Thread: Sand Casting. Who's done / doing it ?

Still a lot to do but a bit closer to being at least visually correct

Yes, definitely a new hammer job. I have made a few replacement hammers from solid stock but very time consuming and only worth it for the really expensive guns. Flintlock hammers are much more work than percussion, being usually much more ornate shapes. I tried to get some investment cast hammer blanks from a dealer in the north of England a few years ago and he was absolutely hopeless to deal with, Peter Dyson I think. A nice pair of pistols and well worth the effort. The hammer spur job I showed is an Osborne O&U pistol but I still have much to make (a full set of springs and a restocking job).

Well I needed two lefts and two rights. So four of these
And I needed a Whitworth hammer copied for another percussion rifle project.

So I just asked them to cast me 2 left, 2 right and 2 Whitworth.

The 6 hammers cost me $500
And they made a few spares from the extra waxes they had made.

I'm very happy with them and I learned a lot in the process.

So in the future for parts like this that I can borrow an original or model a mock up, I will certainly be doing it again

The effort in making 6 hammers is many times more than $500!

Originally Posted by gundoc

The effort in making 6 hammers is many times more than $500!

Yeah that's why I wanted to give this a try

It would take $500 of time to make one

The attached photo shows a smoothbore flintlock duelling pistol that was made entirely in my workshop by the 'whittling' process from steel bars and a block of wood. With the exception of a bit of milling on the lockplate and bridle, a few holes with the drill press and some lathe work, everything was done by hand with hacksaw, files and small cold chisels. I did some of the machine work but all the design and handwork was done by the late Jon Jones, a Holland & Holland trained artisan who worked for me for a few years. The photo shows the complete assembly prior to engraving and browning. Jon was an incredible tradesman and a skilled self-taught engraver who died far too young. He sold the pistol to someone before he died but I don't know who. Jon engraved a .38 S&W Model 60 stainless Chief's Special for me which I will show in another post. Jon spent 11 years with H&H as an actioner on double guns, hand making ejectors, single trigger mechanisms, etc. When he came to work for me I asked him if he had ever fitted a 'scope. "I've never even looked through one" was the reply!

Not only is the fantasy cock and frizzen beautifully made, but if you study the pan you can see that the pan, fence and frizzen mount are all from one piece of steel. I hate to think how many hours I paid him for, working on it when my back was turned!

Wow!