Millford_P
36 Cl.
Today I finished filing the entire barrel into a tapered octagon. Phew, that was a lot of work!
Next weekend my plan is to round out the barrel to the appropriate amounts, leaving the octagonal flats at the breech. I'll try to look at as many pictures of original barrels in this area as I can so I can try to get the 1728 look right (well, as right as it can be for what I've got to work with).
As you can see in the picture below, when the barrel was originally made, the craftsmen must have gotten a little bit too zealous with their belt grinder when rounding out the barrel. I don't think this will be an issue for me to fix when I finish rounding the barrel however, since it looks like a lot of M1728 flats only extend a few inches (like 4-5) from the breech. This rough transition here is about 6in from the breech at the moment.
One other issue on the barrel that I may attack next time is the bayonet lug - it's a bit off center, so I may need to braze a new one on in the right spot (removing the existing one will definitely make polishing the barrel much easier as well).
Other than that, the plan for (hopefully) next weekend is to complete the barrel, then get it re-bedded into the stock. I'm thinking of trying Acruglass or some other epoxy for that. I've never bedded a barrel before, so I'm looking forward to giving it a try.
Also, I've got another question for the French Musket experts! About what thickness would the barrel bands be on a M1728? Would these roughly be the same thickness of material as the later M1766 style muskets, or something thinner or heavier?
Thanks for all of the great feedback everyone, it's been super helpful as I'm learning!
Next weekend my plan is to round out the barrel to the appropriate amounts, leaving the octagonal flats at the breech. I'll try to look at as many pictures of original barrels in this area as I can so I can try to get the 1728 look right (well, as right as it can be for what I've got to work with).
As you can see in the picture below, when the barrel was originally made, the craftsmen must have gotten a little bit too zealous with their belt grinder when rounding out the barrel. I don't think this will be an issue for me to fix when I finish rounding the barrel however, since it looks like a lot of M1728 flats only extend a few inches (like 4-5) from the breech. This rough transition here is about 6in from the breech at the moment.
One other issue on the barrel that I may attack next time is the bayonet lug - it's a bit off center, so I may need to braze a new one on in the right spot (removing the existing one will definitely make polishing the barrel much easier as well).
Other than that, the plan for (hopefully) next weekend is to complete the barrel, then get it re-bedded into the stock. I'm thinking of trying Acruglass or some other epoxy for that. I've never bedded a barrel before, so I'm looking forward to giving it a try.
Also, I've got another question for the French Musket experts! About what thickness would the barrel bands be on a M1728? Would these roughly be the same thickness of material as the later M1766 style muskets, or something thinner or heavier?
Thanks for all of the great feedback everyone, it's been super helpful as I'm learning!
