Went to St. Louis and visited the Arch which is only halfway finished. The twin arch awaits funding approval by the Board of Directors of the McDonalds (the hamburger people). Beneath the Arch is a museum which interprets the westward expansion of Western civiliazation. There's an interesting gun that features a hooded rear sight. The tang of the same rifle has been drilled suggesting that a rear aperture may have once been fitted to the rifle. This is nothing new and there's a wheellock at the Frazier Arms Museum (Louisville, KY) that has a similar setup.
Also visited the Forrest Park in St. Louis which is the site of the Missouri Historical Museum (owned & operated by the Missouri Historical Society). Admission & parking is free so there's no excuse not to go. Saw a percussion gun that was converted to a breechloader. Apparently part of the barrel was cut away and a hinge brazed onto that cut portion. The nipple was replaced to hold what appears to be a firing pin. How the action is locked escapes me as I could not see anything from the top or the right side of the gun. It was marked as item #34 and oneday I'll write the curator for more info.
After leaving St. Louis, I visited Daniel Boone's final home in Defiance, Mo. It's only 30 miles away and is a three story stone structure built by Daniel and his son, Nathan. The home features loopholes (visible but sealed many years ago) and was built of rocks quarried by the frontiersman. Never knew Daniel knew stone masonry. They also have a small flat horn that is dated 1812 (or so) and was Daniel's priming horn. No photos allowed and it was in a glass case so I couldn't grab a shot of it. The site is owned by a local university and they've established a colonial village for their hystery students to learn at. Squire Boone's stone house (much more modest) has been moved there and there are a few more period buildings that have been relocated there (including the church). The university offered a 1 hour course on the flintlock rifle which not only described the history, but allowed the students to mold and shoot their own lead ball. Methinks the professor was Daniel Knotts. It would have been fun but class carried me away to...
Vincennes where I said hello to a Park Ranger I know (P. Nolan). Met Larry McCoy who built an amazing 150 guns during his life and is still building guns. Larry was surprised to hear that we knew that the Vincennes Rendezvous crowd was at hand in uniform to welcome home their troops from the Sandbox (kudos to the troops and kudos to the Rendezvous gang for showing their respect). Larry is quite the historian and is well read on frontier life. He stopped by to pick up a book to be given away as a prize.
Both Ranger Nolan and Larry know "Dwight" of Conner Prairie. They asked me to convey to Dwight their respects which I did after I left Vincennes. Dwight was delighted to hear of the news carried from far away and that he was remembered there. Dwight protrays several characters at Conner Prairie but my favourite story is his beggar story of Vincennes. During their rendezvous he dressed as a beggar and pestered people. One pretty young lady asked to be photographed with him but stood at a distance. He asked her why and she replied that he was absolutely the most dirty person she has ever seen (apparently she's never been to the Land o' Rice a Roni & Cable Cars). It was only make-up but Dwight, never lost for words asked, "I guess this rules out a kiss?" :crackup:
Took Jim Chambers' lock assembly class. It was only two days long and an abbreviated version of his six day class taught at Bowling Green. We cheated and started out with a shaped lockplate instead of the flat gun maker's lock plate. That along saved about two days of work. Most of us didn't highly polish our non-critical parts either as time was wanting. What we did do was to drill our lock plates and tap them. We also removed all the sprue left over from the casting and filed (and sometimes sanded) them smooth. We took our critical parts and polished them prior to assembly. Jim's philosophy is that a well assembled lock doesn't require tuning. It needs to be assembled and fitted right the first time. (Like Wallace Gusler advises, don't begin your restoration before you finish your work). Everyone finished on time and left the class with an assembled lock. However, much filing and polishing would be required before any of them can be fitted on a rifle.
The next class for me was the horn class taught by Art De Camp. Art likes the Tansel family of horns and what's nifty is his technique. I've seen the Ron Ehlert flick which is very useful and made a horn under the guidance of Roland Cadle before. Art's techniques are different from either of those two masters and is worth learning. I won't divulge them here (may write a magazine article) but you can never stop learning and each man may have something new to show you. Art certainly did and his class was well worth the time. BTW, most of my scrimshawing was done at the motel and I have to finish it at home (where I have some mirco-gouges).
The final class was porcupine quill work. The teacher was a Scotch-Irish German Cherokee lady named Robin McBride Scott. She learned it years ago and has been doing quill work for over 11 years. Her art has been featured in numerous museums and she has demonstrated at many rendezvous, historical gatherings, art demos.
Other classes offered at Conner Prairie this year was kit assembly (John Westin, Jim Chambers, Bob Harn, Bob Klein), engraving (John Schippers), blacksmithing (Hershel House, Melvin Lytton, Nathan Allen), shirt making, pottery, wire inlay (Harn), bag making (Ken Scott), tinsmithing (and those guys walked away with a lot of loot including a sconce, candle holder with reflecter, candle snuffer, two scoops, a rum tumbler, a mug and a brass whistle).
Additionally, it was fun to see a lot of old faces and meet a lot of new ones. One fellow, Keith Walden, showed me his poor boy flintlock which he assembled in high school. He acquired his knowledge by reading books and looking at pictures and working patiently every day at it. His is an exception to the "Never show your first gun" rule. Another fellow is a published author (J. Spears) who invited me to join the Company of Military Historians. Heckuva fun vacation. :thumbsup:
Also visited the Forrest Park in St. Louis which is the site of the Missouri Historical Museum (owned & operated by the Missouri Historical Society). Admission & parking is free so there's no excuse not to go. Saw a percussion gun that was converted to a breechloader. Apparently part of the barrel was cut away and a hinge brazed onto that cut portion. The nipple was replaced to hold what appears to be a firing pin. How the action is locked escapes me as I could not see anything from the top or the right side of the gun. It was marked as item #34 and oneday I'll write the curator for more info.
After leaving St. Louis, I visited Daniel Boone's final home in Defiance, Mo. It's only 30 miles away and is a three story stone structure built by Daniel and his son, Nathan. The home features loopholes (visible but sealed many years ago) and was built of rocks quarried by the frontiersman. Never knew Daniel knew stone masonry. They also have a small flat horn that is dated 1812 (or so) and was Daniel's priming horn. No photos allowed and it was in a glass case so I couldn't grab a shot of it. The site is owned by a local university and they've established a colonial village for their hystery students to learn at. Squire Boone's stone house (much more modest) has been moved there and there are a few more period buildings that have been relocated there (including the church). The university offered a 1 hour course on the flintlock rifle which not only described the history, but allowed the students to mold and shoot their own lead ball. Methinks the professor was Daniel Knotts. It would have been fun but class carried me away to...
Vincennes where I said hello to a Park Ranger I know (P. Nolan). Met Larry McCoy who built an amazing 150 guns during his life and is still building guns. Larry was surprised to hear that we knew that the Vincennes Rendezvous crowd was at hand in uniform to welcome home their troops from the Sandbox (kudos to the troops and kudos to the Rendezvous gang for showing their respect). Larry is quite the historian and is well read on frontier life. He stopped by to pick up a book to be given away as a prize.
Both Ranger Nolan and Larry know "Dwight" of Conner Prairie. They asked me to convey to Dwight their respects which I did after I left Vincennes. Dwight was delighted to hear of the news carried from far away and that he was remembered there. Dwight protrays several characters at Conner Prairie but my favourite story is his beggar story of Vincennes. During their rendezvous he dressed as a beggar and pestered people. One pretty young lady asked to be photographed with him but stood at a distance. He asked her why and she replied that he was absolutely the most dirty person she has ever seen (apparently she's never been to the Land o' Rice a Roni & Cable Cars). It was only make-up but Dwight, never lost for words asked, "I guess this rules out a kiss?" :crackup:
Took Jim Chambers' lock assembly class. It was only two days long and an abbreviated version of his six day class taught at Bowling Green. We cheated and started out with a shaped lockplate instead of the flat gun maker's lock plate. That along saved about two days of work. Most of us didn't highly polish our non-critical parts either as time was wanting. What we did do was to drill our lock plates and tap them. We also removed all the sprue left over from the casting and filed (and sometimes sanded) them smooth. We took our critical parts and polished them prior to assembly. Jim's philosophy is that a well assembled lock doesn't require tuning. It needs to be assembled and fitted right the first time. (Like Wallace Gusler advises, don't begin your restoration before you finish your work). Everyone finished on time and left the class with an assembled lock. However, much filing and polishing would be required before any of them can be fitted on a rifle.
The next class for me was the horn class taught by Art De Camp. Art likes the Tansel family of horns and what's nifty is his technique. I've seen the Ron Ehlert flick which is very useful and made a horn under the guidance of Roland Cadle before. Art's techniques are different from either of those two masters and is worth learning. I won't divulge them here (may write a magazine article) but you can never stop learning and each man may have something new to show you. Art certainly did and his class was well worth the time. BTW, most of my scrimshawing was done at the motel and I have to finish it at home (where I have some mirco-gouges).
The final class was porcupine quill work. The teacher was a Scotch-Irish German Cherokee lady named Robin McBride Scott. She learned it years ago and has been doing quill work for over 11 years. Her art has been featured in numerous museums and she has demonstrated at many rendezvous, historical gatherings, art demos.
Other classes offered at Conner Prairie this year was kit assembly (John Westin, Jim Chambers, Bob Harn, Bob Klein), engraving (John Schippers), blacksmithing (Hershel House, Melvin Lytton, Nathan Allen), shirt making, pottery, wire inlay (Harn), bag making (Ken Scott), tinsmithing (and those guys walked away with a lot of loot including a sconce, candle holder with reflecter, candle snuffer, two scoops, a rum tumbler, a mug and a brass whistle).
Additionally, it was fun to see a lot of old faces and meet a lot of new ones. One fellow, Keith Walden, showed me his poor boy flintlock which he assembled in high school. He acquired his knowledge by reading books and looking at pictures and working patiently every day at it. His is an exception to the "Never show your first gun" rule. Another fellow is a published author (J. Spears) who invited me to join the Company of Military Historians. Heckuva fun vacation. :thumbsup:
