A flintlock Pistol I Made

george wilson

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This is a flintlock pistol I made. The lion's head necklace pictured in silver was cast from the original brass mask I chiseled for the butt of the pistol. It took quite a while to chisel the mask out by hand,so I decided to send it out and have castings made from it in silver. The mask looks flat the way it was photographed,but it is actually polished. My wife took that picture,and made it that was so the details could be better seen. It is hard to photograph shiny objects,as you can see from the picture of the mask on the gun. It is so shiny you can hardly make it out. The pistol required a box,so I made the box from mahogany,and made the tools that are in the box,except for the powder flask,which I purchased. I made the brass hooks that keep the lid secured.

The lion's mask represents the flayed skin of the lion that Hercules slew. Classical themes were often used in early work.

None of the parts on this pistol were cast. Everything in brass was fabricated from sheet brass,though most original makers would have used castings for the furniture of their guns. Mine were made by sawing out the pieces,filing them where I could,and chiseling out the rest of the areas.

Small steel pins,as is proper,hold the ramrod pipes,and the barrel on. Later on,flat keys were sometimes used,as you will eventually see on another,later style pistol that I also made.

The walnut stock of this pistol has a grain that exactly follows the curve of the grip,and has some nice figuring where it curves. This piece of wood was found by an astute friend of mine in a pile of firewood. Since he saw that the shape of the grain was ideal for making a pistol,he rescued the wood and brought it to me. I dried the wood for several years before making it into a stock.

The ramrod,mallet and screwdriver handle are made from Brazilian rosewood. The wad cutter is 01 tool steel,highly finished as it would have been in a fine boxed pistol. The bullet mold is handmade from wrought iron.

I did not rifle the barrel myself,but did the outside contours and the small decorative filing. It was fire blued,and was a strain on my kitchen oven! On top of the breech of the barrel,is an inlaid strip of silver with my name(as maker) engraved on it,as it is also on the lock.

Most of the work on this pistol is handwork and filing,due to the nature of the contours,etc..

The round ramrod pipes feature decorative moldings,and are a bit early for the era of this pistol. However,it was possible for a person to like certain earlier ornamentations,and have them custom made as part of his original order. I like these type of pipes. I made them by turning about a 3" diameter tube of brass on my lathe with hand held chisels to produce the moldings. Then,the large brass cylinder of moldings was cut up into the ramrod pipes. I still have a left over remnant. They were wrapped around steel mandrels the sizes of the ramrod,and their tops that stuck up above the moldings were squeezed flat,and the moldings filed down to smooth metal where the pipes enter the stock. Then,drilled holes were made with the pipes in place,and 1/16" steel pins driven through. The barrel is similarly held on.

In making an historical piece such as this,getting the details correct is very necessary,or else you have made an incorrect piece of work,no matter the skill level that was put into it. For this reason,I would spend several months looking at pictures,and discussing details with gunsmith friends( who never thought about much else!). I'd finally get everything figured out. I did see a pistol which was from a later period of the 18th.C.,which actually had the round ramrod pipes with turned moldings. On the old guns,they might make the metal for these type of pipes by pulling sheet through a draw plate. I had no draw bench,so I made them with the lathe. The results are the same,though.

Styles did not change rapidly in the 18th.C.,unlike today. But,about every 10 or 15 years,things like the angle of the grips would become steeper,barrel styles would change,and details like the ramrod pipes would change. Not aways for the better,in my opinion. I like a grip that is not too "vertical". Holding a pistol with a grip angle like this one locks my wrist up better,which makes for more accurate shooting. By the late 18th. C.,you could find pistols whose grips were curved down into a near 90º angle.

The butt cap was made by forging a flat sheet of brass that looked like the planet Saturn (from edge on). I made a few tries,then arrived at a pattern that I could hammer into a hemispherical hole,and have the spurs rise right up. They have to be curved just right in a true circular arc,so you can slip the butt cap up into grooves that are carved into the stock. I was the first in Williamsburg to make a proper butt cap. Someone else had made one by making a 2 piece pattern,and casting it in silver,soldering the 2 halves together. Actually,the butt cap was not difficult at all to forge into the desired shape. You just have to figure out how to do it. After I made this pistol,others in Williamsburg began using the same technique to make forged butt caps.

The surfaces of the forged butt cap were chiseled down to make the raised edge that you see,where the butt cap merges into the spurs.

The trigger is made from 1 piece of black iron,a little thicker than 1/16" thick. What you do is clamp the small sheet of iron on edge in a vise. Then,with a ball pein hammer,you start tapping on the edge,spreading it out sideways,and hammering it into the hollow curve that you want for the front edge of the trigger. After you forge and flare the edge enough (about 1/4" wide),you file the edges up,saw out the decoration behind the trigger,and then carefully tap the curl into the tip,starting at the very tip and working gradually,tapping it into a scroll. I wish I had a better closeup of the volute of the trigger. It is like a miniature violin scroll,except for being hollow,of course.

They did 2 types of case hardening in the 18th.C.. The kind we see today with the colors,and the brightly finished type. Wrought iron is always gray even when polished. Adding carbon turns it into a brighter,silvery color. The English still sometimes call carbon steel silver steel for that reason. They made many little accessories with this hardened,but polished surface because they liked the brightness compared to wrought iron.

The lock is thus polished bright. It is made of 01 steel,hardened. Originals were,of course,case hardened wrought iron. At the time I made this gun,I did not have the means at home to pack harden wrought iron.

I made the threads in the top jaw screw authentic,looking like deep light bulb threads,with rounded crests and roots. A special tap always has to be made for such threads,but I like to make taps.

The thumb piece,seen on the top view of the pistol,is a bit blurry. It has a scroll at the bottom,and a Roman helmet at the top.

The carving around the breech plug can be symmetrical or asymmetric. Mine is a bit of the latter: The shell is symmetrical,but the vines are not.

This is the first site where I have posted this pistol because this site has been good,well run,and no squabbling,etc..

PICT0004.JPG PICT0001.JPG PICT0003.JPG brass pistol.jpg PICT0007.JPG PICT0009.JPG PICT0013.JPG lions head necklace.jpg
 
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One heck of a nice job George, I am getting set up to build a Hawkins 54, just gathering the bits & pieces right now.;)
You can be very proud of that job:biggrin:
 
Dang George, that is some beautiful work, there. I think I'll go and pull the pictures I just posted.

Patrick
 
George,

Wow! I hope the owner of that pistol realizes and appreciates what a masterpiece it is. Your work deserves recognition on many levels. I am certain many periodicals would be interested in showcasing such an accomplishment. You are clearly master class in regards to inlaying, inletting, hand engraving, bluing, woodworking and all the other skills required to be a custom firearms builder. My hat is off to you sir.

Jeff
 
I appreciate the comments. Actually,I do not consider myself a gunsmith. In Williamsburg,there is such a variety of skills to be seen,and being interested in many things,I have gotten into making a variety of objects.
 
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George,

I am showing this to a friend at work right now. He is asking what caliber is it?

John
 
It was made a long time ago,but I think it was .50 caliber. You can see a lead ball in the picture of the tools,laying beside the bullet mold.
 
George, this is just staggeringly superb craftsmanship. Thanks for posting it, you've just made my day!
 
:drool: Now That's a pretty piece of craftsmanship !! :thumbzup:
 
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