| Philosophy |
|
I
base my work on original guns without trying to make an exact copy of any
particular weapon I try to imagine myself
in the place of a particular 18th or 19th century
gunsmith and build a gun that he might have created.
I feel that there should always be something of myself in everything that
I make, consistent with the stylistic elements of the maker, shop, or region
that I am trying to re-create.
In an effort to put myself in the shoes of the original gunsmiths, I use as many period tools and techniques as is practical. While I do use some power tools, I still use planes, chisels, scrapers, rasps, and files as my primary instruments in the creation of a longrifle. Most of my finishing is done in the 18th century manner using fine files and scrapers with very limited use of sandpaper and steel wool. This results in a somewhat rougher finish complete with tool marks consistent with the finish of the original products. That way, you get both the look and feel of an original gun. I usually start from a stock blank, hand inlet my barrels, and also hand forge all my iron mounts.
All the work is done in the manner of an 18th century workman as much as is possible. This means getting the job done in the quickest and most efficient manner possible spending time only in those areas likely to be seen by the customer and to a level of finish expected by an 18th century customer. As longrifles were made before the industrial revolution when everything was handmade, the expectation of the customer in terms of fit and finish was much lower than a 21 century customer who is accustomed to products being absolutely identical and perfect in every way.
My
goal is to produce a functional gun of superior quality that looks like it came out of an 18th or
early 19th century gun shop.
This page was last updated on 07/15/08 .