Cascabel

Aye, I remember firing all my flintlocks on New Years 2000. Should I have been surprised that they still worked ??? That whole Y2K scare was s-o-o-o-o-o bogus !!! >>>> Cascabel

Oh, N-o-o-o-o-oo !!! Our idol has feet of clay !!!! All is lost !!! >>>>> Cascabel

Awwww right, Shipmates !!! Free to the first person to contact me. I won two passes to Steamcon in Seattle for this weekend. http://www.steam-con.com I am unable to attend, so they are up for grabs to the quickest one to contact me with your actual names so that I can transfer them to you. They will be available at the Will Call desk at the event. Simply identify yourselves as the recipients. I hate to see them go to waste. Please don't ask for them unless you know you can actually attend. I have checked with the event, and I am allowed to transfer them at my discretion. PM me ASAP. Step lively, Shipmates...... Time is short !!!! >>>>> Cascabel

The rough casting for the cock came from Track of the Wolf. I had to make the top jaw and screw from scratch. >>>>> Cascabel

I heavily modified one of those for our own Stynky Tudor, our illustrious administrator. You might be able to talk him into posting some pics of the results. >>>> Cascabel

My thinking would be to use it to catch and get control of your opponent's blade long enough to deal him a serious blow, rather than to waste time trying to break his blade. Perhaps some experienced swordfight folks will chime in on this...... >>>> Cascabel

One of the "Great Truths" of gun buying is that you get what you pay for. Good and cheap do not come together !! The positive side of this is that if you buy quality, you only have to buy it once. >>>>> Cascabel

Aye, thanks for posting the pics, Shipmate !!! I enjoyed hanging out with ye..... >>>> Cascabel

Ahhhhh, yes...... It seems like the "People's Republik" of New York is ever vigilant in it's search for the evil firearms !! Much easier to harass law abiding citizens than REAL criminals. >>>> Cascabel

I stand with ye 110% on this, shipmate !!! >>>> Cascabel

Indeed, Suh !!! Part of a well-bred young man's education at the time was swordsmanship, along with Greek, Latin, and the Law, among other things. Such training was not part of the lifestyle of the lower classes. Highly unlikely for an ordinary seaman to be familiar with the finer points of thrusting weapons. >>>> Cascabel

Thanks most kindly to all for remembering my birthday. I had a most excellent day, (actually the entire weekend) spent with my brand new girlfriend that I met at the Beaufort Pyrate Invasion. All is great in my world !!!! >>>> Cascabel

Be aware, Shipmate...... When talking to The Rifle Shoppe, that they are "less than truthful" when they give you estimated delivery info. They are EXTREMELY frustrating to deal with. I speak from experience !! I don't mind being patient and waiting for a long time, but I absolutely HATE being lied to. I have always gotten things from them eventually, but DO NOT base your expectations or promises to customers on what they tell you !!! I have no idea why they avoid telling you the truth about delivery times. They don't hesitate to charge your credit card promptly, and well before they actually deliver. Properly warned, sez I....... >>>>> Cascabel

When I was a kid, my father and I used these things quite often. We went out regularly in a wooden rowboat off of Salem, Ma. To catch flounder with these. Back then, they were indeed made of wood. They were available just about everywhere, including the hardware store, in several sizes. They were made a bit different than your sample attempt, however. The two side pieces were a bit heavier than the cross pieces. The cross pieces were of round form, and protruded through the side sections to become sort of crank handles. If you grabbed two diagonally opposed "handles", you could wind the line back up fairly quickly. It was sort of a wobbly cranking motion, but worked very well. We always referred to them as "drop lines"

I can indeed repair, tune, or customize any of them. Many times, however, people find that the cost of good gunsmithing is more than they are willing to pay. The India made guns can be subject to a whole host of issues, some of which are easy to put right, and some of which are not, and are quite time consuming. To be fair, the other point I should add is that sometimes you get a good one that needs no attention at all. If I were in the market for an India-made gun, I would buy only from a dealer like our own Callenish Gunner who guarantees functionality. The only way I could give someone a price for repairs would be to actually have the gun in hand and evaluate it myself. I have had guns sent to me with the owner insisting that the frizzen needed hardening, when in fact that was not the problem at all. In one memorable instance, it was simply the owner not knowing what he was doing and was blaming the gun for his lack of knowledge. Sometimes there are multiple mechanical issues to be dealt with, which when combined with incorrect procedure leads to unreliability. >>>>> Cascabel

I think I have a couple of good pictures in my 'puter. If I can figure out how to post them, I'll do it. I was pretty proud of how it came out.... >>>>> Cascabel O.K., Here's the pics..... ( I hope !!!) >>>>> Cascabel

Hmmmmm..... That could be a real problem !!! The few times I have done this kind of thing, I was always careful to avoid choosing those types of coats to modify. Depending on the size, diagonal side pockets can possibly be concealed with an oversized pocket flap carefully positioned, and kept buttoned closed. Some of the period coats had quite large flaps, as seen on some of the examples posted in "Twill". Not sure what to suggest about the breast pocket....... >>>>> Cascabel

Aye !!! I would love to see people get away from the "walking junkyard" look !!! Rattling and clanking everywhere they go. >>>> Cascabel

I think I have a couple of good pictures in my 'puter. If I can figure out how to post them, I'll do it. I was pretty proud of how it came out.... >>>>> Cascabel

I modified an existing coat for a girlfriend a couple of years back. Had NO intention of attempting period correctness, just wanted to make her a fancy looking coat with a "pirate" look to it. It came out incredibly good-looking. First thing I did was alter the front, in the manner suggested by Lady Constance, and remove the collar. I detatched the lining all around the bottom to gain access to the inside. It was intended that the coat be worn open, so being able to completely close it was not an issue. The next thing was to alter the shape and fit of the body of the coat. This goes a long way toward achieving the right look. I opened up the side seams all the way to the armpits, and took it in at the waist. The coat had pockets located on the side seams, and these disappeared in the process. I made a central and two side vents in the back. There was sufficient excess length to cut off and get enough material for good sized cuffs, and new pocket flaps. There was no need to deal with the sleeve areas, other than removing the shoulder padding. After it was done, I went completely insane with fancy trim and 50 buttons, and came out with a real eye-catching coat. >>>>> Cascabel

A replacement frizzen with very few exceptions needs to be hand fitted. Lots of points to be considered in the process. And after the hand fitting, it still needs to be hardened. They are usually not accurately enough made as to be truly interchangeable. A noteable exception is the Pedersoli pieces, which have tight manufacturing tolerances, along with a few other name brand guns. Definitely NOT a possibility with the India made pieces, as they are pretty much individually made. >>>>>> Cascabel

One important thing to keep in mind if doing any kind of accent is that the result must be easily understood by the listener to be effective. I have heard accents so heavy that it is impossible for the audience to understand what is being said, even though it is "authentic". The same goes for archaic expressions. If the people you are talking to always seem to be saying, "Huh ??", then it's time to back off authenticity a bit in favor of understandability. If nothing else, ol' Robert Newton was understandable !! >>>>> Cascabel

I did some serious information hunting about this a few years back. It turned out that the rights were not owned by Turner broadcasting, but rather by Agamemnon Films, which is owned by the Heston family. I'm not certain but it's a possibility that releasing the film may have required Heston's signature. Being that he had Alzheimer's disease, that may not have been possible, and rather low priority too under the circumstances. Now that he has passed on, perhaps the issue can be re-opened. Maybe one of our California shipmates in the LA area can go by the Agamemnon Films office and check on it. Probably will be talking to an extremely cute and young receptionist that never heard of the movie, but it's worth a try !!!! >>>>> Cascabel

Boots indeed, Suh !!! That should get the "Twillies" in an uproar !! Now let's sit back and watch..... >>>>> Cascabel