My Tip Curtis Saint-Etienne

[mwilson]

Valentines Day Comes Early in Pennsylvania
Well boy does it pay to sweet talk old Tip Curtis
Todd and I just unpacked my walnut stocked 42 inch barreled 20 Gauge Saint-Etienne ....
I love it ! I called Tip last week and asked him to pick out a pretty stock for me,and let me tell you boys, he sure did !
Iron furniture and a lock that is just as nice on the inside as it is on the outside.
We wet the stock to see what it might look like when finished ...lots of figure and strong through the wrist.
It is way to long for my short little arms.
it will be cut down to a 11.50 LOP and should be well balanced in come in under 7 pounds.
Now the work begins .I cant wait to see how one of these works of art go together.
I will post some pics real soon and more as we put it together.
WalksFast

 

[Jim Evans]

hotoSmile:

 

[mwilson]

Here is the best we could do
These pictures do not show the true beauty of the wood.

 

[tannerbollum]

Looks like a beauty of a project! Best of luck and keep us posted!

 

[Jim Evans]

:thumbsup:
I like it.

 

[kaintuck]

What the charges on the " kit"?
Did he mail it, or did you pick it up?

 

[mwilson]

he mailed it
love it
Lock in working on barrel
Walksfast

 

[Baxter]

I think the figure in the butt just marvelous! Please show it when finished. baxter

 

[mwilson]

We just started setting in the tang
got it in most of the way and when we looked at the vent ..it is right on the forward edge of the pan. to get it to center I will have to set the barrel back at least a 16th if an inch.
after doing that there will now be a gap of the same size where the barrel goes from octagon to round.
the lock was pre inlet and we had Tip instal the vent liner before shipping.
What do you all think ?
It will still work .....just a lot more work for me to make it right and now there will be a Gap along the barrel

 

[mwilson]

After fretting about it all nite ..I pulled the breech plug this morning at 5 am ,the vent is installed properly {of course} right at the edge of the plug threads . and droped right in what i have in-letted .I will set the barrel back about a 16th and all should be good .
another restless nite for no reason .Going to work today knowing I did nothing wrong and I still hold old Tip in high regard .I just need to cool my jets and slow down and think about it before i sink in my chisel .
WalksFast

 

[Zonie]

I think you made the right decision.
Move the barrel as much as is needed to get the vent aligned.

With the slight taper on the barrel, any gap that opens along it will be totally unnoticed after the gun is finished.

 

[Stophel]

With a pre inlet stock, you'll always have to finish the inlets, including setting the barrel where it needs to be. S.O.P.

What I like to do is to open the pan up with a little grinding thingy in a Dremel tool or drill, widening it forward. Depending upon the lock, sometimes it can be widened a great deal. Not only does this make for a bigger pan to hold more powder and catch more sparks, it also "moves" the pan forward, which can help a lot with lock/barrel positioning, especially when you have over-long breechplugs and touch hole liners that push the touch hole forward on the barrel. :wink:

The touch hole is the center of the gun. Everything is positioned based on the touch hole.

 

[mwilson]

Thanks Stophel
Last nite I set the barrel back a good 16th
After much work and the barrel going in and out about 20 times ,the vent is now just a 32nd forward of center
As suggested I will open the pan forward and
that should do it.
When the barrel was seated down all the way the vent is just above the top of the pan ...should fire just fine .
Now the breach plug need to go back a little and then re-installed and see if it all goes together correctly.
This is a fantastic site with a wealth of information and help from experienced builders.
Glad we found you all !
WalksFast

 

[Bear64]

What is a Saint-Etienne ?

 

[Wes/Tex]

St. Etienne, Maubeurg and Charleville were the three major armories who made longarms for the French army. Tulle was private gun building firm who supplied mainly the Compagnies Franches de la Marine, the independent companies under the auspices of the Ministry of the Marine(French Royal Navy)who served in North America, the Caribbean and India.

 

[Bear64]

this is a French army gun then?

 

[Wes/Tex]

What Walksfast is building is a "hunting" verson of the trade guns also made by the various armories. Tulle is well known for the fusils de chasse, but the other makers also made these guns during the 18th century.

 

[JohnN]

St.Etienne also made civilian guns. They had their own version of the fusil de chasse.