Wooden patch box flinters

[Cattywompuss]

Hi Cattywompus,
That is a good question. There were a few examples of wooden lids that pivot sideways and so were attached to the stock. I think they were mostly southern and 19th century guns. I have never seen a colonial or Rev War period rifle with a captured wooden lid. One wooden lid feature we will be seeing greatly in excess of what they were originally are lids with no brass end caps. There are so many Kibler colonials made that way but if you look at original rifles from that period, only a few do not have end caps and some of those may be replacements. For example of the scores of rifles with wooden patch box lids in Shumway's 2 volumes of "Rifles in Colonial America" only 3 or 4 have lids that do not appear to have metal end caps. I think the perceived predominance of wooden lidded rifles made today is the popularity of earlier style rifles but also that they are much easier to make and install than hinged brass boxes. In addition, brass boxes really need engraving and I think that intimidates many folks.

dave

Well I guess whoever built my Narraganset Lancaster Fowler and Rifle wanted to be a little more HC because they did cap the wooden box lid it has. Of course it has a brass box catch as well that bears on that tiny plate too so it would make sense they were capped.

 

[oldwood]

Back in the late 1970's, I took a bold step foe a fellow that lost his sliding lid and made him a replacement , then on the underside of the sliding lid , I put a simple wood small screw to interrupt the sliding wood lid when it was withdrawn to access contents of the box. Ya have ta remove the butt plate , put the screw in and put the butt plate back on. .................. Back in the early days , I once went completely went off the reservation. Wild hair , brain worm??? .............. I had this tiny wind-up metal music box movement , that played a bar or two of Motzart's tune , " Green Sleeves" . I built a Jaeger rifle and put the music box into the patch box cavity. When the patch box lid slide open , the gun played the tune. This rifle and another Lancaster went to a museum in Pittsburgh. The guy that owned the gun store said the museum guy flipped out over the music box Jaeger. I should have built a second one. Now the all metal music boxes are plastic.......................oldwood

 

[Cattywompuss]

Back in the late 1970's, I took a bold step foe a fellow that lost his sliding lid and made him a replacement , then on the underside of the sliding lid , I put a simple wood small screw to interrupt the sliding wood lid when it was withdrawn to access contents of the box. Ya have ta remove the butt plate , put the screw in and put the butt plate back on. .................. Back in the early days , I once went completely went off the reservation. Wild hair , brain worm??? .............. I had this tiny wind-up metal music box movement , that played a bar or two of Motzart's tune , " Green Sleeves" . I built a Jaeger rifle and put the music box into the patch box cavity. When the patch box lid slide open , the gun played the tune. This rifle and another Lancaster went to a museum in Pittsburgh. The guy that owned the gun store said the museum guy flipped out over the music box Jaeger. I should have built a second one. Now the all metal music boxes are plastic.......................oldwood

That's derned impressive! I have been dreaming up several ways to capture a lid myself. The music box thing is pretty cool. Wondering if yon smooth transitional complete ******* of a mixed bag on the chair there needs a new mechanism? I call it that, but it's the only longrifle I've got where the owner was proud enough to sign his name.

 

[oldwood]

Looks like a fine representation of a Pa. long rifle ta me. Me , I like mixed bags of parts. Even built a rifle from a set of flea market parts out of a shed fire near Pittsburgh. Log Cabin muzzleloader shop usta have a junk box among the rows of new parts. Luckily , I stopped in there couple of times back in the early 1990's , and in the box was a couple old original abused trigger guards , and a butt plate or two. They found a home . I shouldn't be writing these confessions on the forum , the white coat guys from the m/l asylum might show up and remove me from society for having too many strange non-mainstream ideas. ......................oldwood

 

[Grenadier1758]

No @oldwood, I think many of us are jealous of your persistence in searching for parts to make functioning long rifles from long neglected parts. Nope, you are just one of us.

Many years ago, I regularly visited a small gun shop where I lived. They had bid and won on a large consignment of undelivered gun parts. Many rifle barrels, CVA locks. The CVA barrels were moving out fairly well, but they had a box of unsellable barrels from makers that no one knew about. Who in Northwest Florida had heard of Getz, Rayl, Large, Numrich and few other barrels. They were worried that they were stuck with all this junk. For crying out loud, the Getz barrel had radiused grooves. I made an offer to help them out. I sold the Bill Large barrel and that paid for all the other barrels I bought.

 

[oldwood]

Hey Genadier.... Gotta love those folks from flea mkts and such , that don't understand the sick mind of a m/l mechanic.....oldwood

 

[Brokennock]

I have been dreaming up several ways to capture a lid myself.

Somewhere here, someone has posted an extant original longrifle with a cordage tether inside the patchbox. A few people has posted doing similar before this original example was shown.

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
A musical patch box!! That is brilliant!

dave

 

[Brokennock]

Hi,
A musical patch box!! That is brilliant!

dave

I wonder if a doe bleat call could be worked into that?

 

[Cattywompuss]

I wonder if a doe bleat call could be worked into that?

It would be cool to have a hen call on mine. Instead of patch box, a horizontal hinged turkey call!

 

[oldwood]

Was once using a fawn bleet call ,one of those little cans you turn over back and forth. Two big does ran right up to me and One went into the freezer. I'll have to think how one of those cans, be mounted in a m/l stock.