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Re: Making a sharps barrel in my lathe.

Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2016 1:52 am
by homebrew .357
Now that nice bit of black walnut for the stock has been cut into two bits, butt stock and forearm. For fitting to the barrel and action I use my long suffering lathe, makes for a nice snug fit and once it is fitted then I can see what wood to cut back. Started with the forearm and it fits on good, then shaping to finish I have a nice forearm. Homebrew.357.

Re: Making a sharps barrel in my lathe.

Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2016 2:22 am
by homebrew .357
Ok, so now I had the forearm fitted I could shave, sand it to sharp. I set up the stock to mill out the trigger plate slot, then a bit of chisel work got it fitting nice. Now as a side bit my hunting trip with my Hawken rifle went pear sharp, yep , saw a reed deer at 50mts up with old lead poison, Kabooom,, missed it, no meat for the freezer. :oops: . So then I got back home I pulled off the barrel and rehoned the bore, it had a tight spot at the muzzle end. Then lead lapped with 600grt past, all this made the bore a bit bigger and at the range first five shots were low, so tried some thicker patching on the R B`s and to my surprise all on the money. The pic`s. Homebrew.357.

Re: Making a sharps barrel in my lathe.

Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2016 10:34 pm
by homebrew .357
Hi Guys, this rifle is just about finished, using my lathe helped with fitting the wood to metal, and speaking of metal , I had a go at etching some ghost bison on to the side plate and it came out not to bad. :wink: ,Homebrew.357.

Re: Making a sharps barrel in my lathe.

Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2016 1:31 am
by homebrew .357
Hi, Now with the action in place I can start removing wood to shape the stock , also the butt plate and back sight have arrived from T O T W and after fitting on the butt plate this helps a lot more. So with a lot of shaving, sanding I got it ready for oiling, I wanted a 1874 oil look and it`s not to bad. Homebrew.357.

Re: Making a sharps barrel in my lathe.

Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2016 2:06 am
by homebrew .357
Hi , Here is the finished oiled black walnut shock, I think it look good for the rifle, what do you think. :wink: . Now I had the back sight I could do the last bit of machining on the barrel, milling the dove tail slot on top for it , then I can assemble the barrel to the action permanently. :D Homebrew.357.

Re: Making a sharps barrel in my lathe.

Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2016 1:56 am
by homebrew .357
Oops, two pic`s the same, will fix. Now this has been a loooooog thread and now I can say the rifle is basically finished, it`s all assembled and just needs proof testing and bluing of all the steel parts. So there you go , just shows what you can do with what you have got by thinking outside the square and working out how to do it. The kiwi Quigley 1874 Sharps in 45-70 came out at 12 3/4 lbs, and it fits in the bead worked gun cover nicely ,it will be a reasonable shooter or a heavy wall hanger , I've had a lot of fun with this hobby and hope in some way it helps with your projects. Will keep you posted on the Sharps bucket shooting. :wink: , Cheers all, Homebrew.357.

Re: Making a sharps barrel in my lathe.

Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2016 1:59 am
by homebrew .357
Last pic.

Re: Making a sharps barrel in my lathe.

Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2016 10:30 am
by hammermill
well done kind sir

Re: Making a sharps barrel in my lathe.

Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2016 9:20 pm
by redneckalbertan
I have enjoyed following the threads on the building of this fine firearm. She looks great! I'm looking forward to hearing how she shots.

Re: Making a sharps barrel in my lathe.

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2016 3:21 am
by homebrew .357
Ok guys, Gave the "beast" it`s first taste of lead to day, three hot loads for proof checking, 58grs varget, all was good, but at 1,800 mv a bit of leading that I only noticed when I cleaned it. I then shot seven more shots, 50grs varget, to set the sights at 50m, low and right first, but the last three where getting there, six o'clock hold.
This is a black powder cartridge so that's what I`ll be using. Just have to see what it likes. For finishing it just needs stamping on top of the barrel , "1874 SHARPS 45-70" and then blued. Homebrew.357. 8)

Re: Making a sharps barrel in my lathe.

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2016 4:44 pm
by steamin10
First I enjoyed watching the build. Pics loo to a good result. I dont think marching the sights in is a problem.

Did you polish the rifling for smooth? Polish or brush the lands to cut lead grab?

The 45-70 by definition is .45 caliber with 70 grain load, although it may be argued that modern powder is better and more powerful than original black powders. The question being, would not 60-65 grain perform better? Low charges build too much pressure in loadings, after a certain point is reached. Any way, It is my curious question, not a sorta, shoulda, woulda, adice thing.

I am a cap and ball shooter, and cannon up to bowling ball. I like the smell of pawder in the morning. :twisted:

Re: Making a sharps barrel in my lathe.

Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2016 12:26 am
by homebrew .357
Hi Steamimg10, First ,for the test I used "Varget" smokeless power, A D I, 2208. 58 grs is a max load for the ruger no 1, so that gave a kick in the butt, and yes I did lead Lap the barrel with 600grt paste to polish it in. I will be loading it with black powder and the fun part is finding out what I likes. I`m looking at all the black powder forums to learn reloading of this cartridge, Cheers, Hombrew.357.