Welders

[Copperclad]

Hi
On the last few locks I have built , I started making my own springs. And I have to say , at first I was pretty intimidated about how hard it would be.

But with some trial and error , and some info off this site and the web, I have been able to get good consistent results.

I know that using Oxy-act for hardening is not traditional , but setting up a charcoal forge in my case is not practical. And I already just happen to have the torch.

But I feel making my own springs is closer to what the traditional gun makers were doing . I am not leashed to some supplier for replacements , and I like that I can just make another one if there is a problem at some point in the future.

I can only speak for myself , but making my own parts is a lot more interesting and the reward was well worth the time and effort.

I feel that although we might all go about building guns a bit differently, we all experience the same joy in completing them. And a little variety keeps the hobby interesting.

Best regards :hatsoff:

 

[tallbear]

Again I apologize for stumbling into the wrong forum :surrender: :surrender: :surrender:

Mitch

 

[Copperclad]

Hi Mitch
No apology necessary . your opinion on this topic is not only appreciated. But I found the discussion both interesting and enlightening.

Best regards :hatsoff:

 

[jdkerstetter]

Even Gussler bought barrels more often than not. Last I was at Williamsburg they told me they only hand forge about 3 barrels a year for demonstration purposes. They were permitted to buy barrels and locks to build their guns just as most of the Colonial gunsmiths did.

So, what difference is there if a gunstocker buys his locks from Chambers and barrels for Getz or Colerain. Should the fact that the supplier of these parts is not using traditional methods of manufacturing reflect upon the skills of the one stocking the gun?

So, where do we draw the traditional line? I guess we each must decide on our own or let the customers decide. :idunno: Enjoy, J.D.

 

[Tumblernotch]

Oxyacetylene is probably the best all-round set up for BP gunsmithing if you only want one welding outfit. You can weld steel, braze steel, cut steel, cut large blocks of lead so they'll fit in a pot, heat AF stain on stocks (if you're real careful), heat steel for forging small parts, harden and temper parts, the list goes on. I have a 255 Lincoln MIG machine that I have used for some jobs such as welding a broken tumbler back together, but it as well as a stick machine is hard to weld small parts with. You can burn the part up and if you turn the heat down to be manageable you'll often end up with porous welds and big gobs to file down. As far as electric welders go, a TIG machine is the way to go. Great accuracy, easy to control the heat and able to weld various metals with little changes. They make kits that will turn a standard stick welder into TIG machines (Lincoln has several, or used to anyway). It's been quite a few years since I've used one, but I remember the TIG being a delight to weld with.

 

[Robby]

:hatsoff: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Robby

 

[Birddog6]

Ain't it amazing..... :rotf: :rotf: A feller can ask a simple question about a cutting/heating torch & welder on here, & 5 pages later the subject is about who makes what barrels that are bought, and with what tooling...... And even how they paid for them..... Not a thing was said about who grew that particular tree & if it was traditional growing, or how that tree was cut down or how the log was sawed, etc......

And some people on here still wonder why the some of the gun builders don't post much any more.....

Keith Lisle

 

[jdkerstetter]

And some people on here still wonder why the some of the gun builders don't post much any more.....

Yup! Enjoy, J.D.

 

[Tumblernotch]

Of coarse I do get informed that milling the pan from steel billet is not PC/HC. :wink:

best regards

Don't feel too bad about that. All of the locks and lock kits we all buy are cast and that's definitely not PC/HC. :grin:

 

[FL-Flinter]

Copper
For example a gunstock ground out by a disk sander will always look out of place next to a stock shaped and finished in an historically correct manner.

Oh bullsnot Mitch! You nor anyone else could tell the difference in a properly finished piece no matter if it was done start to finish with all hand tools or if there were chainsaws, grinders or the latest and greatest CNC mill involved along the way. If the mill/grinder marks are left in the finished product that's just poor workmanship and they're no more ugly than a sanded or steel wooled stock or Clorox boiled iron. It all lies with who is doing the work, I've seen plenty of messes made with hand tools, give those same people power tools and they just get done faster.
Mark

 

[Copperclad]

Rule #1: Never talk about getting from point A to point B
Rule #2: Never talk about getting from point A to point B
:wink:

 

[FL-Flinter]

:applause: :applause:

 

[Robby]

Well, that will pretty much eliminate the need for a gun builders forum. Just show a pile of parts, or raw stock, tree, or whatever your starting with and the finished gun.
Robby

 

[M. De Land]

So then, if discussion doesn't follow along the lines of worshipful agreement than the supposed traditional guru's will pack up and leave?
Well, that is a choice they will have to make but if that's done than it is of their own short sighted choice and we all will be the less for it.
Both quasi-traditional method and means along with modern are here to stay and truth be told virtually all modern produced 1700's reproduction arms by necessity incorporate both in the final product. Discussion and exchange of ideas is what these forums are all about and who needs sycophant rally anyway? :rotf: MD

 

[jdkerstetter]

But....some of us thought this was a forum for the exchange of ideas on traditional gunbuilding. There are other sites dedicated to the field of modern gunsmithing. It could get confusing for those seeking to learn the "old ways".

But to be clear, your stand is that those who know and are willing to share have as much to loose as those who don't, if they determine their time is best spent elsewhere?

I wonder if Claude has thought to use that as a slogan in his next membership drive. :hmm: Enjoy, J.D.

 

[Copperclad]

I wonder if Claude has thought to use that as a slogan in his next membership drive.

You don't mean drive them away do you? :wink: :grin:

 

[jdkerstetter]

I don't mean anything. Only trying to ascertain what Mike means. :wink: Enjoy, J.D.

 

[Robby]

jd, Is your avatar a platypus with a fedora? If so, is there some significance, just curious :idunno:
Carry on!
Robby

 

[jdkerstetter]

Hey Robby,

Yes. That's Perry the Platypus. I changed my avatar on this board from my usual one to him after the big "Best Architectual Features" post last May, where I coined the phrase "Platypus Gun".

I can't believe you don't remember that one....you were a contributor..... http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/269082/post/1143476/#1143476 :grin:

Heck, I even wore a Perry the Platypus t-shirt and hat to Dixon's last Summer.....though I think Mitch is the only one who got the significance. :haha: :haha: :haha:

Enjoy, J.D.

 

[Robby]

:grin: Oh, I remember all right, just thought there was something more to it. Well heck that would be enough anyway wouldn't it! :thumbsup:
Robby