The Craftmans Shop > Backyard Ballistics

Craftsmanship is alive.

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Bernd:
Nice job Jonny.  :thumbup:

Looks complicated.

Bernd

ieezitin:
Jonny

Nice piece of hand work, I can see a weeks work there. I just finished a hand rail job for someone and where I welded the joints together I had to grind and hand file back the profile of the top hand rail, a weld joint was taking me an hour each. Saying that I did not go  to the finish standards there on that gun trigger action.   ::)

Any chance of the makers name in Scotland and any pics of his works?  :headbang:



Anthony.

Jonny:
Spotted a blemish right away bottom 7BA screw slot in bridle isnt horizontal.

Trigger plate is based on the Dickson round action, most notable difference is the safety arrangement. Think above piccy was the last one i did for the company based in Glasgow.

What used to nark me with those is the trigger and sear pivot. Both bridles drilled through and tapered from the inside. Both sears are also tapered from inside. Pin made up with tapered barrel through centre so it locks in from one direction. This also has to have tapers locking in to both bridles when tightened up and of course no play with sears or triggers. Just one area wasnt keen on but had to be done.
Used to have to psych meself up to file the trigger shaping and then blend into trigger plate. Only stabbed myself 7 times out 26 i done, its sharp on the end.
Never put initials on anything ever done, at best if a hand made lock there would be the companies name stamped on it usually just in front of the tumbler even for the London based companies that said they made their own.

It does save a lot of time having them bulk cnc, wire eroded, spark eroded etc Above was taken to the limit of what they could achieve and still cost them more than £900 in parts before our work. Reason it is so expensive is because the development costs in programming and repeated reprogramming to get it something like have to be recouped. Otherwise it would save around £700 on above parts, knock on effect end user would save £2000+ just on that assembly alone.

No problems making any part of above by hand.
In general locks are easier but most had decent hammer forged springs made the original ways, sadly theres no one left in the world currently working, to my knowledge and only three people still alive that know how.
Believe me we had a few mr perfects.

Used to love the hammer gun mainsprings, really beefy and long. Most hated making two pairs of locks with frizzen pans etc from solid and of course those parts you cant hold in a vice.
I did have the honour of doing specialist work for the best gunmakers in the business as they only employed barrel makers and engineers.

Fairly sure these are the only pictures i took in 11 years, but we used to have an author Tony Murray (cake man, funny story) pay us a visit twice a year for years, he took a lot of piccies.

Last job ever done was a Westley Richards boxlock mainspring, the type with the inbuilt ejector timing. Ps made in India on new guns hardened and pulled up in UK!

Just admire the old stuff for the work of art it is and how it was made with bare hands.

ieezitin:
Jonny.

Seems to me you have sufficient knowledge in the trigger department on manufacture, (imho the hardest)  making receivers would be the easy part. Making barrels is just a broaching machining action, if a shot gun smooth bore barrels cant be that hard either  ever thought about making your own firearm for commercial sale?.

Saying that forging barrels and receiver blocks out of Damascus is no easy task, but I know as well as you the money is out there for hand crafted guns.


Anthony

Jonny:
No time Anthony, to produce a hand made s/s could take years, i just admire for the workmanship that goes in to them.
Just a specialist in specific areas such as quality lock making, ejector work and all types of springs by the traditional method, sadly only three of us still alive that know how.

Recently done a Purdey wall hanger in US just because he wanted it working, no parts in the forend, no scarf pins, no side clips, screws, no ejector springs or kickers and no centre rod, that cost him.
To my knowledge i can only recall 6 who can and still make by hand upon request.
Theres certain things no amount of machining or programming can do any good, one is wire cut springs they are weak and do not look right, would be ok on a spanish, well too good.

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