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pedersoli trade gun upgrade
- Thread starter flintlock al
- Start date
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fourbore
40 Cal
I like the ones on the top gun. Which are which?
flintlock al
32 Cal
the bottom one is the trade gun the one above is a cva mountain rifle
Pedersoli guns and rifles are notorious for less than adequate ramrods, when the rods are made of wood, so good idea to swap the factory original out for a proper rod.
LD
LD
flintlock al
32 Cal
yes dave I read that on one of the forums here,the last thing I need is being skewered buy a broken ramrod,these forums are very helpful in so many ways..al
I have done a lot of work to my Pedersoli Trade Gun, it just didn't look right from new. I purchased it from the main importer here in the UK about two months ago. The finish was awful, someone at the range asked if it was plastic! Their was a 1/4" gap behind the tang (Pedersoli told me that it was there to stop the tang from splitting the stock can you believe!) there was a gap around part of the lock, the colour case hardening looked out of place although I have read that some were made like this. It didn't take much to remove it.
I could have returned it but it would have taken forever to get another one from Italy and it could have been just as bad, anyhow, I enjoy the challenge of re-finishing etc.. I had to scrape off the finish with blades and it was just like a hard plastic film, why put this type of finish on a gun from the 1800's period. It took many hours but at last it was done. When stripped, I softened all the hard outlines and removed the shoulder/ledge that ran down each side of the barrel turning in the stock to roll into the barrel. I gave it a bit of stain to darken slightly and them applies boiled linseed oil a few times, it has transformed the gun into something that looks like an early piece. I have made a steel side plate, the serpent plate would have dated it to after 1800 from the books that I have read and I wanted this to be of an earlier period. At this point I will say that there is no end of conflicting information out there about trade guns in general, I have read all I can even buying more books on the subject. I am not trying to me 100% correct because what would that be? I am replacing the rod piped with steel from TotW as well as the trigger guard, the only thing I can't find is a STEEL but plate, I do not like brass on this gun, I have no doubt I will be told that it is correct, but there are so many variations of these guns, that I would be happier with a steel plate.
The gap behind the tang I will have to fill with dyed beeswax, I tried filling it in but it was too small to work with properly. I will try and post some photos of my efforts.
Apol's for rambling on, I just thought that this may be of some interest to other Trade Gun owners.
Chris.
England.
I could have returned it but it would have taken forever to get another one from Italy and it could have been just as bad, anyhow, I enjoy the challenge of re-finishing etc.. I had to scrape off the finish with blades and it was just like a hard plastic film, why put this type of finish on a gun from the 1800's period. It took many hours but at last it was done. When stripped, I softened all the hard outlines and removed the shoulder/ledge that ran down each side of the barrel turning in the stock to roll into the barrel. I gave it a bit of stain to darken slightly and them applies boiled linseed oil a few times, it has transformed the gun into something that looks like an early piece. I have made a steel side plate, the serpent plate would have dated it to after 1800 from the books that I have read and I wanted this to be of an earlier period. At this point I will say that there is no end of conflicting information out there about trade guns in general, I have read all I can even buying more books on the subject. I am not trying to me 100% correct because what would that be? I am replacing the rod piped with steel from TotW as well as the trigger guard, the only thing I can't find is a STEEL but plate, I do not like brass on this gun, I have no doubt I will be told that it is correct, but there are so many variations of these guns, that I would be happier with a steel plate.
The gap behind the tang I will have to fill with dyed beeswax, I tried filling it in but it was too small to work with properly. I will try and post some photos of my efforts.
Apol's for rambling on, I just thought that this may be of some interest to other Trade Gun owners.
Chris.
England.
cositrike
40 Cal.
Hi from another Englisher
Hi Cositrike, what part of the UK are you based, I am in Northamptonshire.
flintlock al
32 Cal
I originally ordered a trade gun kit from Dixie and it arrived with a steel butt plate I contacted them and told them I wanted a brass one,they checked all there kit guns and all had steel ones,and only finished gun had them, so I sent the gun back at there expense and bought a finished one, the kit gun had very bad looking wood and the the steel butt plate had deep tooling marks that could never be removed,my finished gun has real nice wood but like you said the phony finish on it should be removed, my tang has a small gap maybe 1/16 or less at the rear the rest of the inletting is perfect, the old rod pipes I removed were drilled dead center , who ever put this one together knew his stuff, I checked with TVI and all butt plates are on backorder , Dixie doesn't carry any parts for these and there a major dealer for pedersoli go figure ...al
Flintlock, very interesting that you had the steel plate. Pedersoli do not seem to be consistant with their stuff at times. I have e-mailed TVI twice and still no reply, asking about a steel butt plate, I'll try again. Why doesn't Dixie carry spares, that is just nuts to me.
Cheers,
Chris
Cheers,
Chris
Pedersoli are frustrating at times! Some lemons slip through occasionally.
Mine had a badly ground frizzen, too strong a frizzen spring, I had to bend the cock and cook the frizzen in carbon.
Then the was the brass blade soldered on canted. Oh and the touch hole was tiny.
Finish wise not to bad. The rammer lasted a few years but did the usual eventually. I made a new one from an unknown hard wood. Mine has an iron/steel butt plate.
It is now a very fast reliable performer.
B.
Mine had a badly ground frizzen, too strong a frizzen spring, I had to bend the cock and cook the frizzen in carbon.
Then the was the brass blade soldered on canted. Oh and the touch hole was tiny.
Finish wise not to bad. The rammer lasted a few years but did the usual eventually. I made a new one from an unknown hard wood. Mine has an iron/steel butt plate.
It is now a very fast reliable performer.
B.
flintlock al
32 Cal
I would have liked to get a trade gun kit from track as I did one 35 years ago and it turned out perfect but I sold it , but my eyes and hands aren't what they used to be,so I went for the pedersoli instead , I spoke to sitting fox about a finished gun in the white and he told me it would be about a 3 month wait and as I understood it he farms the work out and depending on who builds it the work could be very good to poor, over all im happy with mine and will over time make more improvements until it looks more like a trade gun of the early 1800 hundreds
cositrike
40 Cal.
I wonder if the B stands for Barnard?
flintlock al
32 Cal
we test fired the trade gun today in the back yard using 50gr of ffg bp and a tinfoil ball the ignition was instant hope I didn't wake the neighbors..
I do have to say I’ve inlet a tang or two with a tight fit at the back. Only to have them chip. A 1/4 inch seems a bit overkill but I found the thickness of an exacto blade tween the end and the wood really helps
It certainly does, do you know me? And do I know you?
cositrike
40 Cal.
Yes and yes. I could keep this going, but I won’t. Simon is the name. Hope you’re well and staying safe
I did wonder, I said to Julie that I'll bet it's someone from "rendezvous" country. We are fine thanks, and you?
Please carry on private conversations by using the "Conversation" method the forum provides. This is just another name for a "private message".
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As you suggested, Northwest guns generally had brass buttplates, with brass "serpent" sideplates and ribbed brass ramrod pipes, but an iron triggerguard. However, if you are determined to have a steel buttplate, you could probably make one if you have some basic workshop tools (vise, hacksaw, files, grinder, and drill). Based on the work you have already done with your trade gun, it sounds as if you are pretty handy with tools, and I'll bet you could do a good job.
The buttplates on Northwest guns were typically made of flat stock, with the body of the buttplate left flat and the return simply bent to a 90 degree angle, although the actual bend was slightly radiused and not a sharp corner. The buttplate on this Northwest gun has quite a lot of radius at the bend, although certain features of this gun make me think it was re-stocked at some point: The moulding around the lock looks wrong, and the "teardrops" are very crudely carved. The wrist is too thick and there is no "baluster." However, the stocker probably recycled all of the original hardware.
The Trade Gun Sketchbook has buttplate patterns for all of the guns within it, but you could probably just trace your original brass buttplate to make a paper pattern. The thickness of the plates on original guns varied from 1/16" to 3/32" to 1/8", according to the aforementioned book. Transfer the pattern to a piece of mild steel of the appropriate thickness and use the tools you have to cut it to shape and bore screw or nail holes. If it were me, I would fit the buttplate to the wood, rather than the wood to the buttplate, especially if you have already refinished the stock. This would allow replacing the brass buttplate if you decide you want to put it back on.
You always have to factor in your time on projects like this, but I think spare parts for Pedersoli guns are pretty expensive, and it sounds as if the steel buttplate you want is not available at any price. Maybe you could go to the Classified section of this forum and offer to swap buttplates with someone who has one of the steel ones on his trade gun. Just a thought...
Good luck with your project! Let us know how it turns out.
Notchy Bob
