Aug 15, 2019 | care & maintenance
Good Sunday morning from Gobbler Knob! Today, I’m finishing up the barrel keys before I move on to the patchbox inlet. The excess length of each key needs to be ground away to its final length now that the escutcheons have been placed. I score a witness mark on each....
Aug 15, 2019 | care & maintenance
This four-piece patchbox consists of the finial, lid, and two sideplates. Inlaying is pretty straight-forward. Placing it properly, tracing around the edges, then removing the wood inside the lines. This job calls for scary sharp chisels as I’ll be cutting across the...
Aug 15, 2019 | care & maintenance
Good morning from Gobbler Knob! Now that the edges of the patchbox have been filed to match the curve of the buttplate and the cheekpiece inlay has been mortised in, it’s time to give this rifle some more character with some simple carving designs. I can barely draw a...
Aug 15, 2019 | care & maintenance
So, fire-blueing is simple and adds a classic touch. The first step in the process is to polish the surface. Here, I have chucked the cock screw in my drill press. I use 400 grit Emory cloth to polish it until the head gleams. I use a torch to slowly heat the screw...
