New pistol build

[paulvallandigham]

It all depends on what kind of cutting you want to do to the barrel, and what kind of crown you want. Some will require a lathe to do correctly. Others can be done with hand-tools, like a hacksaw, files, and abrasives. Take a look at the Tutorial at the top of this thread( Gun Builder's Bench) to see what our Mike Brooks shows you about this matter.

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
Using a square placed across the muzzle, scribe each of the flats where you want the cut. Cut off the barrel with a hack saw trying to keep close to your lines so the cut is square. Mount the barrel vertically in a vice, and using a large flat file, clean up and square the muzzle to your lines. You want to keep the file flat on the muzzle and file around in circular motion without lifting the file off the metal. Using a slow drill or brace and bit, mount a grinding ball that is a little larger than the bore, and grind the crown, making sure your grinding is even. Many folks get really anal about muzzle-facing and crowning, but unless you are building a super precision target gun, I wouldn't worry too much.

dave

 

[MSW]

wow! fantastic work- i hope that my stuff will someday look a third as good!

 

[MSW]

kmollet, i'd go with a #1 stock and a #3 (octagon to round) barrel. if you're concerned about barrel length, contact the folks at MuzzleLoaders Builders Supply- they're tremendously accomodating and helpful.

good luck with your build! (there will, of course, be more ... once youy have started down the path, there's no turning around...)

 

[kmolett]

I looked through the Mike Brookes gun building tutorial and didn't see anything on cutting or crowning a barrel. Did I miss something?

 

[kmolett]

Where would you find a grinding ball? Is that something a Lowe's or a Home depot would have or something to special order.

Thanks,

Kevin

 

[Zonie]

Specially shaped grinding stones (including spheres) are available at many hardware stores.

Anyone thinking of using one must know that although these often come with a steel shank embedded into them they should NEVER use them in a power tool to crown a muzzle.

A power tool such as an electric drill will force the grinding stone to remove material almost everywhere except centered with the bore.
This is worse for accuracy than not crowning the muzzle at all.

Turn the spherical stone with your fingers allowing the bore to keep it centered while you rotate the ball.

Also, try to get a stone that is just slightly larger than the bore size. Too large of a ball will produce just as sharp of an edge as filing the muzzle flat does.
A conical stone with a 30 or 45 degree slope to it will work just as well as a sphere but here again let the bore guide it while you are working.

 

[paulvallandigham]

I would not use a Ball shaped stone for crowning. Use a CONE-shaped stone instead. They are available from better hardware stores, or from on-line suppliers.

I use the butt of a file handle, to support abrasives ( cloth, or mesh) to polish the crown and knock off the sharp edges on the front of the lands. I do the polishing by hand, turning the barrel with one hand, while rotating the abrasive the opposite direction with my other hand. I change the position of my hand on the barrel with each 1/3-turn, so that I polish the crown evenly around the circumference.

Some people use the head of a lag bolt on the larger bores, to support the abrasives.

 

[MSW]

what Paul and Zonie said

unplug that thing!!!

my experience indicates that power tools (at least, when it comes to building muzzleloaders) will get you into a lot more trouble than they can get you out of, and at a pretty high rate of destruction. the dremel, followed by the belt sander, are the two biggest offenders, so avoid temptation and lock 'em away.

after you crown the barrel, you might want to consider coning it as well (these are two different processes).

A bunch of debate on this, but it's worked well for me. Mike Woods in Texas makes a really good tool for this. His tools are calibre specific. There is another maker of a tool which can be used on different calibres, but the name escapes me.

Good luck with your build!

 

[kmolett]

Thanks for the advice. I read articles about coned barrels but never come into contact with one. It might be fun to do one and see the results. I think the only power tool that I will be using is the drill press.

 

[jhenry1728]

I was actually working on designing a similar gentleman's pistol project for a friend (OK, really myself as well). I leaned toward a dragoon style of stock with some of the smaller locks. Some of the locks are the small Queen Anne, round face English, small Becky's, and Becky's round face. I think most of those were either on Track or MLBS.

As for barrel, we were leaning toward something like 28 gauge octagonal to round. Then you get into the furniture.

 

[Doc Arroyo]

I went with an octagon to round tapered and flared barrel with a Queen Anne style lock. Loosely copied a 1750 Dutch dragoon. With the help of a blacksmith friend, I made the hardware.

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Whatever you choose...you'll be ready to build the NEXT one just a little different