Your TMA Officers and Board of Directors
Support the TMA! ~ Traditional Muzzleloaders ~ The TMA is here for YOU!
*** JOIN in on the TMA 2024 POSTAL MATCH *** it's FREE for ALL !

For TMA related products, please check out the new TMA Store !

The Flintlock Paper

*** Folk Firearms Collective Videos ***



Author Topic: My first rifle build, Flint Hawken  (Read 1063 times)

Offline Captchee

  • TMA Forum Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 6215
My first rifle build, Flint Hawken
« Reply #15 on: May 04, 2010, 07:47:56 PM »
Ok let me see if I can explain this better
 Lets star with the comb
 Ill do alittle paint shop here so as to better  explain what im saying
 The red line is the  line I was speaking of .  It starts at the heal and ends approximately  at the breech  where it meets the tang  to about ¼ back
 Now the blue lines are your lines .
 This line should be one line .  But notice how the  flate of the  butt plate creates an angle that doesn’t  meet the top line of your comb .
 Now  if the comb line is a curve . Then the  transition from would to metal needs to say  even with the curve

 Now notice  with  the red line , it forces you to bring the  cheek plate down   just about the same amount as what you would take off the comb that’s above the line .
 Now IMO you lines for the drop  looks real good .running parallel to the  bottom edge of the stock
 But as you can see the belly  droops below the  line .
 Now that’s not un common .
 But I often see this from folks who are worried that they will sand into the RR channel .
  Here is how you make sure you don’t do that .
 1) measure the thickness of wood below where the RR enters the stock. Now go back under your trigger plate and drill a small feeler hole .
 Inset your RR and then slip a  wire in  the trigger plate hole . This will give you the depth of the wood both at the entry and at the breech end .  Mark the depth of each on the side of the stock and draw a line between the to makes . That line  is the bottom of the RR channel inside the stock . If you stay at least 1/8 away from it , you will be safe .

 Now  for your nose cap   the two red arrows show the high point  in you shaping . See the dip between the two .   There should be no dip


 Here is how I do my nose caps
 First I bring the stock down to around 80% shape . IE the lines are there but everything is alittle thick . Now I scribe the back of the nose cap  so that  the line is just a tad short  of where it will be when fully inlet . I then  cut into the stock  and  t remove the wood forward of the nose cap  line  just enough that the cap will slide on .  Then  I blacken the back  of the cap . Removing  the wood tell the cap fully comes back .
 Here are a couple photos to show you what I mean . now these pictures are for a poured nose cap but I think they will show you what im getting at


 now notice at this point i also have not  done the inlays .
 but it is at 70-80 % is also where i do my inlays . that way i can bring the wood right on down and y sand right across them .  when you sand the stock on down , you will end up polishing the inlays .
 this  they to will  be clean and smooth to the wood . IE if you run your finger aceos the wood and onto the inly ,  you will feel no transition . the line is smooth and clean . your finger cannot tell  where the metal starts and the wood ends

 now because i left  20% of the wood , i can then come back and sand the top edge along the barrel and  block sand a nice strait line.
 Now  as to the transition to the nose cap . IMO this should be gradual . Starting at the lock mortise and  narrowing to the width of the cap . Again making a nice clean line

 As to the depth of your triggers . 
  What I was getting at is that  from the mortise  the stock should shape to the trigger plate. Depending on the rifle  the trigger plate should be just a fraction below the mortise . . On many originals , you will see that the bottom of the mortise is very thin   and the would is shaped strait to the trigger plate . On others the wood rounds only alittle  before heading to the mortise.
 Now back of the triggers  it would help you to shape the wrist  on down so it  comes  to about 1/8 from the sides of the trigger plate.
 This line is maintained and slowly widens so as  to  hole the line of the toe plate

 Basicly what im getting at here is all your lines should flow and be un broken

 Now again . These are just suggestions. Im not saying things were ALLWAYS done this way . In some cases  they were not .

 hofuly this willhelp you on your long rifle  where keeping the lines is very important

Offline rickevans

  • TMA Contributing Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 802
  • TMA: TMA Supporting Member #232 ....... Expires 7/5/19
  • TMA Member: 232
  • Location: GA
(No subject)
« Reply #16 on: May 05, 2010, 08:51:29 AM »
Goodgolly son!  That is a fine first build.  May I ask where you got the patchbox? All around fine job, and best of all, you asked for and got excellent "constructive criticism" and you understand how to build the next one better. Life is good.
R. C. (Rick) Evans
TMA# 232 Expires 7/5/22
Honorable Company of Horners
Contemporary Longrifle Association
Life Member NRA

Offline butterchurn

  • TMA Forum Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 839
(No subject)
« Reply #17 on: May 05, 2010, 12:17:50 PM »
Thanks, Captchee.  Your explanation is invaluable!
Butterchurn
Member # 249
Exp. 07/12/10

Set your course by the stars, not by the lights of every passing ship.
General Omar N. Bradley

Offline SquirrelHeart

  • TMA Forum Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 40
(No subject)
« Reply #18 on: May 05, 2010, 01:19:29 PM »
Captchee,

Thanks for the additional details and pics as well as the doctored photo.  A picture is just, well as they say, worth a thousand words.  Explains a lot!  I really appreciate you willingness to help out a new builder.

Rickevans-

I bought the patchbox from Muzzleloader Builders Supply.  It is a right handed patchbox.  I added the tab on the latch.  I like the patchbox, however if I had it to do over again I would attempt to make a left handed one from scratch, so it would open the proper direction.  It works just fine as it is, however.
Curtis aka SquirrelHeart
TMA Member #320
Exp. Date 04/25/11
NMLRA Member
NRA Life Member