A couple years ago I got a load of wrought iron from a salvage job in Petersburg.  There was a renovation project going on in the historic district.  A Civil War era house was being restored and an old iron fence was being removed and replaced with a new mild steel "wrought iron" replacement.  I was able to get a trunk load of the old fencing.  It turned out to be pretty good puddled or wrought iron - the real stuff.

I am making an early Western North Carolina flintlock rifle similar to but not exactly the "Old Holston" gun.  It will be iron mounted, with a shorter 38" barrel, and  I will make a wooden patchbox like the Holston gun.  I'd like to have it ready for Ft. Frederick.

Friday I hammered out the trigger guard from the wrought iron and it went pretty well.  The metal is 1/2" square and about 7" long.  I also flattened out a few pieces into 1/4" X 3/4" flats and will bring some of these to sell at Ft. Fred.  Will also bring some squares to sell so if you are going and want to buy some decent wrought iron I have some to sell you.  I work it hot, orange-yellow and hit it hard.  Once it gets heated up it works very nice, I've never had any wrought iron you didn't have to get real hot to work without it splitting.

Update 07/2020:  I got the gun done in time for Ft, Frederick.  No one there seemed to know anything about the "Old Holston Gun".  I think I will make another like this one only with a 44 inch barrel.  As I look at it I think it would look much better with a longer barrel.  This one will be good for a still hunt or woods walk though. Took the gun to Martin's Station and it received much more attention.  I still have some work to do to finish her up for sale hopefully before hunting season.

Back at work and ready for the spring event season.  Had to miss Ft. Dobbs as the doctor had not cleared me to travel yet and that is a shame as I was looking forward to the War for Empire.  Still, I am cleared to get back out in the shop and make some sawdust.  I have several projects that have been brewing so I will start posting pictures as I get them,

I have an early Southern rifle (think Woodbury style) on the bench right now, with a fairly plain sugar maple stock and a Chambers round faced Colonial Va. style lock.  I have the barrel in, the lock in, the trigger in and yesterday I finished the buttplate.  Need to button everything down and get the sideplate on.  Will try to get Aaron out to take pictures this week.  Should make someone a nice hunting rifle.

I am working on 4 French and Indian horns, all plugged and shaped and ready to scratch on.  One will be filled with religious symbolism with Easter around the corner, one a fairly simple motif with floral decorations and a few words of wisdom, one a rather large simple horn and and another double twist with engrailed throat and fancy spout I plan for a map horn.  Not sure of the map, have been wanting to do a Ft. Pitt or Cherokee country horn for a while but the jury is still out on that.

I have four knives blades that need handles and I want to do bone handles because I have a pile of deer femurs that need to be used.  These are mainly scalpers but I would also like to have a couple rifleman's knives for Fort Fred.

I have a stack of linen pouches I made while recuperating from surgery.  These need to be tin clothed and dyed.  Plus a new endeavor, I have 4 long hunter linen shirts, size large and 1 size medium that I want to put up on the table at Ft. Frederick and Martin's Station.  I have 4 more cut out that I need to get too this month.

As you can see I am plenty busy and I am not counting the gun orders I have in the queue.  Right now I am 6-8 months on those, the Woodbury above, an officer's fusil, a dragoon pistol, another Woodbury and a Christian Springs.  I also have a Peter Angstadt, ala Eric Kettenburg that I am making for myself lurking around the shop that gets attention now and then that I thought I'd make a photo series about.  Then there are the dueling pistols I have been coaxing along for the last two years.

 Hope to see you as an event this year, come by and let me see you and be sure to think of us for that project you have in mind.

I am going to take time out for February 2019.  I still have several horns and pouches for sale and these are listed on the CLA site or August Living History FB page.  I have several more that I do not have listed so email or call for pictures of those. 

I have some work to do on my workshop repairing a leak in the roof and putting in an additional window.  Now is a good time to get it done.

I also am having hip replacement surgery in a couple of weeks so will be down for  a month or so. Will be glad to get the worn parts switched out so I can spend more time at the workbench and less time sitting.  It will also be nice to put my socks on again without having to climb the furniture to get my feet closer to my hands.

Next up I am going to try for my version of a  Peter Angstadt rifle.  I have seen it Eric Kettenburg's and one by Ken Gahagan,.  I am thinking of making a series, one for me and two to sell.  Will see as it is a very different architecture with a lot happening, everywhere.  Maybe a long term effort.  Will keep you updated.

Four horns I have completed this fall.  Two left carry two right carry.  All are F & I horns, 13.5-14 inches around the outside curve.  About 3 inch plugs.

The first is copied form a Folksy Artist horn.  It has a walnut plug and is a left hand carry.  $200 plus shipping.

Next another left carry horn with a pine plug and a folk art motif decoration.  $200 plus shipping

And another F&I horn this time a right hand carry with a walnut plug, the British coat of arms and some folk art, hunter and deer, tree of life.  $200 plus shipping

And finally a right hand carry R&I horn, walnut plug, upper Hudson Valley map with the British Coat of Arms.  $200 plus shipping.

Just finished this early Southern rifle, maybe an Over Mountain gun, it has characteristics of a NC rifle and is something I have been thinking of doing for a while.  It has a red maple stock which considering the amount of carving will be something I never do again.  The wood was nice and dense but red maple chips and tears so easily that you spend every other minute sharpening and sharpening your chisels. Anyway, it has a 50 cal. 42" Rice octagon b-wt barrel (1" at the breech), a Chambers Early Ketland lock, I forged all the iron mounts (butt plate, trigger guard, side plate, toe plate, trigger, thimbles), a poured pewter nosecap and most interesting to me a captured lid, hidden hinge patchbox.

I am happen with the way it turned out and plan another just like it when I get my hands on a nice piece of hard sugar maple. It is for sale at $2000.

Am adding some pictures as I am listing this rifle again.  I took it off the table to use for my hunting rifle this year.  Two deer in the freezer and am very happy with its performance. Still I want to make myself another so am selling this baby.

 Am asking $2000.

Example of a Lehigh Valley rifle in the stype of Peter Neihart.  This rifle has a 42 inch Colerain octagon to round rifled barrel in 50 caliber.  It uses a Chambers Dale Johnson lock, a single trigger and Reaves Goehring cast brass mounts.  The sugar maple stock is stained with ferric nitrate with LMF maple stain over top, I used amber shellac and my own varnish mulled with madder lake pigment (more about that below).

This is a very slim and light rifle.  The octagon to round barrel takes the muzzle heaviness to a minimum.  Those who insist on having a muzzle heavy gun so you can hold steady ought to look at another piece.  The price of this piece is $2800. Sold

The incised carving is modeled after an existing Neihart rifle, particularly the cheek piece.

Notes on finishing this rifle.  After staining was complete and the stock rubbed back some, I cut amber shellac 2 to 1 part alcohol and applied a coat at a time, rubbing back each coat with gray scotch brite pads.  I applied three coats of the shellac basically to fill the pores in the wood.  I then mixed one part spar varnish, 1 part aged turpentine and one part cold pressed linseed oil to which I mulled the madder lake pigment using a glass plate and a glass pestle I found in an antiques store.  I applied three coats of varnish being careful to avoid any build up around carving and moldings.  I could probably have put more on and built up some in places that would have typically seen little wear for an antiqued effect but chose to stop before I got to the point of over doing it.  It like the effect.

Pouches

I have a bunch of pouches.  I just added 4 more.  In August and February, when the weather is too hot or too cold I spend a lot of time making pouches and decorating horns.  Here are a couple I have pictures of.

The first is a primitive Appalachian pouch made out of bark tanned deer hide with waxed linen thread.  It has a cow hide strap, a forged buckle and is fairly heavily antiqued.  It is 7 inches wide and 9 inches deep.  Everything is saddle stitched.

This one is my rendition of a pouch James Rogers has made his signature pouch.  Several years ago I made one like this out of goat skin so I thought I would try one again.  This hide was a bit on the thin side, probably too thin for this type of work as it doesn't hold its shape as well as I would like.  It has a cow hide strap with a buckle for adjustment.  A pewter button is used to keep the flap closed.  This pouch pairs well with an early trade or fowler long gun.  It is 7 inches wide and 7 inches deep.  I am going to make another out of bark tanned deer hide to see the difference.

I will post pictures of the other 2 new pouches when either my son or grandson get around to taking the pictures.