Tried a “poured” pewter nose cap!

[MedicMike3762]

So, this is my first flint and I’m in love and I just placed the order for the kibler colonial in 58! Anyway I bought this gun kind of on a whim to see if I would like BP and flintlock shooting. I AM HOOKED!! The gun was very nice as it was but I was not happy with overall fit and finish. My guess is that this gun was built in the 60s and has a very nice shooting bill large barrel. Since owning this I have cleaned up all the inlets removed and refinished the blond varnish and “poured” a pewter nose cap. Also I have taken all the metal back to a very attractive in my opinion, gun metal and reshaped the fire end of the stock hard to tell from the photos but it just wasn’t right. Just thought I would share! The nose cap was a learning curve but was a very fun project! The first photo will be a before photo as I received the rifle! Also pardon the mess in the photos my wife has displaced me from the gun room and it is now her office…..

 

[MedicMike3762]

More photos of complete rifle now. Not sure if you would call this a southern style rifle or not but I am happy to have it! So far from my snooty with it, it is very forgiving and prints everything from 40-60 grains of 3f the exact same at 35 yards.

 

[Jim K]

Very very nice!!!

 

[Nazgul58]

Good job. I like it.

Don

 

[SOLANCO]

Thumbs up!

 

[Mike Payne]

Great looking rifle you should be proud!

 

[Grenadier1758]

I thought it was a very nice rifle when I saw it. I think you have made it better.

 

[MedicMike3762]

I thought it was a very nice rifle when I saw it. I think you have made it better.

Thank you sir!

 

[Zutt-man]

The front sight?

 

[MedicMike3762]

The front sight?

That was how I received it, just haven’t gotten around to dressing down the extra brass, next on the agenda

 

[windini]

Great work! More details on how you poured would be welcome... at least by me!

 

[ohio ramrod]

I always liked my friends Bill Large barrels, But never actually had one for myself. i had to settle for Douglas. You have a nice rifle and are treating it well.

 

[Zutt-man]

That was how I received it, just haven’t gotten around to dressing down the extra brass, next on the agenda

I love the gun! Just caught my eye is all

 

[The Crisco Kid]

Nice job! Where did you get the pewter?

 

[MedicMike3762]

Nice job! Where did you get the pewter?

Thank you, I actually ordered it online.

 

[MedicMike3762]

Great work! More details on how you poured would be welcome... at least by me!

Sure thing, I actually typed in poured pewter nose cap on line and someone has a very good simple to read article with good photos. Either way it’s not that hard and I have never poured hot metal before. Honestly the most difficult part was shaping the wood. After I had my desired shape I marked how long I wanted the pour. Next I removed more wood creating a hard stop for the nose cap. So more or less the nose steps down at the very end. Then I drilled a bunch of holes in the stock that was to be covered by the pewter so that the pewter would flow through the holes and creat a firm bond with the wood. Then I created a rough casting with a heavy gauge paper and scotch blue, I left the ram rod in and made the casting around the rod also I used a little plumbers putty to make a damn in the stock and around the bottom of the casting to prevent the molten pewter from running all over. Next was the pour, using an old enamel coffee cup I melted pewter off the ingot into the cup then heated the mug. Got the rifle set and poured from the mug right into the casting do t rush but does need to be done all in one shot to prevent a cold cast line. I also tapped the barrel when the casting was full to try to remove any possible air bubbles. Let it set for a few remove the casting and get to shaping with flat bastard file until you like the form! I’m sure I’m missing something but that’s the gist. Also typing on the phone so sorry for any horrible grammar mistakes! This is the before.

 

[MedicMike3762]

I love the gun! Just caught my eye is all

Thank you! However I do agree it does need to be addressed soon.

 

[windini]

Then I drilled a bunch of holes in the stock that was to be covered by the pewter so that the pewter would flow through the holes and creat a firm bond with the wood.

Wow! So you cast it in place, and the molten pewter flowed to the wood and into the holes that you had drilled into the end of the stock?

Did it burn much??

I imagined you had made a (rough ish) mold, poured, then placed it on the rifle for final shaping (kinda like fitting a grind-to-fit recoil pad).

I suppose I can googly it, but where's the fun in that? I generally prefer"hearing" people describe their work & methods themselves. Thanks!

 

[The Crisco Kid]

I've poured a couple of nose caps using the 95/5 solder. It's 95% tin with 5% antimony added for hardness. It makes a nice shiny nose cap and is available in any hardware store. It's for sure not traditional and I don't know how the melting point compares with pewter. I didn't have any charing problem that I remember.

 

[zerosprk]

Nicely done! That was a bold move pouring that nose cap in place. It is definitely a good addition to that pretty stock!