linseed oil

I have shown this before. Long Land Brown Bess from Military Heritage. I removed most of the metal from the stock, chemically stripped and bleached it down to parade rest, recolored the wood with leather dyes and oil stain, oil-finished with BC TruOil applied with synthetic steel wool to reduce build-up on the surface. After finish totally done and dried I applied wood wax using synthetic wool then buffed with a sheepskin bonnet on the drill press. No sandpaper was used at all.
The dyes were very useful to color and hide a prominent sapwood strip down one side of the stock. Well, maybe not perfectly hidden but OK for me. YMMV. Thanks for asking and best wishes. Dave

 

[¡Señor.Casualidad!]

I have shown this before. Long Land Brown Bess from Military Heritage. I removed most of the metal from the stock, chemically stripped and bleached it down to parade rest, recolored the wood with leather dyes and oil stain, oil-finished with BC TruOil applied with synthetic steel wool to reduce build-up on the surface. After finish totally done and dried I applied wood wax using synthetic wool then buffed with a sheepskin bonnet on the drill press. No sandpaper was used at all.
The dyes were very useful to color and hide a prominent sapwood strip down one side of the stock. Well, maybe not perfectly hidden but OK for me. YMMV. Thanks for asking and best wishes. Dave

It looks great! Eventually I'd like to get a kibler kit... my bess will be a potential test/practice gun for wood and metal finishes

 

[ColonialRifleSmith]

It looks great! Eventually I'd like to get a kibler kit... my bess will be a potential test/practice gun for wood and metal finishes

Well, there's no comparison working woods used in the US vs India woods. India woods, Teak (Rosewood), Mango and such woods are very oily. They don't dry like US used woods do. They are not worked the same as US woods. Furthermore, they aren't aged/dried as we do. The wood is worked fresh/wet in India. Have fun though, It's an adventure. Semper Fi.

 

[¡Señor.Casualidad!]

Well, there's no comparison working woods used in the US vs India woods. India woods, Teak (Rosewood), Mango and such woods are very oily. They don't dry like US used woods do. They are not worked the same as US woods. Furthermore, they aren't aged/dried as we do. The wood is worked fresh/wet in India. Have fun though, It's an adventure. Semper Fi.

I agree. I have some woodworking experience It'll still Help me feel more confident. Plus I can practice metal finishes on the brass and steel!

 

[ColonialRifleSmith]

I agree. I have some woodworking experience It'll still Help me feel more confident. Plus I can practice metal finishes on the brass and steel!

I've worked many. If you run into any issues or not sure of something, PM me. I'll help where I can. Semper Fi.

 

[dracer]

I have shown this before. Long Land Brown Bess from Military Heritage. I removed most of the metal from the stock, chemically stripped and bleached it down to parade rest, recolored the wood with leather dyes and oil stain, oil-finished with BC TruOil applied with synthetic steel wool to reduce build-up on the surface. After finish totally done and dried I applied wood wax using synthetic wool then buffed with a sheepskin bonnet on the drill press. No sandpaper was used at all.
The dyes were very useful to color and hide a prominent sapwood strip down one side of the stock. Well, maybe not perfectly hidden but OK for me. YMMV. Thanks for asking and best wishes. Dave

looks very nice . well done

 

[¡Señor.Casualidad!]

Oh ya!!! Check it out!!!!

 

[¡Señor.Casualidad!]

I ain't home yet but I'll post plenty of pictures this evening!

 

[¡Señor.Casualidad!]

Well she's a big girl! The bess is next to my cz bobwhite(45" oal) for reference.
.744 bore do yall think a patched .735 ball will be too tight or do I just need to get some to try?

 

[¡Señor.Casualidad!]

My next two questions are does this lock geometry look fine? And could you give some tips on removing and re brazing this sight/lug

 

[¡Señor.Casualidad!]

Definitely will need some tuning and polishing I'm excited to get going on it! I've got some powder and accessories on the way. Are any of you in the kc area and know where to buy BP locally?

 

[jrweis1997]

On my 1733 French pistol I do have a recessed breech plug that I drilled through then removed the breech plug and notched it to allow good access to the main charge.
It really made for quick ignition.

I am going to have to do this on a bess and a sea service both seem off by about a 1/4 inch by my measurement. they are solid plugs instead of with a hollow base like this. did you have any issues with this? also how did you make the notch just a rat tail file?