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So, I'm retired, disabled and on a fixed income but do enjoy shooting, especially black powder. I also like to work with wood so I incorporated the two to save some money. Using scrap wood in the shop, a piece of leftover nylon ramrod and a little imagination I made my loading boards for .50 & .54 cal. round ball, short starters and powder measures from 60 - 90 grains. View attachment 35846View attachment 35841View attachment 35842View attachment 35843View attachment 35844View attachment 35845
I’ve allways made my own accouterments. I’m too dang cheap, to do otherwise. I’ve found a chunk of a sledge hammer handle makes the most comfortable short starter handle. With the peg glued into the flat side of the oval crossection. Just another take on the one you created. BJH
 
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Yes antler does have a smell when sanding. But then so does black powder when fired. This is not a hobby for those with a sensitive nose!. Making your items is as much a part of the game as shooting is. Only a few of the "old timers" had the cash to buy simple items, they made do with what they could make. When we see original items in museums what we are seeing is the less handled and used items that were passed down. Most items were used up!
 
I buy nothing, not because I am cheap or cant afford nice stuff but because I want stuff that suites my needs. The best way to do this is to build it yourself, plus it is enjoyable and HC if you are into that sort of thing.This is a bag I recently finished, I even made the buckle.View attachment 36512
I really like the looks of this bag tallpine. Is it lined? What about approximate size and leather thickness? For the past week I've been looking at my scrap leather tub and trying to find my motivation to make something like this.
 
A hunting friend of mine was dragging a deer to his truck , and found a dead goat w/ respectable size 9" horns. He knew how fond I am of weird things to make m/l accessories from , so he called , I was excited , and he brought them to me sans the rest of the rotting goat. Now that's a friend.
I already had experience making a flint priming horn from goat horn . Cut the usable 4" hollow end from the horn and plug w/ flat horn or wood and epoxie. installed one of the 3 grain push spout flint primers w/a fiddle peg in the other end to fill horn. Instant unusual priming horn.
Anyway , the two raw goat horns in my shop all winter were spotted by my Navaho/artist/neighbor . He saw the priming horn i made w/the previous goat horn , and wanted one too. Off he marched w/ both raw horns , boiled and removed the cores and returned next day.
I can hardly wait to see the primer horn he makes. oldwood
 
I really like the looks of this bag tallpine. Is it lined? What about approximate size and leather thickness? For the past week I've been looking at my scrap leather tub and trying to find my motivation to make something like this.
Bill, the bag is 8 x7, and pigskin lined, leather is 4-5 oz upholstery leather.Inside and outside pocket. This was also made from my scrap box, Leather was scavenged from a very expensive leather chair.
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Here is some more pics
 
I got into making ball starters with antler pieces. I made one for both brothers and a nephew. I had thought that the pieces I had left weren’t ideal, but decided to try to make one more for myself. This piece had a point coming out of the antler right where I wanted the starter to go. Rather than cut it off flat, I decided to try to use it as part of the starter. The result was pretty slick I think:

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I drilled the end as my powder measure too:
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...and it blends in nicely with the bag that I made too:
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(note the antler tip button for the bag flap)
 

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I restore vintage straight razors and on a couple of occasions made new scales out of Ivory and bone and they both stink to high heaven while cutting and sanding. I can only imagine antler would do the same.
Yes,Antler does stink to High Heaven!!
 
Yes antler does have a smell when sanding. But then so does black powder when fired. This is not a hobby for those with a sensitive nose!. Making your items is as much a part of the game as shooting is. Only a few of the "old timers" had the cash to buy simple items, they made do with what they could make. When we see original items in museums what we are seeing is the less handled and used items that were passed down. Most items were used up!
I spent many years in the medical field. used to work in Surgery . Cutting and grinding human bone as well as cautery has that unique smell as well. It is something I never forget.
 
So, I'm retired, disabled and on a fixed income but do enjoy shooting, especially black powder. I also like to work with wood so I incorporated the two to save some money. Using scrap wood in the shop, a piece of leftover nylon ramrod and a little imagination I made my loading boards for .50 & .54 cal. round ball, short starters and powder measures from 60 - 90 grains. View attachment 35846View attachment 35841View attachment 35842View attachment 35843View attachment 35844View attachment 35845
Nice work!
 
I spent many years in the medical field. used to work in Surgery . Cutting and grinding human bone as well as cautery has that unique smell as well. It is something I never forget.

Yep, 6 years as a surgical device sales rep here. Working with bone and horn is stinky, but nothing compared to cauterized tissue in a small surgical suite.

My horn tip powder measure. Was Intended to be a 60gr but I couldn't quite get that much space out of it and had already drilled to 35. Its marked inside for a 25 gr fill to get my 60 gr. Load.
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That bag needs a nose. 😄. Perhaps a pocket for a patch knife,

seriously though, awesome ingenuity useing what you had on hand. 👍
 

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I'm seeing some really nice stuff here. Basically those of us making our own shooting accessories are doing what our fore fathers did; due to lack of money and places to buy what they needed they were using what they had on hand to make something they needed.
 
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