Iron patchbox for Mt Rifle?

[Liver eatin’ Johnson]

This is my Dixie Mt Rifle I've had for many years. The hole has never been filled with grease because I have always intended to put an iron patchbox on it. Well I ordered one from TOW and in placing it on the stock, it appears that the boys at Dixie drilled the hole a mite high up for the patch box to be centered properly on the stock... Any suggestions?

 

[musketman]

You could fill in the hole with a hard wood dowel rod (the same wood as the stock) and then stain it to match the gun's finish, and then re-cut the patch box lower and centered...

 

Boy, that is in a tough spot isn't it!
Which box did ya order? If it's one of the larger kit's then only part of the hole will show.
No matter what you do it's gonna look like a repair job huh?
I'd not use dowel to plug the hole cause then you'll get "end grain" to deal with on the exposed part,I'd fit a piece of contrasting wood like a black walnut or even a blonde look of unstained maple,and/or slide a small piece of silver wire in there so it looks like its sposta be a "pretty" inlay of some sort.
If that doesn't work you could always cover the thing with some sort of iron inlay like a half of star or sun rays or sumpthing?? just a few ideas,,, ::

 

[Stumpkiller]

You could fill the hole to within 1/4" of the surface with anything, and then use some of the wood from under where the patchbox will be to graft into the spot where the hole extends past the box. Nothing will blend as well as the wood from the same blank. You'll have to mark off the region before cutting and lift out the patch piece carefully by cutting around the edges and lifting the piece out with a chisel. The good news is that you'll only need a piece big enough to fill a portion of the original cut-out.

 

[Zonie]

I wouldn't try pluging or using a Dutchman. There is no way you will get it to match the rest of the wood.

I obviously don't have the gun and patchbox in my hand, but assuming you have the banana style box, it looks to me like if you install it so that the upper surface just covers up the grease hole it would fit all right and not look a bit out of place.
Yes, it will be a little high, but if you align the centerline of it's long axis with the "tail" on the lockplate it will look like you always intended for it to be there.

Use magic tape and tape the box in that position and stand back about 8 feet from it to see what it looks like. Sometimes that distance gives a clearer picture of the final product and it will look better than you thought it would.

 

[musketman]

You could always drill the hole all the way through the stock, that way when you are looking down the barrel, you can stick your finger through the hole and scratch your neck...

Nah, that's just silly...

 

[Deadeye]

I think Zonie's right, the long Southern Mt. patchbox is about the only one that won't cover if centered but will probably look fine if just covering the hole.
Dixie does some strange things sometime. Once I ordered a premium Maple stock blank from them and they didn't even put it in a box just stapled an addressed card to one side
and shipped it, it was so beat up I had to send it back to them. :curse:

 

[Liver eatin’ Johnson]

Here is the patchbox as it came from TOW just covering the hole. What do you think?

 

[musketman]

That don't look to shabby, it might just turn out right nice...

 

[Deadeye]

I think it'll be fine. If you blue it or, preferably, brown it it'll look good there. :winking:

 

That'll work ::

 

[tg]

I wouls think that is how a builder 200 years ago would have delt with it, there are a lot of "after market" patch boxes on originals, some cover up part of the original carvings, and some are placed "as best that they can be"

 

[Zonie]

IMO you should point the forward part of the patchbox upwards so a line drawn from the boxes rear radius thru its forward radius will be pointing at the back of the lockplate tail. Try it, then post it, or you be the judge. I think it will look great!
(If it starts getting into the wrist too much, then back it down a little.)

People dont realize this but this converging of lines is one of the things that gives all of these old guns the artistic "together" look their famous for.

 

[tg]

I think that is what makes some of the imports look "odd" after looking at pics of the originals, the rear lock bolt center and tang bolt center are good references for pulling lines of radius for comb lines, mouldings, buttplate facets on the heel extention and a variety of detail...on most originals

 

[blckhrn]

Just you (and all us) will know. I wouldn't notice anything out of order

 

[Slowpoke]

LEJ,
I have Dixie 32 cal and I gave mine a facelift. You're doing the right thing!
Do yourself a favor while you're working on it.... and replace those triggers with a set of Davis double set triggers. The triggers on my mountain rifle were terrible. I also put a Green Mountain barrel in mine as well. Just my .02 worth.

Slowpoke

 

[Stumpkiller]

I think that is what makes some of the imports look "odd" after looking at pics of the originals, the rear lock bolt center and tang bolt center are good references for pulling lines of radius for comb lines, mouldings, buttplate facets on the heel extention and a variety of detail...on most originals

I wholeheartedly agree. The human eye is amazing at centering and aligning (that's why peep sights work so well and we can shoot sightless bows accurately). To my eye, the forward end of the patchbox HAS to point into the center of the narrowest part of the wrist or it just throws the whole rifle off. In Liver eater's photo above he's got it right. The buttplate end is less critical. His has to be a bit high because of the grease hole, but it still works. The original smiths were brilliant at pulling lines together. Something as simple as a straight toe mortice along the bottom edge of the buttstock can make a rifle 'look' much slimmer and more streamlined.

Here's an example of a miss (God, I hope no-one on this list made this piece)

The box points at the front screw of the triggerguard and it just doesn't 'flow' gracefully like a classic.

A Traditions - patchbox pointing up at ???? Comb has nothing to do with the toe lines. Very awkward to my eye.

Pedersoli - not bad. Showing that there is no reason a production gun can't have good lines.

An Allen Martin Lehigh copy - now tell me your socks aren't rolling up and down after seeing this in a line-up with the above.

A recent copy of a Moll (by Eric Kettenburg): Allentown School

A Rupp copy (also Kettenburg): Lehigh School

Subtle differences - check out where the hump is on the underside of the wrist/buttstock. Moll blended it in to the triggerguard architecture. Rupp lets it sit out on it's own. Not many of you were probably concious of the difference at first look, but one stock may have appealed to you more, even though they are very similar designs.

It all comes down to personal tastes, I guess. (And, perhaps you can tell, I love the Lehigh & Allentown style of longrifles)

 

Great post and photos stumpy!! Thanks for pointing that out, well done. :applause:

p.s. I like the Rupp.

 

[Zonie]

Great example Stumpkiller.
Just looking at the pictures, it is easy to see how just a 1/8 to 1/4 inch or less up or down at the patchbox nose could have "made" the two "errors" look right enough so that no one would have noticed.

 

[Liver eatin’ Johnson]

Thanks to all for the input - stay tuned for the results /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif