Cascabel

I'll start it off with my favorites........ 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1950 version starring James Mason), First men in the Moon, Master of the World >>>> Cascabel

Well done, Suh !!! Honoring the gift from Grace is a wonderful thing. A gift from a child freely given is truly from the heart, and therefore priceless. Worth far more than gold, sez I !!! Treasure it always...... >>>>> Cascabel

LOL !!! Perhaps we need to market a new line of custom kitchen utensils, with Martha Stewart as spokesperson. I can see it now......... "Blunderbeast Creations, for the Discriminating Pyrate" >>>> Cascabel

I keeps 'em all in my pornographic..... er.... ahh...., PHOTOgraphic memory !!!! >>>>> Cascabel

I think the pirate community might be better served by encouraging the event coordinators to post this information on the individual event websites. It really is important for prospective participants to know the rules ahead of time, and I think the people that run the events need to be made to understand the importance of getting the information out there. It could be made part of an information package, such as Harry makes available for PiP. The problem with posting the information here on the PUB is that what was current in past years may no longer be valid for this year, and the "official safety officers" and their views on the accepted procedures may not always be the same from year to year. For instance, in the early years of the Hampton Blackbeard Festival, it was me, but I have not been there for several years, so things have probably changed to some degree. Another issue is that not everybody reads the PUB, so this should not be the only source of this info. It really belongs on the event websites. Having said all that, I would encourage those in authority to post the information here on the PUB in more than one location prior to the event, in addition to making it available on the event websites. It should probably be posted here in the Armory section and in the Raids section also as the event draws near. Until such time as there is a universally accepted set of rules that applies to all events, that seems the best course of action to me. >>>> Cascabel

Are you asking for a thread on local differences in regulations by group/event rules, or postings about differences in local laws, ordinances, etc.? Both are important, however, I find that along with differences in laws, there are also differences in how the laws are INTERPRETED by those in charge. Often, laws are poorly and vaguely written and sometimes mis-applied by law enforcement officers. We don't want to have people relying on incorrect info, and getting into trouble. >>>>> Cascabel

I have sort of wondered why a sailor would be carrying such a thing, unless he was currently un-employed. I suspect that whatever belongings he owned would normally be stowed aboard the ship he was with, and not be constantly carried around when he was ashore. Except, of course, on some kind of overland march of some kind, like the 'Sack of Panama'. >>>> Cascabel

Proper flint size is based on the WIDTH of the frizzen. Hand knapped flints are sized in eighths of an inch (5/8, 6/8, 7/8, 8/8, and so on.) Choose the size according to your frizzen's width. The length will be proportional to the width. The idea is to get full contact across the frizzen if possible. Any wider than the frizzen serves no purpose, and narrower than the frizzen is not going to give optimum sparking, and may wind up being too short to last very long. >>>>> Cascabel

It appears to be one of the India-made pieces as sold by Loyalist, Middlesex Village, et al......... >>>>> Cascabel

Pox upon ye. Patrick !!!! Ye installed that acursed song into me brain again......

That's good news. What do you know about the barrels. For example, the stampings on mine seem to indicate it was made in the 70s! I have not closely examined the barrels of any of the India made guns other than a general external inspection with the gun assembled. Some of the earlier ones that I have looked at had the tang welded on to them, which also welded the breech plug in place. Hopefully the breech plugs were also screwed in, rather than just pressed in to the barrels. Being welded, the only good way to tell would be an X-ray of the breech area. It's stuff like this that makes me distrust the quality of guns made in Third World countries. Remember, unlike european countries, India has no "proof" laws regarding firearms. I could go on and on, but you asked about barrels. The barrels on these guns are generally quite thin walled, which is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as they are made of good quality steel. The old originals are all quite thin walled at the muzzle, and these are copied from them. The thickness is adequate at the breech, where the maximum pressure is. >>>> Cascabel

It is indeed, suh !!! The Pedersoli is the only commonly available Queen Anne style pistol at this time. There are a couple of others, but they are not usually seen. One is available from Blackley in England, and another from 'The Rifle Shoppe' here in the U.S. Both are only available as parts sets, and both are quite pricey. >>>>> Cascabel aye! have ye any experience with middlesexvillagetrading's British Dragoon quite pleasin' to me eye it is! That one is as good as any that they sell. A lot of people have had very satisfactory experiences with products from Middlesex Village. These guns are made in India, and Middlesex Village is better at standing behind what they sell than a lot of other sellers of India made pieces. Quality can vary considerably from one individual example to the next, although Middlesex seems to do a better job of screening out the bad pieces. However, I notice that India made guns are improving quite a bit over what they used to be. It all boils down to what you are willing to spend, and what styling you prefer. When it comes to guns, I tend to be rather biased on the side of high quality and reliability, but that leaves you with very few choices unless you get into hand made pieces, which can be expensive. >>>>> Cascabel

It is indeed, suh !!! The Pedersoli is the only commonly available Queen Anne style pistol at this time. There are a couple of others, but they are not usually seen. One is available from Blackley in England, and another from 'The Rifle Shoppe' here in the U.S. Both are only available as parts sets, and both are quite pricey. >>>>> Cascabel

Actually, the problem with people breaking the trigger guard on the Queen Anne kit is improper procedure. For future reference, you do NOT need to anneal and bend it in any fashion. The proper procedure for installation is to seat the REAR end of it in place FIRST. Then, all that is needed is to hold the pistol in the normal position, (as if firing it), and put your index finger around the front of the guard, and pull back on it, as if pulling the trigger. The guard will "spring" a bit, and the front will then snap neatly into place in it's inlet. About the only other things that need to be dealt with with the Queen Anne kits is that the rear most point of the lock inlet needs to be cut to a sharper point, (due to limitations of the stock making machine), and the bottom end of the trigger needs to be shortened by about 1/8 of an inch, as it drags against the inside of the guard bow even after removing the mold line on the inside of the bow. Most of the ones I have worked on benefit from deepening the flash pan a bit, to get it below the touch hole. This is easily done with a rat-tail file. Other than those things, the kit almost falls together on it's own. >>>> Cascabel

These appear fairly often on eBay. Usually sold as parts. The sellers usually dis-assemble them and list the pieces separately to get around the ebay rules about weapons. Just put "flintlock" into the search window, and you very often find them. You usually have to wade through lots of listings for the cheap non firing replicas, unfortunately. >>>>> Cascabel

For over all consistant quality and reliability right out of the box, you can't beat the Queen Anne. >>>> Cascabel

A new stock is quite within the realm of possibility, but bear in mind that decent gunsmithing is expensive. When you say, "it seems to fire fine", are you meaning it actually sparks well and ignites the powder, or that it simply releases the cock when you pull the trigger ? The locks on these usually have springs that are not in balance, by that I mean that the frizzen spring is way too stiff for the mainspring strength. The frizzens usually need to be properly hardened to get a reliable spark, Other heat treat issues sometimes need to be dealt with in the lock internals. Lock geometry is very often incorrect for reliable sparking. I have seen an incredible number of problems on these guns, none of which is likely to be a safety issue, but all related to functionality. They vary considerably in quality from one individual example to the next. All that I have dealt with could be "put right", but some required more work than others. It's mostly a matter of what you are willing to pay for. Our own Stynky Tudor has one that I did a considerable amount of work on, including some re-styling to improve the over all appearance. >>>> Cascabel

I got the images from 'Weapons of the American Revolution' by George C. Neumann ( Plate M.113 ). It says it is in the Lewis H. Gordon, Jr. collection. No info on the whereabouts of the collection. The book is copyright 1967, so the piece may be in another collection by now. Seems to me that I remember seeing at least one other with a similar sling attachment, but I don't recall where. >>>> Cascabel

Kinda funny how no one tries ter steal my tankard...... And Look.... it still has some Key West stuck to it around th' bottom edge...... Yer tempting fate, Shipmate !!! Don't fergit, Stynky reads this thread too....... >>>> Cascabel

Speaking as a just another citizen... Personally, I don't really care about the treasure. As far as I'm concerned it is of little value, so they can have it. I just want them to get to it using archaeologically sound methods which allow for retrieval of the important artifacts. Then I want them to care for said artifacts, display them, and publish reports on their findings. Is that asking too much? One must also consider that the "treasure" is also archaelogically important. There are historical reasons for it being there in the first place !! It could be looted items from native people, war related booty, personal wealth, church treasures, etc. The gold and silver bars because of dates and assay markings are historically significant, and of course coins carry dates and other markings of value. Many monetarily valuable objects have stories to tell of trade routes, political upheavals, conquests, alliances, wars, and so forth. I really hate to see the treasure not studied for its historical significance in addition to the monetary worth. >>>>> Cascabel

Blasphemy..... AND an ABOMINATION !!! To all sorts of sea dogs.... We won't stand for it !!! TO ARMS, TO ARMS !!!! >>>> Cascabel

Arrrrrr.... BLAHSPHEMERY, SEZ I !!!!! An insult to drunken sailors everywhere.... >>>> Cascabel

Pyrodex is absolutely un-suitable for use in a flintlock, but works O.K. in caplock weapons. It was actually developed with caplocks in mind. It is classified as a Flammable Solid, which is why it can be sold almost anywhere. Real black powder is classified as an explosive, and comes under an entirely different set of rules for storage, sale and transportation. The regulations that need to be complied with for a retailer to sell real black powder are too much trouble for most gun shops to be bothered with. Before the advent of nitroglycerine and other nitrate based explosives, such as dynamite, TNT, guncotton, etc. black powder was the explosive of choice for all demolition, blasting, and munitions uses. The nitrate based explosives were found to be considerably more powerful. Black powder is still used in fusing and other ignition related applications in modern munitions and explosives. >>>> Cascabel

No matter what else is at issue, they seem to have difficulty with the English language !!! >>>> Cascabel