Halfstock Flintlock Rebuild

[Shovelbuck]

Seems like things always get a bit slow this time of year so I figure it's time for a build along. I've been wanting to make this Investarms "Hawken" look a bit more correct for a very long time and might as well get after it now.

The main things that will be getting face lifts are the sights, thin the wrist area, change the cheek piece, get rid of all the stamping on the barrel, and remove about 1/8 from the top of the forearm.

I have the gun tore apart and while at this stage I always unbreach the barrel to get a good look at things.
I always shake my head at the posts I read on muzzleloading only sites about breech plugs. 99.999 percent of the people on those sites live in fear over these things. Always saying, "Don't remove the breech plug"!!!! and they always have one of those stories to go along with their reasoning. You know the stories....."I heard from my brothers friends, husbands cousin that so in so's brother in law had one blow out after messin with it"
Cripes, !!! it's just a bolt. A well fit bolt, but a bolt non the less. Turn it left and it will come out. The world won't end, demons won't pillage the earth, and we will all still sleep at night. OK, I'm done with that rant.
Anyway, most factory muzzleloaders have what is called a patent breech. They have a smaller chamber than the main bore. I personally can't stand them as they are hard to clean and can cause troubles when shooting lots of rounds between cleaning sessions. I will be opening the chamber larger on this one. I've not had troubles with this gun but a bit larger flash chamber will give me peace of mind.

That's it for now.

 

[blake]

This should be interesting; I always look forward to your “How to Post”. :way:

 

[AZHunter]

Cripes, !!! it's just a bolt. A well fit bolt, but a bolt non the less. Turn it left and it will come out. The world won't end, demons won't pillage the earth, and we will all still sleep at night.
That's it for now.

Ironically, Shovel, I'm pretty sure that I actually remember hearing an honest story from a friend about his friend removing a breech plug and demons actually pillaging the earth as a direct result! Its either that, or the Federal agency I'm dealing with today makes me feel like its happening and it might as well be due to someone removing a breech plug. At any rate, I'm looking forward to your build and I appreciate the distraction from a crappy day.

 

[Shovelbuck]

After about 30 minutes of chisel work the cheek piece has been changed................

Then I got after the excess wood on top of the forearm. You can see by the nose piece how much wood was removed.

Next step will be to slim everything down. There's just way too much wood on this stock.

 

[Shovelbuck]

After removing so much excess wood, a lot of the brass pieces needed inlet deeper or re-shaped. The nose piece got reshaped, and the wedge plates were inlet deeper.
Then, since the gun didn't have a toe plate from the factory, I grabbed a piece of brass and made one. That little thing was tedious to inlay but it's in.

I've got to sand it quite a bit more then start the finish.

 

[Shovelbuck]

After spending quality time with sandpaper I was able to get two hand rubbed coats of Tru Oil on the wood.....

Then, after all that work and having it look very good with the oil, this was the next step................................
Hang on to your hats guys.......................................

Yep, that's flat black spray paint !
More to come later.

 

[Shovelbuck]

Next on the list of things to do was get rid of all the stamping / writing on the barrel. I draw filed it off then sanded the entire barrel with progressive grits of sandpaper, up to 220.

After that, I bleached the barrel and let it rust over night.

I then knocked all the rust off with steel wool, then applied a heavy coat of Navel Jelly and let sit for an hour or so. After that, it received a coat of bluing which was then knocked back with steel wool revealing a well worn, bluish gray finish.

 

[JakeWym]

Lookin good...man you do good work.

 

[Shovelbuck]

Oops, I didn't mean to leave you guys hanging on that flat black painted stock
After it had dried, I knocked it back with steel wool, allowing it to stay in low areas and leaving some where a gun would get dirty and grimy. It also get's into some of the pores of the walnut. This process give the stock a nice well used appearance.
Not the greatest pics but you get the idea.......

I have new sights ordered and will have to cut at least one new dovetail in the barrel for them. When that's done, I'll sight it in and get some overall better pics.

 

[BW]

Bravo, many of us do not have the courage to take a step like that, but a master craftsman can always see the beauty within the bulk material.

Keep the candle burning. :way:

 

[Shovelbuck]

OK, I received the new sights and just finished up installing them. I'm putting on a buck horn type rear sight with a large front blade, replacing the adjustable rear that came with the gun.

First step in doing any filing is chalk up. Keep your files clean and they are your friend. The chalk really keeps them clean of metal shavings making them cut smoothly.

The original dovetail for the front sight needed to be widened about 1/16 inch. When doing this kind of work, a three cornered file is what it used.

The original rear sight was held by two screws. When I redid the barrel, I filled one of the holes and left the other alone since it would be where the new dove tail would be cut.
First make a series of cuts with a hack saw where the sight will go. Measure twice, cut once. You can always remove metal, it's hard to put it back.

After that, simply file the dove tail. The little pieces left by the saw file off easy. Take your time and make a nice square slot that the sight fits into snug.

I didn't order the proper sized sight so the base is too narrow, it will do for now. I touched up the exposed steel with bluing.

From past experience I know the front blade will need to be quite low so I went ahead and removed some of the height now. It will save a little time in the field when I go sight it in.

 

[Shovelbuck]

Here's the finished photos.
I think I forgot to mention that I got rid of the color case hardening on the lock and gave it a gray finish.

This pic shows how thin the forearm is now and the toe plate I made for it.

This was a fun little project that I should of done a long time ago. Now to go sight her in.

 

[blake]

Looks really good Jay.

 

[aaron2691]

you do absolutely lovely work there. I am quite envious.