my foray into the world of flint - a gpr kit

[rkcohen]

so i've been using both an 80s tc hawken and a lyman deerstalker in percussion for a while and after having watched the duelist1954's build series on youtube, i said "sure, why not.."

starting out with a lyman gpr signature series (perdersoli) in flintlock (those are getting HARD to find), i took delivery of said kit last friday.

the box was, i thought unusually long for a kit..

opening it - i found the rifle - almost ready to shoot save the bag of screws and lack of finish on the stock - gotta admit the wood to metal was spot on!

the one thing i found unusual for a kit (aside from being almost completely assembled) was that the barrel was in fact, complete - sights in dovetails and factory blued..

which is the first of my two issues with the barrel assembly - i wanted to brown all of my "iron" - any god/sure fire-fire ideas how to go from factory blue - to brown?

the second issue was that i wanted a .54 - the only thing i could find was a .50... so a quick call to mr hoyt and rebore/rifle to .54 for round prb is not an issue!!

the lock is in the white - the lock plate is "colored" both the frizzen, etc is white - any ideas ref browning those items?

join in guys - all ideas will be considered!!

let's just not turn this into a running argument over who makes the best motor oil!

 

[Phil Coffins]

The originals locks were color case hardened so I would leave that be. Blueing was standard for the Hawken shop but if you want brown then remove the sights and under rib then strip the blue then sand to a even texture. Read and follow the browning instructions of the type you buy. I’ve used B.C. Plumb Brown and a couple of cold browns with complete satisfaction.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

the one thing i found unusual for a kit (aside from being almost completely assembled) was that the barrel was in fact, complete - sights in dovetails and factory blued..

which is the first of my two issues with the barrel assembly - i wanted to brown all of my "iron" - any god/sure fire-fire ideas how to go from factory blue - to brown?

So this is how I do it...,
There are lots of other methods
Mine is non-toxic, and I got into that habit as my son when little was known as "Danger Boy", as he had no fear and was super curious (He's 21 now)

Remove the sights from the barrel after removing the barrel from the stock. Remove the tang if it's a "hook breech". Take the tang screw too.


Get a piece of PVC pipe and an end cap. Get it long enough that you can put the barrel down into it and it will rest against the cap leaving the other end 2" below the open end lip. Seal the cap onto the pipe with some all weather caulk. You now have a barrel dunking chamber.

Place the barrel into the PVC chamber, and cover it with Evaporust. You will likely need a gallon jug of the Evaporust. Let it sit 24 hours. Take the tang and the tang screw and the sights, and put them in a small, Rubbermade container for leftovers. Submerge them in Evaporust also for 24 hours. Evaporust won't hurt the steel.

Remove the barrel by first pouring the used but still good Evaporust back into the jug. Do the same with that which the other parts were submerged. Rinse, and dry.

Now you may want to do some polishing with 1000 grit emery paper, and some oil. You may not.

Some folks like the "in the white" look, and others want to brown.

You now de-grease the metal parts, and use a browning solution by directions

OR you can use plain old mustard (yes the condiment). You apply the stuff, let it dry hard and brown, knock it off with a tooth brush, and repeat. Mustard is non-toxic, the other browning solutions are not. You will get a pretty aged patina with the mustard, and try to be sure it's in a nice thin, even layer. Repeat until you like it. IF you go too far, polish it back to where you liked it. It's not as deep a finish as acid-rust-browning, so you might just want to use Laurel Mountain Forge browning solution.

Folks say you can get the same results with 50/50 molasses and water solution instead of the Evaporust.

LD

When you get it to where you like it, then oil it down and you're done.

LD

 

[rkcohen]

Phil - "Blueing was standard for the Hawken shop"

.............wait - whaaat? Hawken were blued? barrels only or "all the iron?"

 

[ohio ramrod]

While some use mustard for browning, I prefer Coco Cola. Things go better with Coke!

 

[Phil Coffins]

Phil - "Blueing was standard for the Hawken shop"

.............wait - whaaat? Hawken were blued? barrels only or "all the iron?"

Yes, the barrels of existing Hawkens that are in good condition have blued barrels. The breech, tang, lock, trigger plate, and other parts are color case hardened. There are a few good photos and some pretty knowledgeable people (collector types) that confirms this.
Remember these were skilled gunsmiths that knew and practiced the best work they could. A poor photo of Kit Carson's rifle.
IMG_0758 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

 

[rkcohen]

phil - sweet - thanks!

..so if i leave my barrel in the blue - and brown the rest, will anyone drag me out of town and stone me for blasphemy?

 

[thompson50]

phil - sweet - thanks!

..so if i leave my barrel in the blue - and brown the rest, will anyone drag me out of town and stone me for blasphemy?

Someone always will! At the end of the day it’s your gun.

 

[Phil Coffins]

Stoneing is my last resort generally. The under rib and thimbles should remain blued and if the lock is color cased I’d leave that alone. It’s your rifle so do what pleases you. Here’s the parts I color cased for somebody’s else’s build. He wanted every thing cased other then the barrel and sights!
IMG_1099 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr
I just looked up your rifle and see that other then a a darkened varnish finish you have dandy.

 

[Crow-Feather]

I believe that I read somewhere that the blued barrel was lightly done to prevent damage during shipping. Brownells makes a blue remover that works well if you want to brown.

 

[Grenadier1758]

phil - sweet - thanks!

..so if i leave my barrel in the blue - and brown the rest, will anyone drag me out of town and stone me for blasphemy?

I may be a bit derisive, but certainly wouldn't stone you. Actually, if it looked good, I wouldn't be looking for stones or exercising my brain for some sort of witty comment. I might be inclined to fire blue the heads of the screws and brown the rest. The barrel could be left blue.

Mixing of brown and blue wasn't that uncommon. The requirements for the treatment of metal for the 1803 Harper's Ferry was to brown the barrel, blue the lock and the screws.

 

[Dismount]

so i've been using both an 80s tc hawken and a lyman deerstalker in percussion for a while and after having watched the duelist1954's build series on youtube, i said "sure, why not.."

starting out with a lyman gpr signature series (perdersoli) in flintlock (those are getting HARD to find), i took delivery of said kit last friday.

the box was, i thought unusually long for a kit..

opening it - i found the rifle - almost ready to shoot save the bag of screws and lack of finish on the stock - gotta admit the wood to metal was spot on!

the one thing i found unusual for a kit (aside from being almost completely assembled) was that the barrel was in fact, complete - sights in dovetails and factory blued..

which is the first of my two issues with the barrel assembly - i wanted to brown all of my "iron" - any god/sure fire-fire ideas how to go from factory blue - to brown?

the second issue was that i wanted a .54 - the only thing i could find was a .50... so a quick call to mr hoyt and rebore/rifle to .54 for round prb is not an issue!!

the lock is in the white - the lock plate is "colored" both the frizzen, etc is white - any ideas ref browning those items?

join in guys - all ideas will be considered!!

let's just not turn this into a running argument over who makes the best motor oil!

something to think abut, assemble rifle and start shooting it, see how it shoots first. if you don't like it it might be easier to sell blued. just my thought

 

[bldtrailer]

I had Bobby Hoyt rebore my gpr from 50 to 54 with his gain twist so it can shoot round ball or conical for elk. his price is less than half the cost of a new barrel.