1775-1785 Augusta/Rockbridge Co. Virginia Longrifle Templates & Layout Guide
This offering is my attempt to help the beginning gunmaker by making some of my layout tools available to them. As the title indicates, this drawing has templates for my interpretation of the 1775-1785 Augusta/Rockbridge Co. Virginia longrifles documented by Wallace Gusler in the Journal of Historical Armsmaking Technology (JHAT), Volume II.
This drawing contains my stock profile layout template for an Early Virginia longrifle along with my layout guidelines. The stock profile is basically the same as an early Lancaster, and I use this stock profile template for any colonial period longrifle. For a Pennsylvania longrifle, make the side walls of the lower forearm 1/8″ thick as opposed to 3/32″ for a Virginia longrifle. I have also included notes for the gunmaker describing the barrel pin placement for Virginia longrifles versus Pennsylvania rifles. Otherwise, basic stock layout and construction is the same.
Details of Early Virginia longrifle forearm mouldingI have included templates for the gunmaker to cut out the brass blanks to make a patchbox (with two different finials) roughly in the style of the rifles documented in the JHAT II article. Additionally, a full size cross section is included for the gunmaker to create the lid/finial former as well as a hinge former, the rear thimble mandrel, and the rear thimble tang former with the notes required to make these items. There are templates for the brass blanks to make the thimbles and two sizes of nose pieces with details about the required mandrels as well as plans for the rear thimble mandrel and tang former. Some stock cross sectional profiles are included to help the beginning gunmaker. I have also included the details for the scratchstock to shape the upper forearm. The scratchstock blade template recreates the moulding unique to the unknown maker of the antique rifle documented in JHAT. That moulding is also used by John Davidson which is why many believe he was an apprentice to the unknown master gunmaker.
Gunmaker Instructions for Using the Templates & Layout Guide
All the templates and plans are actual size. You just need to glue the paper templates to stiff cardboard such as poster board or mat board, and cut out the templates with an Xacto knife. You should cut along the outside edge of the lines. I would suggest that you print two copies of the plans; one to use for templates and the other for continued reference.
The image above shows the drawing that you will receive. The full size drawing is approximately 24″ x 75″. You can download the plan here; Download Full Size Plan This is an .pdf file and you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view it.Adobe Acrobat Reader Download
I want to make it clear that this offering is NOT intended to be a full set of plans, notes, and instructions necessary to build a complete rifle. It is merely an offering of some of the gunmaker tools necessary to produce a similar rifle. If you like the work I did with my Rifle #17, this will just help you layout a similar rifle from a stock blank and make a similar patchbox, side plate, thimbles, one piece nose piece, and upper forearm moulding. Someone who is building their first rifle from a blank, may find my approach to layout informative.
Copyright & Printing Information
I used to offer this plan for sale, both as a finished print and download. It never sold as well as I had hoped; and given that I don’t want to go to the expense to make this site secure enough for continued online sales, I am offering it as a free download for personal use. I still hold the copyright and it may not be used for any commercial purposes. You should be able to get the drawing printed locally for about $10 a sheet on standard bond. I get mine printed at the local FedEx Office store. I send them the file electronically via their web site and then pickup the prints when they are ready.
Today, I was fortunate enough to be present for the charcoal bluing of a longrifle barrel. Richard Frazier, a former journeyman at the gunshop at Colonial Williamsburg, was charcoal bluing the barrel for his latest rifle. He was sharing the process that they used for years, and still use to blue gun barrels at the CW gunshop. Al Edge, a well respected gunmaker and restorer, was the host for this effort and his apprentice Corey Pheasant helped out with the setup, fire building, and some of the barrel handling.
I have documented the process in photos as shown below.
We started with a box constructed of 1/8″ thick steel sheet. It was approximately 8″x8″x50″ and set about 12″ off the ground on a pair of simple welded steel supports. The box was wired to the supports to keep it from moving around.
Below is the fire being started. It needs to be a big fire with plenty of firewood under and stacked around the box.
Here, the fire has just about burned down and the charcoal in the box is starting to turn white at the top. We were just about ready to go.
Here is a close up of the mandrel used to handle the barrel and place it in the charcoal. The short leg goes in the breech of the barrel. The long leg of the mandrel is used to handle the barrel.
Here is the rag and rottenstone used to rub down the barrel. The barrel is removed from the charcoal every 15 minutes and lightly rubbed on the top five flats.
In the following photos, Richard is inserting the degreased barrel into the charcoal for the first time. The bore was NOT packed with charcoal.
Here the barrel has been removed for the first time to be rubbed down with an old cloth dusted in rottenstone. We put the barrel in the charcoal three time for 15 minutes each; removing it twice to rub it down.
Once Richard was happy with the bluing job, the barrel was removed and the mandrel clamped in a post vise so that the barrel could be sprayed with WD-40 and rubbed down. The barrel was a splotchy blue gray when it came out of the charcoal. After rubbing it down a few minutes with the WD-40, it was a fairly even dark blue.
Richard noted that the charcoal might have been a bit hot, but it is hard to adjust that with the wood fire. You have to guess at the amount of fuel to add, and I am told that too little is worse than too much. They were aiming at about 1000F.
In case you were wondering, Richard case hardened the breech plug along with the lock plate and cock.
This is a rifle in the style of an early Jacob Dickert. It shares characteristics with the Moravian rifle makers at Christian Springs. This rifle has been slightly aged per the wishes of the customer.
This rifle was awarded the Best of Class ribbon in Master-Traditional at the 2016 Dixon’s Gunmakers Fair.
2016 Best of Class and other ribbons for the Early Jacob Dickert
The technical details:
Stock:
A fancy, dense piece of sugar maple from Harrison Saw Mill.
Lock:
Chambers Early Germanic
Barrel:
Rice 38″, 50 caliber, C weight Transitional profile with a Chambers White Lightning liner
Trigger:
Modified Davis double set triggers
Mounts:
Soft yellow brass butt piece and guard from Reeves Goehring. The rest are from brass sheet.
Lock templates & old tumbler mill made from a fileIn conjunction with some recent repair/restoration work, I have started working on an all handmade flintlock. That means one made of wrought iron in the same manner as an 18th century Virginia gun shop including making all the screws. I have completed a set of templates for the lock and have forged a blank for the tumbler. I have also made a tumbler mill from a large file that is used to mill the parallel sides on the tumbler. I will probably do the plate next.
I had to use my last tumbler blank for another project, so I will have to make another for myself; most likely with a newly made die. It is probably instructive to explain why I had to use the wrought iron blank on another project. I had been trying to make a replacement tumbler for a contemporary flintlock pistol using O-1 tool steel. I was forging a blank just like with wrought iron which involves hammering out what looks like a large lopsided nail. Then I was machining the blank on a lathe and filing the profile and notches. The problem was that I had been running into forging cracks in these tumblers, and you don’t find them until you have machined each surface. I lost count of how many blanks I made. I almost finished two, only to self inflict some other injury at the end. That was two out of six or seven blanks that were free of forging cracks.
The problem was that the tool steel was being quenched by the colder anvil and hardened in spots. So, if you are working below the re-crystalization temperature, about 1500F (cherry red), you run the risk of cracking the tumbler on the side against the anvil. The more the blank was worked, the more likely to produce cracks. The two blanks that were free of forging cracks(or at least as far as I could tell) were ones that I worked the least. My blows just happened to be more efficient on those. I decided that it is just too much trouble to try to forge tumblers from tool steel.
Fortunately, I have plenty of third run 1.25″ round wrought iron bar that is just fine for lock parts. There are a few small inclusions, but not many. So, from now on, I will make all my lock parts and many tools, except the springs, from wrought iron or mild steel and case harden them. That is period correct anyway.
Tools for Creating a Handmade Flintlock
Die for lock plate with integral pan used by CW GunshopWork is underway on the dies to forge all the lock parts as finished as possible. The effort to make the dies has two purposes; to explore period lock production and more efficiently produce multiple locks. My intention is to make at lease two handmade flintlocks; one for a handmade flintlock rifle and one for a handmade flintlock pistol.
The documentation for the dies I intend to reproduce, come from two sources; articles in JHAT Vol I & Vol V written by Gary Brumfield, and subsequent research done by George Suiter. Gary was the second master of the gun shop in Colonial Williamsburg, and George is the current master. George has added dies and jigs to the lock production in the CW Gunshop since the JHAT articles were written.
Of particular interest is that the gun shop in Colonial Williamsburg has not been forge welding pans onto lock plates for some time. They are using a modified lock plate die and a fairly complex die to form the pan, pan bridle, and fence. They actually have dies for most of their parts as well as a drilling jig for the plate. The dies and jigs are based on documented tools and processes used by the lock makers of Birmingham, England. Die for forming integral pan used by CW Gunshop
18th C tumbler millA photo a the beginning of this article shows a tumbler mill copied from the JHAT I article and made from a 12″ bastard file. This design never worked very well for me or the CW Gunshop (according to Gary Brumfield); and come to find out, the actual 18th C tumbler mills were not made exactly like a file. The photo to the right shows an fancy 18th Century tumbler mill of, supposedly, the same design; a design documented in Diderot and some period German publications. I plan to make a mill based on the tool in the photo. It is really hard to see from the attached photo; but the “teeth” in the actual mills were perpendicular to the long axis of the mill, cut with a triangular file, and flat on top. That is why they worked better that our uninformed attempts to recreate them with a file. The CW Gunshop currently uses a copy of what is probably more of a 19th century English tumbler mill with rotary cutters. This is a more effective design that the tumbler mill shown.
Handmade Lock Project Progress
Lock die in progress for this project with die sinker chisels for clearing out waste metal.Steel has been purchased for all the lock dies, screw mills, and tumbler mill. The pieces have been cut to shape and are ready for the dies to be cut and the hardie posts to be welded. The chisels have been made are are being used to cut the dies. I have also made the drill bit, reamer, tap, and screw mills for the internal lock screws.
Screw mills, drill bits, reamers, and taps in progress for handmade lock project.I should note that while I intend to make the flintlock using period tools and techniques, I don’t intend to make the tools entirely same way. As these tools were usually purchased by the gunsmith from England, I feel perfectly justified in making them however I like. That includes using a belt sander instead of an old stone grinding wheel, a drill press, and a metal lathe, if necessary. I will point out that they did have water powered grinding wheels, drill presses and metal lathes in the English shops. As I have no other alternatives, I will still use the forge, files, and chisels in the old way.
Case hardened screw mills, screw plate, tap drill, and tap with a screw and tapped hole made with those tools.Here is a photo of the first handmade lock screw I made. I used the screw mills shown just after case hardening them. Also shown is the tap drill and tap that I made as well as a plate with a hole that I drilled and tapped with those tools. It took less than an hour to make the screw using a rod of 12L14 steel (the usual screw making stock and very similar in softness to wrought iron) that had been previously squared for the brace on one end and pointed on the other. I could have done a better job with the screw by pointing the rod with more care to make sure it was centered.
Die to forge a tumbler blank.I had a job come up repairing an antique lock that allowed me the opportunity to make a couple more lock making tools on my list. I had to replace a cracked tumbler, so the time was right to make a tumbler die for forging a wrought iron tumbler blank. I made the die so that I ended up with a blank large enough to machine a tumbler for most any rifle size lock.
Lantern stock chuck for turning 1/4″ screw stock into a screw mill.Since I had a couple hours at the forge to make the tumbler blank, I slipped in another little forging project; making a lantern stock chuck for screw stock. In the past, I hammered a square end directly on the screw stock, but that wobbled too much in the brace. I felt that a lantern stock chuck would be more stable, and it is.
Antique percussion lock with a replaced tumbler.I used the new tumbler die to forge a nearly perfect tumbler blank out of wrought iron. It took a little more time than I had thought, but I got a good result. Since I had not made a period tumbler mill yet, I turned the axles and the parallel tumbler faces on a lathe. I ended up with a roughly shaped disk that I quickly filed to shape to match the original tumbler. The finished tumbler is shown in the lock above.
I just finished making a metal bow for my watchmakers type metal bow drill. The bow itself is very simple. Unlike the ones in the period catalogs, it doesn’t have a ratchet mechanism. I was given a old fencing foil with which to make a bow and there just wasn’t enough metal there to support a ratchet. So, I just riveted a little tab on the bottom at the back to which I could attach a bow string. The front was just curled up into a loop for the other end of the bow string. I tried a couple of different string materials but hemp cord seemed to work best. It stretches, but it is easy enough to loosen the knot and tightened it up every once in a while.
The drill itself is also very simple. It is a piece of 3/8″ drill rod with a 1 1/4″ hunk of wrought iron pinned on to the shaft. I turned the spool from the wrought iron right on the shaft. A lantern stock chuck was drilled and filed on the long end of the shaft. It pretty much matches the ones in the period catalogs except they normally had brass spools. I didn’t have a piece of brass big enough, but I did have wrought iron. I figured it was a reasonable period substitution.
So, now I have a fully functional bow drill for drilling metal. I have a hole drilled in a period watchmakers vise to accept the pointed end of the drill shaft. I would hold the work to be drilled in my left hand as I operated the bow with my right hand. That is kind of an awkward arrangement, but that is how it was done. Actually, the watchmakers vise I have came with a hole for a bow drill. I just made it a little bigger.
On many longrifles, there are mouldings along the forearm (usually the upper forearm) and along toe of the buttstock. Most often these are simple raised moldings cut in with a knife or chisel and then relieved behind the cut with the chisel or knife. The moulding is usually cleaned up using a slim triangular file with the tip ground off forming a scraping surface. The photo to the right shows a lower buttstock moulding cut with just the knife and the chisel.
For more complex mouldings, a scratchstock may be useful. The scratchstock shown here was made for the unusual moulding found on a group of Rockbridge Country Virginia guns (including John Davidson) and applied to my Gun #10. The blade in this scratchstock is ground to produce both the upper forearm moulding and the buttstock toe moulding. To use the scratchstock, the top bar runs along the top of the barrel channel to cut the forearm moulding and along the toe for the lower buttstock moulding. Only part of the buttstock moulding nearest the butt can be cut with the scratch stock and it can be more trouble than it is worth. The scratchstock is most useful for the upper forearm moulding, but it does take a lot of passes to cut the moulding. You have to shape the upper forearm as close as you can to finished dimensions before you apply the scratchstock.
One important note about the finish produced by the scratchstock. Since you are holding the scraper blade parallel to the curl in the stock, the scraper blade with ride up and down on the hard and soft curl producing a ripple effect. I know of no way to avoid this with a scratchstock. The ripples are a consequence, and an indication, of the method used to shape the forearm. Other places that you use a scraper, you can hold the scraper diagonal to the curl to avoid leaving ripples. Ripples in a highly figured stock are part and parcel of shaping and finishing with scrapers, but in most other places it can be minimized. It just can’t be minimized where a scratchstock is used.
Below is a list of the Muzzle Blasts articles by or about Wallace Gusler. Wallace Gusler is one of the foremost experts on southern longrifles, particularly Virginia longrifles. Many of the articles focus on rare iron mounted rifles. I am listing the issue, the title, and the first page. This may not be a complete list. These are just among the issues that I saved, and I only save issues that have particular interest for me. I have been told that back issues of Muzzle Blasts are available from the NMLRA for a nominal fee.
September 2003; Inventory of Robert Milburn, Frederick County, Virgnia; p.46.
November 2003; “A rifle gun barrel & mountings”; p.48.*
January 2004; Wallace Gusler, Master Gunsmith by Gary Brumfield; p.4.
March 2004; “Attributing the Old Holston Rifle”; p.4.*
May 2004; “The Step Toe Group”
July 2004; An Early Shenandoah Valley Iron Mounted Rifle Gun; p.11.*
September 2004; A Fine Iron Mounted Rifle; p.36.*
January 2005;An 18th Century Moravian Rifle Gun from North Carolina; p.4.
March 2005;An 18th Century Moravian Rifle Gun from North Carolina; p.4.
July 2005;An 18th Century Moravian Rifle Gun from North Carolina; p.4.
November 2005;An 18th Century Moravian Rifle Gun from North Carolina; p.4.
March 2006; A Fine Iron Mounted Rifle from the Valley of Virginia; p.60.*
January 2007; A Lancaster – Pennsyslvania Rifle Gun with Southern Connections; p.4.
March 2007; Possible Origin of G.F. Fanot’s Box Design; p.13.
July 2007; An Important Tennessee Iron Mounted Rifle Gun – Part 1; p.4.*
July 2007; An Important Tennessee Iron Mounted Rifle Gun – Part 2; p.4.*
November 2007; A Valley of Virginia Rifle Gun Used in Kentucky; p.36.*
March 2008; Early Virginia-Pennsylvania Rifle; p.4.*
May 2008; An In-use Restocked Smooth-bored Rifle Gun; p.50.*
September 2008; American Frontier and Backcountry Flintlock Terminology 1730-1830; p.4.**
December 2008; Backcountry and Frontier Flintlock Terminology; p.4.**
June 2009; A Rosetta Stone North Carolina Rifle Gun Part 1; p.50.
August 2009; A Rosetta Stone North Carolina Rifle Gun Part 2; p.50.
December 2009; Shot Bags/Shot Pouches – Part 1; p.?.
May 2010; Shot Bags/Shot Pouches – Part 2; p.7.
June 2010; An Early Virginia Shot Bag and 18th Century Powder Measure; p.4.
December 2011; A French and Indian War Rifle Gun, Part 1; p.43.
February 2012;“A French and Indian War Rifle Gun, Part II”
August 2012; Rifles by “GB” in the Step Toe Group, Rockbridge and Botetourt Counties, Virginia; p.47.*
December 2014; Rifle Guns in the “GB” Group, Number 2; p.6.*
February 2016, The Twentieth Century Story of Two Extraordinary Frontier Guns, Part 1; p.6.*
As I am only able to do a few photography shoots a years, at best, I thought that I would share what I have learned about firearms photography so that others can duplicate it. Here is a link to a .PDF document that will guide you through how to take professional quality photographs of firearms and accouterments: Firearms Photography 101
This document is a updated version of a presentation I gave at Dixons Gunmaker’s Fair a couple years ago. It goes over the basics of using your camera for firearms photography and how to stage and light your guns. Specifically, I talk about my lighting system using studio strobes and soft/strip boxes as well as how to use the paint with light technique. I have added some recommendations for point and shoot cameras and photos of my lighting setup. You can duplicate my studio lighting setup for a little over $1000 which isn’t that much at all in the realm of photography, or gun collecting.
I was getting ready to install pins in my most recent rifle and wondered how would this have been done in the 18th century. I normally use a couple twist drills (1/16″ and 5/64″) and my cordless electric drill. So, I asked that question on ALR, and after reading a number of the responses, I came up with the following simple bow drills as a solution. They were turned out of hard maple and the axle at the top and drills are music wire. I used 1/8″ for the top pivot/axle, and I used 1/16″ and 5/64″ music wire for the drill bits. I sharpened them like an 18th century metal cutting bit for a brace.
For the time being, I am using a hickory rod for the bow with some artificial sinew for the bow string. I have an old foil blade that I am going to use to make a more period correct bow with a little take up reel at the hilt/handle for the string. I will forge a little loop in the tip of the blade to attache the other end of the string.
The way you use these is to punch the location of the pin hole with an awl. Then insert the drill bit tip into the hole with the bow string already around the drill spool. You use the little paddle shown to hold the other end of the drill. You will notice little holes in the paddle for the top axle of the drill. It is a little awkward to get started, but once you do, you can drill the distance to the barrel tenon or thimble tab in a minute or two. You just mark the tenon or tab and then remove it to drill it with a regular metal bit for a brace.
With the bow drill, you would drill one side of the stock and then drill the other side using the 1/16″ bit. Then with the drilled tenon or tab back in place, drill through with the 5/64″ bit. The second 5/64″ drill should line up all the holes nice and tight. At least that is the plan. I haven’t actually installed a thimble with them yet.
I still have to make 1/16″ and 5/64″ metal cutting bits with a lantern stock chuck and tapered square adapter for a brace. I will need the adapter because the little drills will be made of music wire and be for use in a lantern stock chuck. I plan to make another bow drill with a lantern stock chuck for these little drill bits. That will be the subject of another posting.
I get lots of requests for appraisals on antique rifles. Consequently, I felt I should make a general blog and FAQ post on the subject.
In order to properly estimate the value of an antique firearm, it must be closely inspected, in person, including disassembly. Additionally, you should seek out an appraiser who routinely buys and sells similar antiques. Still, any appraisal you get is just a guess based on previous sales of similar items. Any given item offered for sale is really only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.
A value can vary substantially depending on the location of a sale and how well advertised it is; in other words, the potential market. This is why you are likely to get more for something on eBay than Craigslist where you have a national (or international) market instead of a local market.
The current economy also has a lot to do with how much something is worth. The values of all collectibles and antiques were at record highs in 2008, just before the collapse of the financial markets. This collapse significantly affected those with the most disposable income and most likely to purchase luxury goods such as antique firearms. The antique firearms market was been hit hard by this shock to the economy. The values of most antique firearms are half what they were before 2008. The very best firearms held their value, but the rest were hit hard.
The antique longrifle market has been further impacted by a large number of collections hitting the market right now due to the aging of collectors. People with money can get a good deal on average quality longrifles right now. That is not good news for someone with an average longrifle to sell.
If you would like an appraisal on your Virginia longrifle, I would direct you to Tim Hodges at Aspen Shade Ltd. He is very familiar with Virginia longrifles and should be able to help you with an appraisal or consignment. Otherwise, I would seek advise from one of the major auction houses that have specialists in firearms, such as James D Julia or Cowan’s Auctions
I want to make it clear that this offering is NOT intended to be a full set of plans, notes, and instructions necessary to build a complete rifle. It is merely an offering of some of the gunmaker tools necessary to produce a similar rifle. If you like the work I did with my Rifle #17, this will just help you layout a similar rifle from a stock blank and make a similar patchbox, side plate, thimbles, one piece nose piece, and upper forearm moulding. Someone who is building their first rifle from a blank, may find my approach to layout informative. 
