The Webley Mercury pistol project: Part 3, and the last!

[evert]

....
Now that the gun was up and working it was time to think about the final finishing touches – the lettering and the bluing. I wanted the lettering to describe accurately what the pistol was, also making it clear that it was a reproduction. The following picture above shows the final etching result (taken after the gun had been blued). As is usual, I also etched my signature, date and place in an inconspicuous part of the gun, in this case on the heel of the grip.

The lettering looks really good! Can you tell us more about your etching technique? Are you using stencils?

[ptdunk]

A great end to a fascinating series of reports.

Very interesting hearing about the earlier problems with the the piston and the barrel...... some very admirable perseverance employed to see it through!

Another lovely pistol and well worth the effort.


Thanks for sharing,

Matt

[ccdjg]

The lettering looks really good! Can you tell us more about your etching technique? Are you using stencils?

Thanks. I use a process that I developed by trial and error over a few years, as there was virtually no information out there when it comes to etching lettering on guns. I have described my process sketchily with a few pictures on this forum in some of my earlier projects, but unfortunately thanks to Photobucket, most the images from the earlier projects have been erased. But, thanks to Danny and his Gallery, they have been preserved there.

Very briefly, I start off with light-sensitive blue plastic film that you can buy off fleabay for making printed circuits (see for example item 283855615274). A fiver will buy you enough film to letter a hundred guns or more. A piece of the blue film is stuck onto the gun surface with application of heat. You then compose your lettering or artwork on a computer and print it out (in black) onto transparent inkjet paper. The transparency is pressed tightly against the blue film and ultraviolet light is shone onto the transparency. When the blue film is then rinsed in sodium carbonate (washing soda) solution only the unexposed areas are washed off, leaving the gun surface coated with a blue film stencil, and the lettering areas show exposed metal. You can then subject the coated area to dilute acid so that the exposed metal is etched away to give the lettering in the gun surface (it is actually better to use a small electric current from a 2 volt torch battery to assist the action of the acid, as I have found that you get much faster etching and sharper lettering).

It sounds simple, but in fact there are a lot of factors to consider and pitfalls to look out for. I would be happy to provide much fuller details if you want. Just PM me.
Cheers,
John

[evert]

It sounds simple, but in fact there are a lot of factors to consider and pitfalls to look out for. I would be happy to provide much fuller details if you want. Just PM me.
Cheers,
John

Thank you very much, PM sent

[dvd]

Very much enjoyed reading about this build from scratch.
Well done!

[pajj]

Excellent job and report!

[micky2]

What a cracking job, l wish l had half of your capability.

[ccdjg]

I can now add a bit more to the Webley Mercury story, thanks largely to information provided by the current owner of the first prototype, to whom I am very grateful.

The idea for the two-stage cocking pistol dates back to at least 1960, and originated from Webley designer Stanley Holder. There is an original drawing of the design, dated October 15, 1960, which bears his initials S.G.H. Manufacture of the pistol was actually in the Webley sales projections for the period 1963-68, and was intended that it would have been manufactured from aluminium forgings, along with Senior and Premier pistols. However, for some reason Webley abandoned the idea and this never happened. Just the one prototype has survived. Stanley Holder died in 1975.

After a period of about 20 years, the design was revisited by the then Technical Director for Webley, Harold Resuggan, who took out a patent (dated 30 July, 1981) covering the Holder design. For some reason Resuggan was named as the sole inventor in the patent, and there is no mention of Stanley Holder, which seems rather unfair. Resuggan did make some amendments to Holder’s design, as can be seen from his one surviving prototype, but these design changes do not appear to have found their way into the patent.

This is the only photograph of Harold Resuggan that I know of:




Harold Resuggan was undoubtedly a skilled and talented designer in his own right, and had several Webley patents to his name, not least of which was for the Hurricane. On sabbatical from Webley, he visited Robert Beeman at his Santa Rosa, California, facility for an extended period and Beeman recounts “having a delightful time studying and firing his prototype pistol”. He describes him as a shy man, but formed a lifelong friendship with Beeman and Hans Weihrauch (then Head of HW) during his stay in the USA. In the event, Webley decided to stick to their traditional over-lever air pistol design, and went down the route of the Hurricane, Typhoon and Tempest, abandoning the break-barrel Mercury for the second and last time.