Wogdon & Barton Dueller Build.

I built this from scratch in the 70's, from stock steel cut with a hacksaw and filed to shape, a small lathe was used for the screws. It consists of a waterproof lock with a slide safety, frizzen roller, tumbler detent which, because of the set trigger stops the sear engaging in the safety tumbler notch, the single set trigger cocks by pushing the trigger forward, the pictures show cocked and un-cocked, the trigger tention is adjused with the small screw , the barrel is swamped.

Phil

Hi Phil,
Nice job! The set trigger looks just like the diagram in John George's book on English pistols. I am a huge fan of Wogdon's pistols. I built one cased set and have two more to go when I get my current backlog of work done.

dave

Thanks Dave, I'm not a gunmaker, I am in fact a gun engraver, but at the time of making the pistol, I basically taught myself, I loved flinters but couldn't afford to but them so, I borrowed the W & B from a friend, stripped it and did the plans from the parts.

Phil

Hi Phil,
I recognize your name as a very great engraver. I hope all is well with you and your family. Below are photos of my Wogdon's. I had the pleasure of handling an original pair and really like his full stocked pistols. I built the case as well. One of the fun parts with the case was the lining is woolen baize from Hainesworth in England. Apparently, they have been in business under the same family since the 1780s and Wogdon's case maker might have bought his fabric from them too. Thanks for sharing the photos.

dave

Lovely job, very similar in style to mine except mine is probably later due to the set trigger, frizzen roller and shorter stock, where did you get the plans?

Phil

Hi Phil,
Thanks for the kind comment. I made tracings of the original pair and also scaled photographs of originals and drew plans from those as well. I did not copy any particular pair exactly because I fitted the handles to my brother's hand, for whom I made them. I made the locks using cast parts from Kevin Blackley, although I forged all the springs. I welded up the trigger guards and made the pipes and butt caps. I also made all of the accessories except the oil bottle. I originally was going to cover the flask with red leather but I really liked the look of the bare copper and I saw a few that were left that way. I even made the little turnscrew from a broken mainspring, just like many of the originals.




It was a wonderfully fun and challenging project and I learned a lot during the process.

Very nice and in keeping with the originals.

When I made mine, as far as I knew there were no castings available, there probably were but in those days I was not in contact with anyone in the gun trade and internet of course was not about. There was no other way but to do it all, hands on, so it was hard, in that, the parts had to be cut from block steel up to 3/4" thick, then, a lot of filling etc, the springs, I forged and tempered, the action and part are all hardened. I was afraid to strip the original set trigger because it looked too fragile, so the innards of it were part guesswork and trial and error until it worked.

Hi Phil,
That must have been a very challenging project but you pulled it of very, very well. I enjoyed the photos.

dave

For those of us that don’t have your skills, this is a treat! Thank you, gentlemen!

Hi,
For those who may not know, Phil Coggan is one of the world's best firearms engravers. I am very glad of his participation on this forum.

dave

Your detailed photos clearly display that your craftsmanship is on the same level as early European master firearm builders. America's colonies were fortunate that a few of these master arms makers emigrated & brought their skills to our shores.
Over the past 40 +years as a lifelong history buff & admirer of exceptional workmanship I've collected & used original English & Austrian to hunt & compete with & sometimes through like-minded friends could locate an original in excellent shooting condition that was affordable. I might add that after years of care & shooting they remain in much better condition than many that ended up as wall-hangers. Due to advanced age & arthritis issues I can't enjoy shooting rifles anymore so just shoot pistols & am considering selling my last two original Jeagers.
In today's throw-away society we're blessed that there are still a handful of you master craftsmen around who keep the 'quality' in firearm history alive.

Thank you, Phil and Dave, for posting your beautiful work.

I wonder if either of you has an opinion on Wogdon's bent barrels. Some say they must have worked to put the ball at point of aim over the range of dueling distances in Wogdon's day, while some say they were just a gimmick.
I would love to see someone do an experiment, using otherwise similar pistols, one with Wogdon's bent barrel and one with a straight barrel.

- Bill

My day has been made by seeing these beautiful pistols and accessories. Thanks to all here.

Nice pistols no doubt though screw slots are allways ' North & South' on English work other than the side nail heads a point curiously ignored on much US work . Rudyard

From the photo I took of a pair of originals I handled years ago your Replicas are Superb. So is the single set trigger But I don't see any set adjusting screw? It's very satisfying to make replicas that work like the old ones. Have made several European type and Double sets as well. OLD DOG..

Thanks all.

Hi GREENSWLDE, I think I explained about the adjusting screw in my first post, it's the smaller of the two screws on the inside of the set trigger unit.

Phil

Hello Phil, Sorry, I missed the bit about the small screw. The one I reproduce has a small capstan screw up thru' the trigger plate that adjusts the engagement of the trip lever into its bent as well as the trigger pressure spring adjustment.. I also have one in a Liege made Swiss type off hand sock darner. A double trigger that has a 5 lever action which sets so fine looking at the wire front trigger sets it off. Only 9.6mm Bore but a tack driver at 50m. with P/B.. OLD DOG..

The screw would have been more practical to adjust from the outside but then it would have spoiled the lines of the gun.

Just found this picture of the pistol cocked.

Rudyard said:

Nice pistols no doubt though screw slots are allways ' North & South' on English work other than the side nail heads a point curiously ignored on much US work . Rudyard

Click to expand...

Back in the late 70's, I had the privilege to talk to George Shumway for a spell. One of the things he said was the longrifle builders were concerned about getting the gun out the door to get paid and that included many saving time by using varnishes for the finish and lining up the screw slots was not a priority since it was a lot more time consuming. They put the screws in till they stopped and that was it. I liked it when he said that, because I used construction screws first then came back and made round headed screws and I hated going through fifty screws just to find the ones that had the right lineup of the slots. Thoughts On The Kentucky Rifle in its Golden Age front cover shows such.