Blunderbuss for comments

[fernando]

Pondering the odds, we thought it was better (safer) to increase the frizzen toe than meddling with the spring.The result is not brilliant, but works. It was necessary to apply some heat to the screw, by the inside, to undo it. It's visible the toe is now a bit long, evidence that the spring is also a bit 'closed'.
The graft of the forend splinter is rather satisfactory, i would say.

.

[Ken Maddock]

Hi
The wood graft is very good and a fantastic match
Was this all just staining wood to match or have you any secrets you would like to share

The toe in my opinion is a bit sharp and could be filed down a bit
Then I would take the obvious blue/black colour away with fine wire wool and then rust the metal back down
I do accelerated rusting by dipping the metal when hot into a nitric acid copper sulphate solution
I will be doing this process in a few weeks time and I will share a set of images
I find the problem in doing this work is always difficult as your eye is drawn to where the work was done and you can' t be objective
Best regards
Ken

[Shakethetrees]

For rusting iron, on old gunsmith convinced me to use common household bleach. Much easier to obtain than nitric and other chemicals.

Remove the frizzen and dab it on once a day or so and leave it in a damp area if possible. Don't be in a hurry! In a few days you will see results. But, don't stop now, continue dabbing bleach on. Try to get it in an irregular pattern, as if the rust is too even it will look unnatural.

If you stop treatment too soon the nascent rust will slough off, leaving clean metal. It has to stick!

Once you are convinced it is holding well, put the part in baking soda for a few days to begin neutralizing the rust.

Next, boil some water and drop the part in for fifteen or twenty minutes. This won't hurt any temper or other heat treating.

Remove it and dry it well, oil it, and remount. The active red rust will be converted to black iron oxide. And, any old patina will not be harmed by this.

I've done this and the results are foolproof, if you follow these directions closely.

[Fernando K]

hello

On the subject of the oxidation of iron (or steel) we must attend to what they say chemicals, not what they say people with the best intentions, but wrong

The oxide is a foreign body in the iron surface, t promotes further oxidation. No passive oxide,. but in the hidden, still working, slowly and without apuroo

Any attack with acid for it to be softer (boric) also attacks the metal.

When we look at a rusty piece, and we feel that this motionless, rust still working below What happens is that the process is slow, but not 100 or 200 years, everything was reduced to dust

Two metos that do not attack the metal, reduce rust and so prevent
subsequent oxidation are electrolysis and zinc-soda method. It is the method used in the sea salvage iron and recommended by Museologists

Affectionately. Fernando K

[fernando]

Originally Posted by Shakethetrees

For rusting iron, on old gunsmith convinced me to use common household bleach...

Thanks for the tip. Coincidently i have learnt the bleech trick a couple months ago, when trying to apply some oxidation on silver plaque. It did work, without any further action.
However and after such a fatigue at tuning up all blunderbuss details (lock unsticking, wood graft & finishing, new frizzen toe, some barrel bore cleaning, touchole disobstruction), i guess i will not go on the rusting process in the immediate future. Besides, the difference of tone in the treated material looks less evident at sight than in the pictures; the different parts through shadown in each other. Only the toe bluish sticks out; maybe i will apply a few drops of bleech in it.
The important thing now is the ram rod arrival .

[Ken Maddock]

I use my children's crayons for such tinting, available in a multitude of colours and cheap.
Hope the ramrod finishes the piece for you with as good a result that you have achieved so far
Regards
Ken

[fernando]

There we are; a genuine wooden ramrod and everything .


.

[fernando]

Originally Posted by Ken Maddock

Hi
The wood graft is very good and a fantastic match
Was this all just staining wood to match or have you any secrets you would like to share ...The toe in my opinion is a bit sharp and could be filed down a bit...

No secrets at all; i don't have such capacity.
I picked it from the stock maker with a recomendation to apply some wax. I have done that but, the result was null. Then i used some walnut tint/wax i was once given by a fellow collector that does some restore works. The result was the colour it gained when i took the above pictures, before polishing. I waited for a couple hours and noticed that the tint texture was too dense and not inviting the brush procedure. And so it happened; instead of achieving some shine, it lost some of the tint, the tone becoming a little lighter. I then applied again some home wax, brushed it and gave it a little mineral oil.
As i said, the toe has to be that long in order to catch the spring tension; if i file it, it looses all the needed effect.

[Shakethetrees]

Originally Posted by fernando

As i said, the toe has to be that long in order to catch the spring tension; if i file it, it looses all the needed effect.

Fernando, the addition to the frizzen toe is too sharp to provide a proper bearing surface for smooth action.

I would weld on a piece of metal way oversize, or even build up enough weld bead to make the oversize chunk.

File it to the shape of a traditional toe with a well rounded wide and deep surface area. Polish the contact surface and age. Do as much trial fitting and filing as you need to do to make it perfect.

You can do the household bleach trick I mentioned in an earlier post. Get it good and rusted. I just did this on another non-gun related bit of work I did for a piece of furniture in two days. It had a buildup of crusty, nasty rust. Awful looking, but just what one wants for this purpose. Only treat the affected area. Immerse it in boiling water for about twenty minutes or so, remove it and check. If there's still fresh rust, continue boiling until it is all gone and a nice, heavy black is seen. Neutralize it with baking soda and water if you want, but not necessary if you want a few spots of fresh rust over what will appear as some old black iron oxide. Lightly heat it to dry completely and immediately, while it's still hot, apply some wax. Let it cool several hours allowing the wax to harden and brush excess off.

A bit of extra work, but if it's done right it will go a long way to making the gun look right.

This blunderbuss is worth every bit of extra effort you need to take to make it perfect. It deserves no less!

If for some reason you can't (or won't!) go the extra mile, I know a collector/restorer whose collection could benefit by the addition of this gem!

[fernando]

Thank you so much for all the hints, which i will have in mind.
However it will be some time before further interventions take place ... except for the bleech number.
This baby needs some rest now... and so do i .
Last night i spent some time (and courage) to darken and polish the ramrod which, despite my fears, ended up well.
It appears implausible that i let this gun go away. I love these things; actualy blunderbuss is my middle name .
And, as you may see, she is well guarded


.

[M ELEY]

Wow! Fernando, I had no idea you had so many! You are right to change your name from 'Nando the Rapier' to 'The blunderbuss Fury' or some such...

Very nice examples of which I am envious!

[Ken Maddock]

Hi Fernando
Lots of lovely examples, thanks for showing.
You look to have none with spring bayonet, was this not popular in Portugal
A good few with said attachment turn up in ireland, was this a UK adaptation not used on the continent.
Regards
Ken

[fernando]

Originally Posted by M ELEY

... Wow! Fernando, I had no idea you had so many!...

What did you expect, Cap'n ? No mutinies abord my ship

Originally Posted by M ELEY

... You are right to change your name from 'Nando the Rapier' to 'The blunderbuss Fury' or some such... ...

"Blunder Rapier" fits fine