Cascabel

Well...... I never thought very highly of the India made guns. They really are best considered as "kits", rather than good right out of the box. They are improving, but still have a long way to go !!! Of course, on the other hand, they are relatively inexpensive. I don't want to be thought of as an "elitist", and I hate to torpedo a guy's choice after he has spent his hard-earned money, but you will not get a $2000 hand made piece for $300 either !! Sometimes you get a good one, sometimes not. >>>> Cascabel

Heavy trigger pulls usually can best be fixed by re-working the tumbler notches. The sear spring is usually only part of the problem. Could be a combination of both. As a test, try temporarily removing the sear spring completely, and see how it feels. It will give you an idea how much pressure is required to release it. Trigger pull is also very much effected by the location of the pin that the trigger pivots on. Rapid wearing or breakage of flints is usually caused by overly strong frizzen springs. Many of the India made pieces are guilty of this. It can be remedied with a bit of careful work. >>>> Cascabel

.............And if it rains at sea, do the fish get wet ??? We really need the scientists to tell us these things !!! I think some university should fund a study.... >>>>> Cascabel

Hmmmm.... It does look a bit like a steel musket nipple screwed into the breech. If it has a square shoulder, that's what it is.... >>>> Cascabel

A very nice little signal gun. These bring fairly high prices at auction. It is suitable for blank charges only, and not real heavy ones, because of the trunnion caps only being held in place by wood screws. They would need to be held by through bolts to stand the recoil of a projectile as a steady diet. These are sometimes also referred to as 'yachting cannons'. They are seen in many sizes. >>>> Cascabel

Kinda reminds me of the time I found a long-dead bat hanging among the rafters at work. It apparently died in it's normal wings-folded sleeping position, and just hung there for a long time. It dried out and got very nicely mummified. I took it down carefully, and was able to hang it in various places by it's claws. It looked quite alive and natural, but was extremely light in weight. Anyhow, somebody offered me $50 for it, so it found a new home !! >>>>> Cascabel

Aye !!! So many rules and laws are poorly worded and conceived by people that know very little about what they are making rules about, and refuse to listen to those that really know the subject. They seem to not be willing to ask knowledgeable people the simple question, "Will this work, or will it be a hinderance to practicality ?" The problem is very apparent in OSHA regulations and most other "safety" related rules. They usually do not bother to determine if the rule will work well in ALL circumstances, or even if it will work at all !!! Ahhhh.... beaurocracy at it's best, trying to protect us from our own stupidity !! I remember years ago some idiot even trying to get seatbelts mandated on motorcycles........ Thanks fer the loan of yer soapbox, Dogge..... >>>>> Cascabel

Ward Room ????? Huh......?? Whazzat ?? Whereizit ?? Never heard tell of such as that..... Did Stynky sneak one in on us ?..... Care to enlighten us ? >>>> Cascabel

My thinking would be to check out period paintings showing tavern scenes. I would avoid the old engravings and woodcuts however, as they tend to be rather poor references for detail and size. >>>>> Cascabel

I also am fortunate enough to have one of those fancy coats from 'Cutthroat Island'. I got it direct from the prop house that had all that stuff before it went on eBay. I also got the shirt to go with it with matching lace. I got it for an obscenely low price..... Would you believe $10.00 ??? Anyhow, it is beautiful with incredibly fine workmanship. I got some other great stuff at the same time, but the fancy coat was the highlight. >>>>> Cascabel

Hmmmm...... Pardon my ignorance, but what in the world is an "FB" ????? Don't think I ever heard the term.... >>>> Cascabel

"Mankind is the only species that protects its stupid examples from the forces of evolution......" I wish I could remember who it was that originally said that !! >>>> Cascabel

Another very important consideration is that flash guards only work well on pieces with a bridle on the flash pan. Many earlier style locks do not have this feature. What holds the flash guard in place is it being pinched between the head of the frizzen screw and the pan bridle. If there is no bridle present, there is nothing to prevent the guard from rotating along with the frizzen, and it will also prevent the frizzen from moving freely. Maybe the people that advocate some of these all-encompassing "safety" rules need to take another look at practicality !!! >>>> Cascabel

For what it's worth...... Many years ago, when I fooled around with canvas tents, current wisdom held that you should not allow anything to come in contact with the inside of your tent during a rain storm, as it would induce a leak at the point of contact. I always made sure of nothing touching the inside when I loaded my gear inside. Never had a leak, so I guess it worked !! >>>> Cascabel

In the old days, as a "fashion statement" they were generally worn folded down to the ankle, and then reversed and folded back up, so as to form an open "bucket" appearance. Hence the term "bucket boots". Not like the way most people are wearing them today just folded down, which to me just doesn't look right. Take a look at some of the old paintings and illustrations for reference. >>>> Cascabel

Note that the replacement box is covered in crocodile skin. I have not yet quite figured out what a plaster box might look like or be made of. (You would think it would be made of plaster, but my knowledge in this area is limited and I hesitate to state that.) My thinking is that a "plaster box" is a box containing "plasters", as in prepared bandages of some type, along with the instruments and medications to be used with them. >>>> Cascabel

Aha !!! I always wondered what elephants used for toilet paper......

Hot coals are likely a screenwriter's fantasy, however the use of hot shot was an actual fact. >>>> Cascabel

Ya done GOOOOD !!! A huge improvement over the original. You made the metal parts actually resemble slightly rusted steel. The only other thing I could suggest would be to give the wood a soft gloss so that it appears to have been handled a lot. I think a coat of Kiwi Neutral shoe polish buffed to a soft sheen would work nicely. You should avoid a real glossy varnished look. The shoe polish finish will show handling wear after a while and look even better. >>>>> Cascabel

Ya know.... It may be just pure conjecture on the part of the artist !! These kind of pictures were not drawn from life, and were often rendered many years after the fact. More than likely by an artist commissioned to illustrate a book who never actually saw his subject. A belly box is not all that heavy to wear on a waist belt. They were fairly common in the land armies, and were supported on the waist belt alone. No issues with swinging about or other such problems. Just a couple of dissenting opinions. Your mileage may vary...... >>>>> Cascabel

Unfortunately, no matter how sorry you are, or how you try to make amends, the stink will stay with you for a VERY long time. Most of us here are very professional about what we do in the public eye. What you have done is an insult to all of us that take participation in events seriously. I hope that at some point you are able to be accepted back into the community of trusted and dependable professionals. Until that time, fair winds to ye...... >>>> Cascabel

Going by the curve of the back of the blade, and the hole in it, plus the handle shape, I think it looks like a well-worn butcher's cleaver. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cleaver_(PSF).jpg >>>>> Cascabel

I know a couple of people who had great success by spot welding a piece of high-carbon steel onto the front of the frizzen. In the old days, this was known as "half soleing" the frizzen (in reference to doing a half sole job on a shoe). It usually was done using rivets. The material was generally gotten from old saw blades, which are a good source of high carbon steel. >>>> Cascabel

It really is a matter of not being practical. I can do a presentation on common gunsmithing tasks, but an actual live demonstration wouldn't work out mostly because of time constraints. Unfortunately, I usually spend very little time at the fort, due to being needed for other things. If I could get a slot in the schedule where I wasn't already committed elsewhere, I would be happy to do a presentation or two. To properly cover all aspects of hardening parts along with actually performing the process, complete with a decent amount of time for questions and answers would take a couple of hours. I appreciate the fact that there would be lots of interest, but many other people besides myself also have committments and wouldn't be able to stay for the whole thing. Being a part of the "cast" sometimes keeps me quite busy !! >>>> Cascabel