Cascabel

Here be something for ye to fight over...... This is similar to the one I have, but mine has a steel barrel. Not a bad price considering the quality !!!

http://www.trackofthewolf.com/categories/p...2&partNum=X-212

>>>> Cascabel

Built 'er meself from parts from 'The Rifle Shoppe'

That place is a wonderful site if yr inta crafting your own piece. :)

Aye, they have wonderful things, but are unbelievably frustrating to deal with.

>>>>>>>> Cascabel

Thanks Cascabel. By the way where did you get your beast if I might ask?

Built 'er meself from parts from 'The Rifle Shoppe'

>>>> Cascabel

New question. After looking at Casabels blunderbeast in the photo gallery I got to wondering how one went about loading one of these? I now know to use the same amount of grains of powder as the gauge of the ball. 60 grains for 60 gauge, 50 for 50 ect... But how does one tell with a blunderbuss? How much powder is needed, how many balls do you load and how? Are they just put in one by one or are they packed in a bag , kind of like grapeshot? And what kind of wadding is used to keep everthing in place? The wadding question also applies to the pistols as well. If useing a paper cartridge does the paper then become the wadding after it's contents have been poured in?

You guys are right about finding the right group to learn from. I just met a guy a work who's brother was going to join a BP group, he say it ended up being a bunch of rednecks who didn't seem to care about safety. It seem they just wanted to run around making things go boom. Needless to say his brother got the hell out of there. Good on him.

To load a blunderbuss, First keep in mind that contrary to popular belief, you do NOT load it with rusty nails, broken glass, etc. Imagine, if you will, a nail getting jammed cross-wise in the bore with the rest of the load trying to get past it !!!!

To do it properly, you measure out the proper powder charge, which is about the same as that used in a similar caliber musket (not the large end of the barrel, but the size of the bore at the small end of the barrel). This is then followed by a thick wad of paper or unravelled rope, greased to prevent rust in the bore if left loaded and not to be fired immediately. (This acts as a sort of "piston" to push the entire load of shot out of the barrel). The wad needs to be fairly thick to withstand the pressure of the exploding powder without blowing through it and losing power. This thick wad is followed by a charge of lead shot. In my "beast" I use a couple of ounces of buckshot. If buckshot was unavailable in the old days, square lead shot could be easily cut from lead bars or thick sheets with a hammer and chisel. Another wad is then rammed on top of the shot to hold everything in place, but it does not need to be as thick as the first one. The piece is then primed, and left on half cock until ready to fire.

>>>>>> Cascabel

He, he..It aint the dogs, 'eck, I'm a dog meself, it be them dang mechanical sniffers!!...I'll stick ta sailin' when e'er I kin'! :)

Me shipmate Ravan, who plays the Mary Read character at major East Coast events had a problem a couple of years back with the sniffer machine showing NEVR DULL metal polish as an explosive !!!! Created quite a problem for a while with armed guards freaking out, etc., until one of them showed up that knew what NEVR DULL was. (It was in it's original factory packaging).

>>>> Cascabel

Does anyone here carry a real Flintlock? I am just ichen to buy one =)

Most run about $1,000 and up for a real 1700's one. ahh slave to fashion.

The only guns myself and a lot of others carry are real functional flintlocks. Do you perhaps mean original antique flintlocks?

>>>>> Cascabel

The rules for non-firing replicas are the same as for a live weapon. The counter personnel seem unable to tell the difference, and while waiting in line is not the time to try educating them. As for swords, they can ride in your baggage without a problem, as long as the baggage goes in the baggage compartment (not carry-on).

>>>>> Cascabel

The first thing to think about is size. It must be considered that gold is actually heavier than lead, so the picture of a couple of pirates carrying a chest of gold the size of a steamer trunk is totally impossible. Somthing that size full of gold coins would require a fork lift, and have to be very strongly re-inforced to stand the weight !!!!

>>>> Cascabel

Longarm, me lad...

Black powder can be had from some gun shops that cater to the muzzle loading community in most metropolitan areas. You will likely have to make some phone calls. Be forwarned, some store clerks are not as knowledgeable as they should be, and will tell you they have black powder when all they have is Pyrodex. MANY do not know the difference. You could possibly find a well informed enthusiast at a gun range to help you locate powder, but again, don't count on it. There is a tremendous wealth of BAD information out there !!!!!

Black powder can also be ordered from a few suppliers, and shipped direct to your door in 25 pound lots. It is quite inexpensive this way, being in the neighborhood of $7.00 a pound. If you can get some friends to go in with you on an order, it's the best deal. Personally, I do not want that much at one time in my house. I usually try to have less than ten pounds on hand.

>>>>> Cascabel

Actually, the most important problem regarding Pyrodex or other black powder substitutes is very poor ignition with flintlocks.

The reason real black powder is not available everywhere is that it comes under an entirely different set of rules as far as storage and sales regulations. Real black powder is classified as an explosive under the law, rather than a "flammable solid", which is the classification for Pyrodex and other smokeless powders. Compliance with the rules in order for a dealer to stock real black powder involves obtaining an explosives license, just like if you wanted to sell Dynamite or other explosives, with related storage and record keeping regulations, including periodic inspections and a storage "magazine". All of which most retailers don't want to deal with. Pyrodex can be simply placed on an open shelf in the store like fishing lures or anything else.

All that being said, another reason real black powder is prefferable is that it generally costs about half as much as Pyrodex or other substitutes.

>>>>> Cascabel

The Queen Anne Pistols are an excellent choice. I highly reccommend them for a first timer learning to work a flintlock. They are reliable sparkers right out of the box, an overall a quality piece. There are VERY few top quality repro flintlocks available currently that are of the early style, as these are. Most repros available are of the late flintlock period, with the exception of some pieces imported from India that sometimes are quite variable in quality from one example to another. Sometimes you get a good one, sometimes not.

For someone learning to work a flintlock for the first time, anything that is not a quality and reliable piece can be very frustrating and lead to disenchantment with flintlocks in general. Some of the lesser quality pieces need considerable tinkering in order to get them to work well. The Queen Anne is guilty of no such problems. If it won't work reliably, it is a matter of not doing something right, rather than the gun causing the problem.

>>>> Cascabel

That one never got off the ground. The city never gave it the needed support. I was supposed to be involved with it, so was in contact with the lady that tried to start it up. She was Michael the Tailor's significant other. Now that he has unfortunately passed on, I don't know if she intends to try again or not.

>>>>>> Cascabel

Btw...

Helloooo Cascabel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had a great time in PIP!!!!! You will be there next year right???????????

Gabrielle aka Pirate Princess

Ahoy back to ye, M'lady....

Enjoyed meeting you at PiP. Sorry I didn't have more time to talk with you. I stayed pretty busy. I'll surely be back next year, as I'm part of the regular cast. Hope to see ya there !!!!

>>>>>> Cascabel

Don't forget Searle's Raid in St. Augustine on the 27th of March. I will be trying to join in the organization of the event, or at least keep this board apprised of changes. Cheers from St. Aug. Anyone else on this board live in these parts?

Ahoy, Sam...

Me and me shipmates stayed at yer fine establishment, "The Pirate Haus" a couple of years back whe we did Searle's Raid.

>>>>> Cascabel

I'll be there for the whole thing. I'm part of the cast. Right now they have me staying at Banana Bay Resort. Unless things change, that's where I'll be. Mostly I'll be out and about wherever things are going on.

Hope to see ya there !!!

>>>>> Cascabel

lkg,Oct 26 2003, 08:05 PM] Cascabel do u want to beable to host pics on a web site to either post them here or for an avater right?

I appreciate the attempt to be helpful, but I really don't know what is meant by "hosting pictures on a web site". Computers and the language involved is not my area of expertise. I do a whole lot better dealing with things of a mechanical nature. Thanks anyhow !!!

>>>> Cascabel

Host, a place where the image is stored in the internet, similar to a file folder in your computer or your home. Be careful most "free" servers will not allow you to host an image on their site and link it to another site.

The image tags I was referring to are like this, minus the spaces [ img ] at the start of the image and [ /img ] at the end of the image. Between the two image tags you just need the url (address) to where your image is stored Like I had done on the first page, the image I used is hosted at: http://universist.org/newlogo2.gif. I added {img}http://universist.org/newlogo2.gif{/img} and I had an image. Please note, replace { and } with [ and ] in order for it to work. Once you replace those you get:

Thanks fer tryin', Pirata, but it's still WAY beyond the understanding of this poor struggling seaman !!! You may as well be speaking Chinese.

I think I'll just let sleeping dogs lie, and stick to me flintlocks. Have a great day !!!!

>>>>> Cascabel

To post a pic in your signature you need to host your picture on a server on the net then add some [ img ] tags before and after the url to the picture you have loaded on another site.

Ahoy, Pirata !!! Any chance of you 'splaining exactly what this means in detail, and how to do it IN DETAIL for us non-computer types ?

Thanks, Cascabel

A couple of things not to be missed are the Don Maitz pirate art exhibet scheduled for the Old Customs House Museum, And the Mel Fisher Treasure Museum. Both are within very easy walking distance of where the cruise ships come in. Hopefully you arrive during the festival and can meet some of the crew. There will be a lot going on....

>>>> Cascabel

Hello All !!!

I'm a newbie and I am scouring the Internet and I am getting ready to put together my "kit". I have a question about the quality of one of the sutlers I have found. Does anyone have any feedbeedback on Michael the Tailor http://www.angelfire.com/va/sutler/ His selection of pirate/seaman garb is pretty impressive and fits with in with the time period I wish to portray (mid to late 17th Century). Coming from a reenactment background, I just like to get some info on a merchant before I plunk down a bag of gold, so any info on the quality of this mechants goods would be much appreciated!!!

Thanks!!! Eric...aka "The Submarine Privateer"

Unfortunately, Michael the Tailor passed on a couple of years ago. He did truly fine work, and had very reasonable prices.

>>>>> Cascabel

I know him well, and can contact him. He is a good friend of mine, and will be staying at my place around the end of this month before we go to Pirates in Paradise. If it's really important, e-mail me yer phone number off list, and I'll call him and give it to him.

>>>>> Cascabel

Thanks much, Cap'n Sage !!! I will try it first chance I get. I wish our fearless leader McVox would include instructions on how to do some of these things for some of us non-computer type folks somewhere on the website. Sure would be helpful.

>>>>> Cascabel

Me shipmate Braze and meself each got one of these over the weekend fer $21.00 a piece. Both had busted bowsprits, but nothing a drop of superglue couldn't fix......

>>>>> Cascabel

O.K., how does one find out what "size" a picture is in one's picture files, and if it is not the right size, how do I go about changing it ?????

'preciate the help, Cascabel

Don't feel bad shipmate, I can't figure out how to do it either !!! Perhaps some of the more "computer literate" folks would care to enlighten us.....

>>>>> Cascabel