Parker-Hale Whitworth - 1st shot and lookie-round...

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I bought my PH Whitworth #191 a couple of years ago and I’m still trying to figure out what it really likes to eat. I love it but it’s been the most challenging firearm I’ve ever used.
I’m very new to long range muzzleloader shooting so I expect someone like you will make much better and faster progress than I have.

Don’t waste your money on a hexagonal bullet mould, they are absolutely not necessary.

It‘s hard to develop a load for, it’s difficult to clean,( even with hexagonal jags), fouling clogs the patent breech fire channel very easily causing frequent misfires, and it kicks like two mules!

A long distance friend of mine (geographically) basically said the same. He told me once he was going to ship it to me to work up a load.
So far I haven't seen it.
 
Actually there are no plans. I've never used plans in any of my projects. Most were done from sketches or pictures. In woodworking, there are two distinct types, those who have to have detailed plans and those who can build on the fly from pix. I'm solidly in the latter group. We can see in our mind how the project goes together and what the finished piece will look like.
Dave, I have been doing almost all forms of carpentry for a living for over 40 years and you nailed it. [pun intended] Detailed plans were invented by architects and engineers that like to irritate the manure out of folks with common sense. Especially for things like your gun case. [Slight exaggeration, I know.] My favorite plans come on a napkin from the coffee shop. By owner/client. Show me a picture. The shabbier the picture, the swifter the build. And I build things to last a lifetime. Gets easier every year. SW
 
Hey, Dave951, I'll admit that I'm not that hot with cabinetry and all that, and you plainly are right up there in that regard. However, in my small way I AM a woodworker, of sorts, re-using stuff that mostly gets tossed after being used, like coffee stirrers. This is one such project, a 1/19th scale Sandy River combine/caboose for my outdoor railroad before painting....

1679253603305.png

and after.....
1679254234805.png

And this is a more'finished' combine from a different scale - 1/20.3 - somewhere in Colorado...
1679254189665.png

I'll use my Whitworth to do the scaling to draw up a set of plans I can work from, same's I do with all my models...
 
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Hey, Dave951, I'll admit that I'm not that hot with cabinetry and all that, and you plainly are right up there in that regard. However, in my small way I AM a woodworker, of sorts, re-using stuff that mostly gets tossed after being used, like coffee stirrers. This is one such project, a 1/19th scale Sandy River combine/caboose for my outdoor railroad before painting....

View attachment 207581
and after.....
View attachment 207603
And this is a more'finished' combine from a different scale - 1/20.3 - somewhere in Colorado...
View attachment 207594
I'll use my Whitworth to do the scaling to draw up a set of plans I can work from, same's I do with all my models...
As an old ex-railroader the only fault I can find with your beautiful finished products are they're way too clean 😂 I used to joke that all our rolling stock came pre-dirtied. The interiors of our cabooses and engines were painted Lima Bean green pastel, like in mental wards to help keep the crazy calm.:eek: Good thing they were too considering some of my co-workers😵‍💫 Rolling stock had all sorts of maintenance data stenciled on their sides about lubricants, brake shoes, bearings, etc. including paint. You would occasionally see a car marked with something like "Test lubricant, do not repack or replace bearings without notifying so and so at main shop or where ever" or "Test paint, do not repaint car without notifying so and so at where ever". In one grime encrusted locomotive cab I was on some wit had spit on his finger and written in the grime "Test Dirt, Do Not Remove". That's been 40 years ago but still makes me chuckle at the thought.
 
As an old ex-railroader the only fault I can find with your beautiful finished products are they're way too clean 😂 I used to joke that all our rolling stock came pre-dirtied. The interiors of our cabooses and engines were painted Lima Bean green pastel, like in mental wards to help keep the crazy calm.:eek: Good thing they were too considering some of my co-workers😵‍💫 Rolling stock had all sorts of maintenance data stenciled on their sides about lubricants, brake shoes, bearings, etc. including paint. You would occasionally see a car marked with something like "Test lubricant, do not repack or replace bearings without notifying so and so at main shop or where ever" or "Test paint, do not repaint car without notifying so and so at where ever". In one grime encrusted locomotive cab I was on some wit had spit on his finger and written in the grime "Test Dirt, Do Not Remove". That's been 40 years ago but still makes me chuckle at the thought.

NYW = Not yet weathered. Thanks for your informative comments. I like the 'test dirt' graffito....... :)
 
Loading my bullet down with a greased felt wad, (with a card wad already seated on the powder), solved my misfires, since the cleaning only happened above the powder charge. That managed fouling pretty well until the final clean for the day. Good luck! Keep us posted.
 
Loading my bullet down with a greased felt wad, (with a card wad already seated on the powder), solved my misfires, since the cleaning only happened above the powder charge. That managed fouling pretty well until the final clean for the day. Good luck! Keep us posted.
I do similar but often use a vegetable fiber card.
 
Morning dave 591 - I can't help but notice that you have a fully-kitted-out shop in which to craft your wooden wonders. I, on the other hand, have a two-foot by eighteen inch segment of an old kitchen top and just one power tool - an old Dremel.

Great envy is mine, Sir.
 
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