Vintage Rifle

[EugeneParticipant @eugene]

Case hardening via the charcoal method is pretty simple to do if all you are looking for is a hard surface; easily doable in a small electric furnace in the amateur shop. Colour case hardening is a bit more difficult but using commercially available charcoal mixes you can get a very pleasing result.

The biggest difficulties (note the plural) lie in re-colour casing existing parts, especially guns components. First you need to know what the original colours looked like because they varied from maker to maker, and some of them used the molten cyanide process anyway, not charcoal. Then you need to know how to tweak the process to get that desired result, and it's a right fiddle.

Most gun actions are quite thin with variable sections that will move about when subjected to the stresses of re-casing, so that they sometimes won't reassemble properly, requiring a skilled gunsmith to pull them back straight. Thus they are annealed prior to treatment and held in jigs thereafter. And so it goes on …

The actual process is dead easy and new parts present little difficulty, but reworking precision gun parts is a bit of a minefield.

The "applique" method is also simple, if a bit of an acquired skill, but it's done at relatively low temperature that won't compromise the parts if done right. I've seen guns done this way where the metal parts weren't even taken off the gun; if you looked carefully you could see that the woodwork has been singed!

I have a wee electric oven on my Christmas list to replace the old one that died, and I'll be colour casing again.

Eug

[robertj siddleParticipant @robertjsiddle]

Hi all

If anyone wishes to read a good account of how to make rifle barrels, I can recommend visiting "Border Barrels" website. They have a world wide reputation.

They have a technical account of the various methods of production and the relevant costs and benefits of each.

Sadly they have recently been sold to a Birmingham(U.K.) company.

[ronan walshParticipant @ronanwalsh98054]

An home workshop engineer or model maker wanting an interesting air rifle project could do worse than building HM Buckleys air rifle. He has two books of plans available for a butt reseivor model and another with an air container integral to the body of the rifle. Mr. Buckley can be hard to contact, but like everyone else is busy. Details in the link below.

http://airgundevelopment.com/buckley.html

[The Merry MillerParticipant @themerrymiller]

Morning all.

I've sent you a P.M. Graham.(Oompa Lumpa)

Len. P.

[Oompa LumpaParticipant @oompalumpa34302]

Posted by ronan walsh on 23/10/2014 22:21:59:

An home workshop engineer or model maker wanting an interesting air rifle project could do worse than building HM Buckleys air rifle. He has two books of plans available for a butt reseivor model and another with an air container integral to the body of the rifle. Mr. Buckley can be hard to contact, but like everyone else is busy. Details in the link below.

http://airgundevelopment.com/buckley.html

This is a very nice model and I have actually fired one which was completed by a chap at one of the clubs.

I once saw a beautifully made Ball Reservoir rifle which had been made by someone in his shed. It was absolutely splendid. Hammer action and single shot. One of the guys offered him serious money for it but the rifle wasn't for buying. Can't blame the chap, I wouldn't have sold it either.

There was a range of rifles produced commercially but I forget the name just now and they were all being produced by one man in his garden shed. Very popular they were too.

graham.

[Oompa LumpaParticipant @oompalumpa34302]

Sorry about the double posting would some kind soul come along and delete one of them please?

graham.

[ronan walshParticipant @ronanwalsh98054]

Graham , is it ripley air rifles you might be thinking of ? Made in a garden workshop but absolutely top quality and very popular in field target it seems.

 

http://www.ripleyriflesgb.co.uk/

 

Edited By ronan walsh on 24/10/2014 18:38:52

[JohnFParticipant @johnf59703]

Hi Ronan, yes it is indeed Ray St Ledger he is undoubtedly on of the best in the world, Ray is now retired and his equally able an skilful son runs the outfit. Great craftsmen all.

John

[Nick GrantParticipant @nickgrant21535]

Quite something! Seems like youd need the right shaped shoulder to fit the stock though.

[Oompa LumpaParticipant @oompalumpa34302]

Well actually since posting the pics of the Giffard I have been doing a little Colour Case Hardening myself. After a couple of abortive attempts I now have a system that produces very pretty results.
Before:

and After:

Overall I was very pleased, this is a very nice four ten.

[ronan walshParticipant @ronanwalsh98054]

That looks well oompa lumpa. Did it warp or move at all with all that heat ? I used to have a .410 similar to that one, mine folded in half and you could secret it under your coat if there was a gamekeeper around

[VicParticipant @vic]

Nice looking rifle. I've had two pneumatics, in fact I've still got one but I'm not really a fan of the type with a reservoir. I used to like the single stroke (side lever) pneumatics they used to make except they were only 6ft lbs. I can't remember the name now but there was a guy, now retired who made an under lever pneumatic that was 12 ft lbs. if I remember correctly it was very pricey, long waiting list when it was made and weighed about 18lbs!

[VicParticipant @vic]

Actually, my mistake. It was the Whiscombe I was thinking of which is a recoiless spring gun.

[Oompa LumpaParticipant @oompalumpa34302]

Posted by Vic on 12/03/2015 23:37:45:

Actually, my mistake. It was the Whiscombe I was thinking of which is a recoiless spring gun.

Yes, like this one:

But I think you mean actually assembled don't you?

I often get them delivered like this, especially the more complex as people are over ambitious and inevitably break something which they then lose!

A very complicated mechanism which is rack and pinion opposing piston, a cross between the Giss system and the Rack.

graham.

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