What Muzzleloading Stuff Did You Do Today?

[sethwyo]

 

[Big Tom 52]

Range day today. Took the 50 caliber Traditions percussion rifle today. Beautiful weather and goods friends to shoot with.

Very nice-looking rifle and a well-kept range.

 

[TDM]

Got a couple of projects that I’m working on. A member on the ALR forum posted a photo of some small screwdrivers he made. I thought they were really neat, so I’m going try to make a couple. Also, while I’m waiting for my war club to dry a bit more I wanted to get the blade started for it. I annealed a bar of 1084 and cut some strips to use for the screwdrivers. I’ll hammer forge the blade to resemble the one in my drawing.

 

[Piquant]

Very nice-looking rifle and a well-kept range.

Thank you and the range is the St. James Parish police department shooting range and training center. The range is open to the public the first two Thursdays of the month. Free. My buddies and I usually have it to ourselves.

 

[deerstalkert]

cast some .36 cal balls. or tried to. coils in my Lee pot quit working, I was too lazy to drag down the camp stove for open pouring, so i found my .45 balls and got my SMR dirty.
Lurch, my brother in law came over with the woods runner stock ha has been sanding on for over a month.
I hit it a few licks with 320 where need and showed him how to turn Maple green. i could have had a nap in the time he took to dab, dab, dab the AF onto the stock. now i need to coat the inlets to neutralize the AF dabbed into them. finally told him to Stroke it with the swab. that he caught onto.
fed him lunch, three cows and a sheep, and then blushed the stock. he only scorched it 4 places.
maybe tomorrow we will hit it with a maple stain as he wants it kind of light toned.
sent him home with a half sheet of 600 to knock back the AF. will see.
felt like shooting the postal shoot so did. man that little SMR with Sharon barrel shoots.
had to run off the herd of deer that think they pay taxes on this land.

 

[WALT53]

I enjoyed the opportunity to speak with 8 groups ( 25 students each ) about the harsh frontier life here in KY during the 1780's. And.....yes...the tools were proven unloaded before I talked to every group. It was a fun day indeed.View attachment 316988

Mark does your wife know your a chick magnet lol nice your teaching the younger generation Mark keep it up .

 

[Loja man]

Here's my new to me Ruger Old Army. I'm ready for all manner of imaginary trouble on the trail...
The knife is by @Runewolf1973
View attachment 316924

It a great set!!

 

[aussie pete]

Got a couple of projects that I’m working on. A member on the ALR forum posted a photo of some small screwdrivers he made. I thought they were really neat, so I’m going try to make a couple. Also, while I’m waiting for my war club to dry a bit more I wanted to get the blade started for it. I annealed a bar of 1084 and cut some strips to use for the screwdrivers. I’ll hammer forge the blade to resemble the one in my drawing.

War club. Oooooh. That's going to hurt! I'm staying on your good side @TDM!

Cheers, Pete

 

[Mina]

Worked on securing lock plate by drilling the 1/16 " pilot hole through rear bolster (centered exactly), and the stock. Drilled the clearance hole through breech plug's lug. Did not finish, because I am waiting for some machine screws for the front. It is going to be a real problem with that location up front, because the mostly precut mortise was and is too low. And there is scarce room to locate the hole. I'm thinking of filing down 8-32" bolt to diameter of 5-40 and running it through a die. That would leave a big head like the rear's and a chance a tapered ram rod might clear the front screw. The next day: Drilled a tiny hole through forward lock plate and stock. Now, here it is Monday, 29 Apr '24, and I have placed several orders for upgraded CAST brass parts: muzzle cap (grooved), entry pipe, 2 thimbles, side plate.

Now I'm asking for help or suggestions. I have a 8-32 X 2 inch machine screw--several in fact to practice botching-- that I need to file down most of the entire length to thread to become 5-40 so it will screw into a soon-to-be tapped hole in the front lock plate, just as would a "real store bought" 5-40 screw. I could not find to buy a 2 inch slotted iron pan headed such screw. I will retain enough of the original diameter and the unmolested head so that it would fit into an 8-32 hole in the soon to be obtained thick (as opposed to a flimsy thin) brass side plate. I have a drill press, but not a lathe. I have a gunsmith's hand vise and lots of files. How would you handle this piece of work...the job, of course?

 

[Seabee Chief]

Good Morning from OKC
Thinking about trying again to sight in my DP Frontier .50 flinter. I will be using some tape on the front sight to figure out how much to file down. I have tried loads between 70-100grs of 2F and 3F. All hit around the same place. Putting the top of the blade level with the bottom notch. So… maybe starting with 70-75 grains. What is a good distance for the target ? I will be using 245 round nose buffalo bullets. Thank you for your input.

 

[flconch53]

As I understand it you are trying ti make clearance for a ram rod. If so just use a round file and file away the metal that is in the way of the ram rod. Mark your screw so you put it in the same each time

 

[longcruise]

Kinda forgot about the hide glue for a few days. I had poured it into a small baking tin before it cooled. When it cooled it was a layer of opaque gelatin. Over a few days it was shrinking and turning brownish where it had dried the most. It was also pretty well stuck to the tin. Had to use a chisel to get some of it out.

The next step, according to duck duck go, is to dry it completely and then crumble it into small pieces. It's now sitting on a piece of wax paper drying. The quantity is less than I expected. For a serious effort it would take a larger pan.

Once it's dried I'll reconstitute a bit and try gluing something together.

 

[Mina]

As I understand it you are trying ti make clearance for a ram rod. If so just use a round file and file away the metal that is in the way of the ram rod. Mark your screw so you put it in the same each time

If you are talking to me, here was the dilemma: There is not enough space on forward end of lock plate to allow a 8-32 inch screw to be used. There might be enough space for a 6-32 inch one. I am going to use a 5-40. But 5-40 don't come in 2 inch lengths in iron with slotted pan heads. So I am going to file most of the threads off a 2" 8-32 and cut new threads to 5-40. I am asking if anyone knows a SIMPLE way to evenly take off the existing threads to the diameter needed to use a 5-40 die?

 

[Century to late]

If you are talking to me, here was the dilemma: There is not enough space on forward end of lock plate to allow a 8-32 inch screw to be used. There might be enough space for a 6-32 inch one. I am going to use a 5-40. But 5-40 don't come in 2 inch lengths in iron with slotted pan heads. So I am going to file most of the threads off a 2" 8-32 and cut new threads to 5-40. I am asking if anyone knows a SIMPLE way to evenly take off the existing threads to the diameter needed to use a 5-40 die?

Do you have a drill press? Chuck the bolt and use a file on it as is spinning. Safety glasses please.

 

[Mina]

Do you have a drill press? Chuck the bolt and use a file on it as is spinning. Safety glasses please.

Yes, and I have safety glasses. But when I'm finished and the length is reduced, the rethreaded end will end at a little over 1.75 inches. In other words the screw will no longer be 2 inches, but 1 3/4" plus maybe1/16 to 1/8 beyond to make for complete threading and some to be filed smooth to clear the frizzen spring's underside. That leaves little room to spare to be chucking. I suppose I should tape the end that is going to be chucked to prevent the existing end threads from damaging the jaws. I do have a slightly smaller and newer chuck that I could sacrifice and put in the drill press' jaws. There shouldn't be any wobble unless paper tape would introduce it, and I could just not do that not worry about damage to a sacrificial chuck.

 

[Winterhawk]

I am asking if anyone knows a SIMPLE way to evenly take off the existing threads to the diameter needed to use a 5-40 die?

I would try chucking it in the drill press and run it against your file, carborundum stone or whatever you are using to work it down. If you don't have enough for a good bite, try running a nut up to the head, tighten securely and hold that in the chuck. Or, can you get a longer (2 1/4" or 2 1/2") 8-32 bolt?

 

[Century to late]

Kinda forgot about the hide glue for a few days. I had poured it into a small baking tin before it cooled. When it cooled it was a layer of opaque gelatin. Over a few days it was shrinking and turning brownish where it had dried the most. It was also pretty well stuck to the tin. Had to use a chisel to get some of it out.

The next step, according to duck duck go, is to dry it completely and then crumble it into small pieces. It's now sitting on a piece of wax paper drying. The quantity is less than I expected. For a serious effort it would take a larger pan.

Once it's dried I'll reconstitute a bit and try gluing something together.

View attachment 317372View attachment 317373

Looks like shellac flakes. It should work.

Yes, and I have safety glasses. But when I'm finished and the length is reduced, the rethreaded end will end at a little over 1.75 inches. In other words the screw will no longer be 2 inches, but 1 3/4" plus maybe1/16 to 1/8 beyond to make for complete threading and some to be filed smooth to clear the frizzen spring's underside. That leaves little room to spare to be chucking. I suppose I should tape the end that is going to be chucked to prevent the existing end threads from damaging the jaws. I do have a slightly smaller and newer chuck that I could sacrifice and put in the drill press' jaws. There shouldn't be any wobble unless paper tape would introduce it, and I could just not do that not worry about damage to a sacrificial chuck.

Now you're talking. Another way to protect the bolt threads in the grip area would be to put on some lock nuts. ??

 

[TDM]

Got a little warm towards the end, but I forged out the war club blade and spike. Also filed down one of the screw driver blanks to a size that fits jaw screws on both large and small flintlocks. Actually took longer to do than I thought it would. Quenched both pieces, they came out nice and hard. Both just finished their 1st 2 hour tempering cycle. They’ll look a little nicer once I clean them up after tempering. This was my first time to use my old toaster oven for tempering, took a few knob adjustments to get it to 400 degrees, but it held the 400 just fine. Have the setting marked now.

 

[Omahkapi'si]

Cut & lubed some homemade patches. Restocked the shooting bag for some range time tomorrow.

 

[kelvinator]

Tried my hand at casting RB for the first time since I was 12 or 13 years old, Grandad taught us young-un's how back in the day.
Guess I remembered enough to get satisfactory results.
.520 Bag mold from Larry Callahan that I straightened out the handles on and tapped on some small wood file handles, seems to work well.