Rifle Builders of Ye Olde Days

[Col. Batguano]

I know how long and slow I go when I build a rifle. It takes me well over a year to get one done, and that's if I stay on it. Inletting parts is painfully slow to get good tight fits. Obviously, the builders of yesteryear would starve if they were this slow. My question is; were these guys that good that they just could get it right and bang out a rifle that much faster than we do, or, were they just less fussy when it came to the tasks that really slow us down, like BP inletting. It recently took me about a week before I was satisfied that fit was exactly perfect. I just haven't handled enough historical rifles to see how perfect their workmanship was.

Or, did they have enough slave labor (apprentices and journeymen) that the master builder's personal touch wasn't needed on each rifle very much.

When I read about some of the more prolific builders like Haga, Beck, Hawk, and Armstrong I'm amazed at how much of their work is still out there, and that's the stuff that's survived, not everything they made. Surely their lifetime total production must number in to the hundreds, if not thousands of pieces.

 

[32chevy vett]

Don't forget all masters were apprentices for years. And the more you do the same thing the better you get and the faster you get.
I worked on the bonus system 43 years. The job I did I worked with
+or - .0001 for the first month you may not be able to make your day but as you go you gain speed. My average day was 5 hours or 13 hours pay for 8 hrs work I had done this so long I could look at a cutter tell with in
.0005 were my first cut would so on a half hour setup I could do it in
2 to 3 minutes. So hang in there after you do ten guns you will see a big improvement.

 

[54ball]

I study under a builder and hopefully will get back at it soon.

The answer to your question is yes....they were that fast. It's different building for any kind of realistic production. Excess wood is moved quickly out of the way. There's no need for tedious in letting until there's a need for tedious work. They work closer.....There's no time for this black and remove a 64th then black it again....they go to town with it but most importantly they know when to work fine or course.....hope that made sense.

 

[54ball]

Also.....
The masters had apprentices that did the grunt work. The master could do it all and was quite fast by himself. As his apprentices gained skill and speed, they moved up. Production is thus increased.
If he had a production shop like Dickert He oversaw the work of his apprentices like a foreman.

 

[rich pierce]

Current pro builders like Mike Brooks can start with an inletted barrel, ramrod groove and hole and build a rifle in a week and a half and make it look better than my painstaking efforts.