Rebuilding Daisy muzzleloader

[Hierarkie]

I've been making toy guns for grandkids since some were toddlers. Recently, one of them now much older, brought me one that had been handed down to him from long ago, for repair. It was a Daisy double barrel muzzleloader that fired .50 cork rounds. Actually saw a pic of one in the smithsonian website. Wood is rotted and I could cobble it together with a piece of walnut and some screws, but since its all there, a bit rusty, but semi functional. I'd like to return it close to a working original. Looks like the stamped parts are all joined by hot rivets, so I'm looking for a source for some domed 1/8" steel ones that I dont have to order several pounds of. Wish me luck.

 

[necchi]

Look in the drawers at your local Ace/Arrow hardware store;
They often find me wandering those isles and ask "Can I help you find something?"
"Well, I trying to build something that doesn't have a name,, what I need is,,,"
(it helps if you have a part in your hand)
If it's a kid they usually walk away, if it's a hardware pro, they can at least point out a few ideas,,

 

[Hierarkie]

Thanks, I've done that numerous times, but at my nearest Ace, they seldom have a kid, and never a hardware pro. Usually on my own. Will probably end up roughly "machining some doming punches and finding the right diameter nails

 

[64Springer]

A stab in the dark but try Tandy Leather Company.

They sell zillions of styles of rivets.

You could also try companies that sell rivets for building sheet metal AK-47 receivers.

 

[waarp8nt]

I remember the crusty old fellows at the local Ace Hardware. I affectionately referred to them as old farts and they called my youn'in or wildman. I went to the store often as I worked as a mechanic and was remodeling my 1st house. One day the old farts were arguing over who was gonna take out the latest widow to walk into the store. I could hear them when I first walked in, so I followed the chatter then clapped my hands to get their attention (and to break up the argument), said boys "I got stuff to do". "Ain’t either one of you gonna do a damn thing about the widow", "Your both carring blanks and shooting dust and you know it". They laughed off the argument and agreed I was right. "Now help me find the Chicago Screws". I miss the store and the fellows as it closed a few years back.

As far as the rivets go, I think your own the right track making your own.

 

[CuNosecap]

Searching "rivets" on Zoro.com gave 144 pages, 5700 results. Betting you can find some. Smallest packs were for 25.

 

[necchi]

finding the right diameter nails

I hear that. Some times,, it's as you ask, I wish Good Luck,,

 

[Benny76]

Do you have a Fastenall store close by?

 

[1950DAVE]

Good luck with Fastenal. Locally, if they can't find it in the computer they can't help you.

 

[Benny76]

Good luck with Fastenal. Locally, if they can't find it in the computer they can't help you.

Huh, mine is great! The guys there can usually walk you right to whatever you need!

 

[IanH]

Fastenal here finally closed down. They wanted 4 times what McMaster or Winzer wants, never had what I needed in stock, take forever to get orders, can't track their orders, and the clerks were all from the bottom of the hiring pool.

I'm in the airplane repair business, but we use aluminum or Inconel rivets, not mild steel. There are plenty of mild steel, dome-head rivets for sale on the Jeff's Dollarama and other places including specialty rivet mail order houses, but I don't know how long the need to be for the Daisy. Longest common 1/8" rivet I saw was only 3/4" long.