The Latest Form My Bench

[Mgbruch]

I build two or three Southern Mountain Rifles a year; and I thought I'd show the latest to come off my bench. This is gun number 10 from a blank, for me.

The wood for this one is a fairly nice piece of red maple. The barrel is from Colerain, and is a B weight, .50 caliber, and 44" long. The lock is Jim Chambers Late Ketland. The double set triggers are my own. I make the triggers, plate, and springs... but I do buy the two machine screws. This is the fourth rifle to carry my own triggers. The butt plate, toe plate, trigger guard, lock bolt washer, ramrod pipes, and sights are also handmade by myself.

I fancy that I build from lock, stock, and barrel... but I really don't. I buy all my screws and bolts, vent liners, some pin stock, aquafortis, stains, and oils.

This gun has a 3 1/2" drop to heel, a 13 3/8" length of pull, and 3/16" cast-off. The stock has not been sanded, but has a traditional scraped and burnished finish. Staining was done with auafortis followed by two different cover stains, and several coats of Permalyn Sealer.

I'm not the fastest kid in school. I figure, with all of the parts I make, and 90% of the work being done by hand... close to three hundred hours per gun.

She turned out pretty.

 

[64Springer]

Incredible.

Clean, clean, lines.

And that trigger guard with all of its facets cut into it is top shelf.

Two pins per pipe is a nice touch too.

 

[TraderVic]

Beautiful rifle !
Out of curiosity, did you use a nose cap or build without ?
....very nice !

 

[mushka]

You do some very good work.

 

[64Springer]

Nose cap free rifles are the best looking rifles.

No nose cap lets the eye carry the full length of the stock.

 

[Mgbruch]

No nose cap. And no extension on the entry thimble. I also use four barrel lugs and pins. That way they don't interfere with the ramrod thimble placement.

 

[bronko220002]

That's a really gorgeous rifle. congrats on having the talent to build something like that

 

[VA Hawken]

Very nice rifle!

 

[Mgbruch]

Thanks for the good words. Bronco220002, this is number 10 from a blank. Practice and patience. I ended up re-stocking my first Southern Mountain Rifle from a blank.

 

[Larry (Omaha)]

I build two or three Southern Mountain Rifles a year; and I thought I'd show the latest to come off my bench. This is gun number 10 from a blank, for me.

The wood for this one is a fairly nice piece of red maple. The barrel is from Colerain, and is a B weight, .50 caliber, and 44" long. The lock is Jim Chambers Late Ketland. The double set triggers are my own. I make the triggers, plate, and springs... but I do buy the two machine screws. This is the fourth rifle to carry my own triggers. The butt plate, toe plate, trigger guard, lock bolt washer, ramrod pipes, and sights are also handmade by myself.

I fancy that I build from lock, stock, and barrel... but I really don't. I buy all my screws and bolts, vent liners, some pin stock, aquafortis, stains, and oils.

This gun has a 3 1/2" drop to heel, a 13 3/8" length of pull, and 3/16" cast-off. The stock has not been sanded, but has a traditional scraped and burnished finish. Staining was done with auafortis followed by two different cover stains, and several coats of Permalyn Sealer.

I'm not the fastest kid in school. I figure, with all of the parts I make, and 90% of the work being done by hand... close to three hundred hours per gun.

She turned out pretty.

AWESOME!!!
Larry

 

[appalichian hunter]

Very nice rifle, really like the iron mounted guns.

 

[HSmithTX]

That is an amazing rifle, I absolutely love it. I am assuming that the trigger guard isn't cast? I am interested in how you make it.

 

[ohiochuck]

Yes, very nice
Congratulations!
Jim

 

[Jim K]

Perfect!!

 

[longcruise]

That's a beautiful piece of work

Is the lock and barrel greyed or in the white?

 

[Mgbruch]

HSmithTX,

No, the trigger guard is not cast. Neither is the but plate.

The bow of the guard is formed from a piece of soft steel, 1/8" thick X 3/4" wide. The grip rail and tail part are one piece of steel, 1/8" thick X 1/2" wide.

The rail piece is folded over on itself, drilled, countersunk on both sides, riveted, and brazed. The rivet is either a #4 or #6 finishing nail (can't remember which). Soft steel, not stainless. You can see the rivet in some of the photos; it's in the curve at the back of the rail. The rail is staked into the back of the bow (like a rivet) and peened, then brazed. I drill a 3/32 hole in the back of the bow, then file it out to a 1/8 square hole, and countersink on the inside of the bow. The rail is filed for a snug fit, both in the hole and against the back of the bow, then peened and brazed. A good fit at the back of the bow is just as important as a good fit in the hole... for a strong brazed joint.

I perform some of the bends cold, but most of them with heat. Too much cold bending of the soft steel can result in it breaking. Trust me on this.

This is the first gun where I've used that particular rail design. There were a few words involved, but I finally got it the way I wanted. And I do not braze until I get a final shape I'm happy with. I don't make any further bends to areas that have been brazed; I don't want to compromise the integrity of the joint. I also make sure that, in the final fitting, the bow of the guard is about 1/64th (or less) away from the trigger plate. That way, if the future owner grips the beejeezus out of the trigger guard, it's rigid, and doesn't stress the joint with the bow.

Lots of file work after that.

The but plate is formed from two pieces of 1/8" thick X 2" wide soft iron. It's riveted in the heel, brazed, and again... a bit of filing. Not complicated, but you have to make sure, through the process, that your two parts are lining up correctly, both vertically and horizontally, so as not to be skewed in any way. In the future, I'm going to get some soft iron that's 3/32 thick for the but plate. Easier to work with, but still plenty of metal to countersink for the screws.

Here are some photos of trigger guards on other rifles of mine. I get the steel at Home Depot or Lowe's.

 

[Mgbruch]

All the metal is lightly greyed, except for the triggers. after tempering them, I take the black off with Scotchbrite.

 

[HSmithTX]

Mgbruch, thank you for the explanation. The triggerguards you have made are exceptional. I had already decided to make a buttplate as I don't like what I see with the cast parts that I have gotten, thanks for showing that it can be done very well!! Now that I see yours the one piece idea is headed to the scrap bin LOL. Are you getting the soft iron for the buttplates locally as well? I'll need to get enough to do it at least 2 times, probably 3-5 before I have something I will use...... The one of one aspect of your rifles is inspiring!!

 

[Mgbruch]

I get all the bar stock and finishing nails (aka rivets) at Home Depot or Lowe's. Soft, mild steel, and plain finishing nails. NO stainless steel or "bright" finishing nails. And I've scrapped a few pieces in the process.

Learning has been marked by success, failure, hooray's, cussing, and Band-Aids.

Thank you all, again, for the compliments.

 

[SnowCrow]

Absolutely beautiful work