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Thread: My Lockdown project

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Newport, South Wales
    Posts
    848

    My Lockdown project

    Not sure if anybody is interested here (probably not), but here is my 2020 lockdown project.

    It's almost finished, just waiting on the new leather sling I commissioned and my wrist plate to come back from being engraved.

    I did think about buying in some of the parts, but didn't know where to buy them in the Uk, so made them all by hand from brass bar and sheet. Never done this type of metal working before, but enjoyed the challenge! I even taught myself to silver solder, so making my lockdown educational and productive.

    I did find a few places in the US to buy castings and brass sheet items such as patch boxes etc, but the cost would have mounted up very fast, not forgetting shipping and import! The only place I found in the UK didn't have the range I was looking for plus they never got back to me when I sent them an email, so making by hand seemed the cheapest and best option for me.

    If I am correct, this fowler (16g shotgun) is a 1950's trade gun, and is/was fairly worthless, I certainly didn't pay too much for it. My original objective was to simply buy it so I could have a play with flintlock at a very low outlay. But with the lockdown forcing me to live in my workshop, turning this turd into something fully sorted and worth owning seemed like a good idea to me. The project got started about 4 weeks ago once the barrel got back from the Birmingham Proof house. I felt having a fresh UK proof on this old barrel was a good idea as I only have one pair of hands and one face!

    I have had a custom ball mould made exactly for this barrel, I cast up a full bag of balls and they fit very nicely with 0.015" patch. Time will tell though as to what GP load and patch thickness will work the best. The mould is 0.656" and the balls come out at 0.652" being cast from soft lead.


    As she came to me 6 moths ago

    https://ibb.co/BKxGVVd
    https://ibb.co/G045v5q
    https://ibb.co/s2V9f9J
    https://ibb.co/1vmWGpH

    The reworking starts here.

    https://ibb.co/5FsMx3b
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    https://ibb.co/gjrwjPd
    https://ibb.co/3BjRfck
    https://ibb.co/ChmdpKV

    Stock gets finish coat

    https://ibb.co/3cHLTJR
    https://ibb.co/NZdfbJH
    https://ibb.co/JCDCY7K
    https://ibb.co/Thpy643
    https://ibb.co/nj7xx35
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    https://ibb.co/g9RYYvb
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    Almost there

    https://ibb.co/nn0HJJ4
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    https://ibb.co/tL8qL0H
    https://ibb.co/GRmCGc2
    Last edited by MrChipShoulder; 11-05-2020 at 01:15 AM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Grimsby
    Posts
    629
    Very nice workmanship, you have done some great work there it looks a picture.
    Good Deals with Mikewaring, ggggr, watchsapart, Majex45, Nhill, zebedee71,Eredel,Hawksthorn,Red Bob, Stanbridge,Barrow_Matt,Mr.Fixit-Norm, turbo33 .atb thankyou all Neil

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Newport, South Wales
    Posts
    848
    Project Swivels !!
    What a load of work for such a small item !!
    The sling was made for me by 'Shedtime Handcrafted Leatherwork'.
    I can highly recommend Shedtime Leather, great quality and fast turn around time.

    https://ibb.co/vBwMzzf
    https://ibb.co/9VRBhpN
    https://ibb.co/Z2p7yyV
    https://ibb.co/Z61ftV8
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    https://ibb.co/C5CYynZ
    Last edited by MrChipShoulder; 14-05-2020 at 07:39 PM.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Huntingdon
    Posts
    9,253
    Very nice work indeed. You should be proud of your hard work.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Newport, South Wales
    Posts
    848
    Patchbox lined with velvet and my new 'Possibles Bag' (aka Shotgun shell bag )
    Just the wrist plate to go back in now.
    I'm also making the range rod and fittings for this Fowler (I always make my own).

    https://ibb.co/jDT9bbs
    https://ibb.co/4V58VS1

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Manchester
    Posts
    8,331
    You appear to have a very well equipped workshop that is better than the average hobbyist or model engineer.

    Did you make the sling swivels on a former or did you do them in a die on a fly-press? I know from experience that bending something like that by hand is very difficult to get even on both legs/sides.

    The barrel appears to have Belgian proof marks and the bore at 18.8mm. Why was it necessary to have it reproofed?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Newport, South Wales
    Posts
    848
    I annealed the steel to glowing red. I then made a 6mm x 25mm flat steel plate with rounded ends and marked out the half way point on the rods and plate. I then clamped it in my vice and formed the rod around the steel plate using a big hammer and brass bar as a drift. I then made up a brass wire form and used it as a guide to bend up the last bit. As you say, getting the legs at the same length and angle was very tricky. Out of the whole build, I felt making these swivels was the most out of control and time consuming bit of the whole thing!

    My workshop is nothing special, just the basic model engineering/modelling type stuff. Nothing too surprising to be found in it, all the normal stuff.

    I bought the Fowler quite cheap and it had been messed with and dressed up (poorly in my opinion) to make it more presentable. The gun does/did have a Belgian proof on it and a club member did suggested I just shoot it. However, due the price I paid and it's overall condition, I felt it would be a very good use of £90 to simply reproof it for piece of mind. Those that know me in my club know I don't do anything by half. I value the bits on my body quite highly and wouldn't want to see them splashed all over the range if I took a chance :-0

    Barrel is 16g (0.670", 17mm)

    One must always remember safety first with firearms!
    Money can't buy new body parts.

    Now I have full confidence in the barrel, so will my club and any future owner :-)
    Last edited by MrChipShoulder; 15-05-2020 at 09:11 PM.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Newport, South Wales
    Posts
    848
    My wrist plate came back today engraved
    So once it is set back in to the gun, that's the whole job finished.
    Thanks, and I hope somebody found it interesting at the very least?

    https://ibb.co/JxZgwDy
    https://ibb.co/Hq2rj9z
    https://ibb.co/VTYb14Y
    Last edited by MrChipShoulder; 16-05-2020 at 02:59 PM.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    chelmsford
    Posts
    694
    thats very nice work, I bet you cant wait to try it

  10. #10
    harry mac's Avatar
    harry mac is offline You can't say muntjack without saying mmmmm
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    NORWICH
    Posts
    3,218
    Just think. All those rattly, ratty old fowling pieces you see in antique shops and auctions, all looked as good as this about 170 years ago.
    The South of England has 2 good things, the M1 and the A1. Both will take you to Yorkshire.

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