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Log Cabin Rifle, A Fascinating Piece Of History

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I was in my friends shop a few weeks back, and he had told me about this rifle before. When I saw it, I told him I would love to have it. He called me and said he was bringing it down to me. I was so excited, I couldn't sleep that night. Well, it is at home in my log cabin now.

There is some history behind it, and I am waiting to get the doc sheet he has on it. It is from a log cabin in West Virginia, and I will find out who built it. The bore is mirror bright around .45 caliber. The lock is a Leman from Lancaster PA. The rifle resides in a actual cut out piece from the log cabin it's from

Here is my question, the finish has turned so dark I cannot see the wood at all. Is there a way to clean this stock some, so I can see the wood under neath without defacing it??
 

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perhaps murphys oil soap diluted with water and a scotch brite pad very light pressure you will be removing the smoke residue in very light steps so to say. I would bet this rifle hung over a open fire place. The other option would be to wipe it down with a tac rag and leave it alone as I am sure others will recommend. Tac rag is nothing more than a piece if lint free rag saturated in a light oil like 3 in one oil rung out and left to dry as much as possible. Also is that a allen head screw holding the hammer on ? nice old rifle
 
Don’t clean it till you talk to some collectors. That black finish is a premium feature! Once reduced it can’t be brought back and that is its hard won history.
The folks on another site and some on this site can guide you in this important question.
That hammer screw can be replaced with a proper one once you find out what it should be.
 
The nipple looks like a stainless steel replacement. Agree with the above on removing the patina. Just clean it for now and stop any deterioration. It won't hurt to swab and oil the bore however. Have you had the lock and barrel off yet to look for markings on the covered parts? Some times makers leave a note under the butt plate too. It's a neat original rifle, but absent any unique provinance it will not pay for your kids' college tuition if you choose to sell it.
 
The nipple was added by the previous owner. I have had the barrel out to clean it, and no maker marks on it. I have not checked under the butt plate yet. I will leave it alone for the time being
 
I agree with all of the above who advise leaving the external finish as it is. I would like to add that some old rifles were painted, and it is my understanding that the typical mountain rifles that came out of the Hawken shop were finished with a very dark, almost black varnish. Doc White wrote an article stating this some time back. Current builders of Hawken-style rifles believe they would never sell a gun if they applied a really authentic dark varnished finish.

If you are looking to identify the wood, you could probably remove the barrel and see what the stock looks like inside the barrel channel.

I'll bet you would get a lot of additional information if you post pictures of this rifle on the ALR site, in the Antique Gun Collecting section. Some of those fellows are very knowledgeable, but don't frequent this forum.

The rifle is a beauty, though. Lucky you!

Notchy Bob
 
It is curly maple, I could tell when I pulled the barrel. I wanted to add a couple more pics, some hash marks from kills maybe and some remnants of maybe charcoal bluing, bore off center
 

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It is an interesting rifle. The basic shape is nice, but the wood shaping on the buttstock looks sort of choppy as if it wasn't fully finished. Also, the molding around the lock is different too in the front. It would be real interesting to know who built it, when and where. I still wish it was mine.
 
Please be gentle w/ this antique until you figure out what the finish might be. Antique rifle finishes might be anything from a dark acid , or base stain covered w/ unboiled linseed oil , paint , or some concoction of bee's wax mixed w/ soot , etc.. The possible list is endless . Too many fine old gun stocks were defaced by well meaning "Restorers". If you want to examine the wood , look under the barrel , lock or butt plate that can easily be replaced w/o damage to the piece.
Peace and luck to you brother...oldwood
 
I use Kramer best antique improver to clean up old stocks. It is not harsh. I doubt that you will get much lighter color out of the stock.

You can always try it in a small spot.

I have used this on quite a few originals with no ill effects and would not hesitate to use it again.

Fleener
 
It is curly maple, I could tell when I pulled the barrel. I wanted to add a couple more pics, some hash marks from kills maybe and some remnants of maybe charcoal bluing, bore off center

I love this rifle! It looks like it was born out of the mountains where it was found, made by somebody with minimal tools but plenty of determination. And, it looks like it ought to work! If the bore is bright, either somebody took exceptional care of it, or it was freshed out.

The close-up photos of the butt stock show tool marks that were not smoothed off. The builder might not have had much more than an axe, a chisel, and a drawknife. The man needed to stock a rifle, so he did it.

Al Herrin, the Cherokee bow maker, once wrote about older Cherokee men finishing their bows with multiple sequential applications of turpentine, put on with a rag and rubbed in. Al said the bows would turn almost black. I believe another old-time wood finish, used primarily in maritime applications, is a combination of turpentine, linseed oil, possibly Japan dryer, and pine tar. This was said to make a very dark but durable and waterproof finish. Coincidentally, there is an article in the current issue of Muzzle Blasts about using roofing tar as one ingredient in a traditional stock finish.

I would be interested in knowing what the finish is on this rifle, if there is any way to have it analyzed. I would also like to know the dimensions, if you don't mind sharing the information.

Thanks for showing this fine old rifle!

Notchy Bob
 
Notchy...Many old Appalachian mtn. guns were made by mtn blacksmiths that were trained in the school of hard knocks , and never heard of Lancaster, Pa. , Bethabara near Ashville , N.C. , or any other place where proper gunsmith training could have been had. If I remember correctly , the book , "Fox Fire V"..by Eliot Wigginton , has some information about some of the old time mtn gunsmiths.
That's a great read , because it shows how they made rifling devices out of Readily available materials from the woods. They would go to an iron furnace and procure iron skelps for the barrel. They would have a blacksmith shop heat and hammer them into the shape of a barrel tube , then drill , ream , and rifle the barrel. I can't imagine doing all that , but how bad did they need a Gun??? [ stupid question]
oldwood
 
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