Building an Alexander Henry Target Rifle from a Rod England Kit

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I believe that’s a Davis lock. No different the a Roller.
I told Rod (I understand about cost) that I don’t know why someone doesn’t copy a British Best lock.
Note the diameter of the tumbler and sear engagement angle.

0096C7C7-E928-41FF-83EE-6FEF44B767C7.jpeg

I’ll get a sketch of the PT plug.
 
This was copied from an original Whitworth Target Rifle. (You’ll have to CB your plug). Saw nearly same (no stakes) on a Watson d/b that I replaced. Looked as if someone tried the dig it out.

Excuse my sketches..
Plug with soft material plug -flush with bottom of CB.
Counterbore 0.050” +/-
Displace CB under the edge (Make tool)
Stake up points to embed into PT
Swage PT plug (thicker than CB)
Peen displaced metal down, if needed
File flat
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I believe that’s a Davis lock. No different the a Roller.
I told Rod (I understand about cost) that I don’t know why someone doesn’t copy a British Best lock.
Note the diameter of the tumbler and sear engagement angle.

That is one nice looking lock! I can see how the larger tumbler would provide for enhanced function. I whole-heartedly agree that it would be a good thing if someone would start making something similar. Perhaps we can goad Rod into tooling up for one, he is continually trying to make improvements to his parts.

Rod specifically stated that he is CNC'ing his own lock plates and parts - to quote "I make my own locks with the English style bridle. It has been said before that I use Davis. I don't."

Curtis
 
This was copied from an original Whitworth Target Rifle. (You’ll have to CB your plug). Saw nearly same (no stakes) on a Watson d/b that I replaced. Looked as if someone tried the dig it out.

Excuse my sketches..
Plug with soft material plug -flush with bottom of CB.
Counterbore 0.050” +/-
Displace CB under the edge (Make tool)
Stake up points to embed into PT
Swage PT plug (thicker than CB)
Peen displaced metal down, if needed
File flat

The info and sketches are just the ticket 52Bore! I should be able to do that without too much difficulty - I have made gold touch holes in a similar fashion, inlaying the gold over a internally coned vent liner. Is platinum fairly soft like gold?

P2271114.JPG

Curtis
 
As I understand it in their purer form platinum is harder than gold but as gold is often alloyed I think 18kt. gold would be harder than what platinum is. You can research that I am sure. Certainly different colors with the two unless you go to "white" gold.
Again I am impressed with your work. Keep the photos coming.
 
Could of sworn when Rod came to my home to look at some originals ( soon after he bought Don’s stuff) he told me he was planning on using Davis locks. Oh well, I’ll see him in a few weeks as I told him when we pulled locks out - note the geometry, especially the tumbler and sear engagement.
PT - I find 99.9% pure PT to be very soft compared to 95/5%. I’ve never worked with gold.
You should end up with this.
99E58AEA-7C1B-4C97-8C13-6C60941FBB41.jpeg
 
Could of sworn when Rod came to my home to look at some originals ( soon after he bought Don’s stuff) he told me he was planning on using Davis locks. Oh well, I’ll see him in a few weeks as I told him when we pulled locks out - note the geometry, especially the tumbler and sear engagement.
PT - I find 99.9% pure PT to be very soft compared to 95/5%. I’ve never worked with gold.
You should end up with this.
View attachment 5124

It is entirely possible that Rod had used or planned to use Davis locks in the beginning, I never specifically asked him that question. I know that he didn't get a great deal of parts from Don Brown's estate, and very little or no tooling. It is also possible his lock internals are very similar to Davis's or even based on them, I also never asked him about that and have not handled a Davis lock. I have been told by folks that have used Davis locks for an Alexander Henry rifle that the lock plate on the Davis is shaped differently and can cause issues at the lower front of the lock panel. When you see him in a few months he can provide definitive answers to all those questions.

Also. thanks for the above photo, it shows exactly what I need for the platinum plug, as well as great details of what I need to emulate when I get to the final shaping of the standing and patent breech down to the height of the lock plate. I found a few photos on the web but yours represents the detail better than any I found!

Curtis
 
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This is likely my last post on this gun for a week or two, I will be attending the CLA show and have some other obligations.

After reading one of westbj2's posts I took a closer look at the nipple seating. The nipple is platinum lined and the bottom is rounded with a gentle radius. The nipple seat in the patent breech was flat on the bottom and the nipple shoulder was standing proud when the nipple was bottomed out.

P8111940.JPG

Since the snail was already threaded I needed a special tool that wouldn't bugger the threads while cutting a radiused bottom to the nipple seat. So I took a broken drill shank that would slip into the hole, filed it to the profile of the convex nipple bottom, then filed some fine shallow cutting teeth on the improvised tool:

P8111934.JPG

First two teeth filed in:

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All teeth cut:

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P8111938.JPG

The cutter was then hardened and drawn back to a straw color. I lubricated the end, chucked it in a hand drill and carefully went to work on the nipple seat, removing chips fairly often. The chips were fine like dust and made a slurry in the cutting oil.

P8111941.JPG

P8111942.JPG

The fine teeth left a polished surface on the nipple seat. I ran a bottoming tap down the hole, painted the nipple end with a blue Sharpie and replaced the nipple. In this photo I still had a couple of thousandths to go before the shoulder was seated. The blue marker on the nipple indicated a good seat. I will have to take another photograph of the completely seated nipple.

P8111943.JPG

Curtis
 
I decided it was time to fit the trigger guard to the stock, but first I needed to install the screw at the rear of the trigger plate.

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I had to do some bending of the guard to match the stock profile, then held it in place to scribe around the finial. Wood was removed, inlet black painted on the guard, and the fit then cut process was repeated until the finial was all the way in.

P8121949.JPG

I got it center punched for the screw hole and had to quit for the day.

P8131950.JPG

That's all for now!

Curtis
 
After reading one of westbj2's posts I took a closer look at the nipple seating.
Curtis

Tell uncle Jim that the guy from TN said the bottom was angled from the tap drill point - not flat. lol
I’ll be at the CLA on Saturday only- maybe I’ll see you?
 
I'll pass that on to uncle Jim! I will be at the CLA show Friday and Sat till about 1:00pm or so. I have a gun at Terry Leeper's table (the NMLRA Gunsmithing seminar table), right by the doors to the big back room, on the left hand side. I'll be looking for you! Art tells me I need a couple of spare nipples, will talk to you Saturday.
 
Back at it for a few days!

I drilled and screwed down the trigger guard extension, then located the pistol grip cap on the stock and taped it in place. Next I tapped a drill bit with a hammer to locate the hole, then started the hole with a center drill. A temp screw was then used to secure the grip cap.











After studying some photos of original Alexander Henry rifles found online and obtained from other sources, it became apparent that the drip bar, patent breech and standing breech should all be tapered to match the angle of the lock plate to the wrist. You can see in this photo what they look like before filing them to the correct angle.



I scribed a line on the parts to be filed along the surface of the lock plate for reference, then clamped a scrap of a hacksaw blade to the assembly to use as a reference. The drip bar and the snail breech will be a bit proud of the lock plate, and the standing breech will be the same height.



The drip bar and snail breech were finished by filing a small angle where they meet the lock plate, and the standing breech was left flat and level with the lock plate.



Curtis
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When I was fitting the trigger blade to the sear, I got a bit over zealous in my filing and it affected the appearance of the trigger in the guard. A mentor sent me some photos of how the trigger shoe should "flow" with the curve of the guard, to me it should appear to continue the "scroll" shape. I could have ordered a new trigger and started over, but I was encouraged to make a new trigger myself.

I started by making some reference marks on a scrap of 1/4" steel plate, drilled some holes where there will be a radius, and sawed out the rough shape. I opted to cut and file the trigger shoe instead of forging it like I would on an American rifle.





Thinning the blade area with a saw:



Trimming around the shoe:



I filed the blade flat and true, then did some trimming, drilled the pivot hole and test fit.





Next I went to work on filing the shoe:







Did a final check for appearance, made some adjustments



Once satisfied I drilled the hole for the return spring and installed it, and fit the blade to the sear a bit more carefully this time.



I will likely make some adjustments with the little tab and refine the shoe a bit more, but I think it is good enough for now.

Thanks for looking, Curtis
 
For a change of pace I decided to cut the dovetail for the front sight. I painted the area with some Dykem and scratched some reference lines, then went to work with the hacksaw and file.













I removed the sight assembly after getting it fitted to prevent damaging it.

Curtis
 
The precarved stock is made a bit oversized for obvious reasons, and a fair amount of wood needs removed. There are at least a couple of ways to approach this task, one is to start removing wood until it looks and scales correct. Another, which I used here is to set the known dimensions in profile and width like I would do on a gun built from a slab, then geometrically remove wood approaching the final dimension. Here I have set the width of the wrist:





Then I brought the side panel opposite of the lock down to near final level and proper angle. A horse rasp, though rough, will cut fairly smooth if you rasp with the grain:





Next I bring the comb down to near the proper level an check it with a straight edge. If you mark on the straight edge with a Sharpie it will transfer marks to the high spots:







The buttstock was brought down to the dimensions of the butt plate:









I used a modified caliper to help with setting the wrist dimensions and curve:



Then continued to remove some wood and started to define the lock panels. I used some clear film to trace the lock side and transfer dimensions to the off side:









It will probably be a while before I get back in the shop, will post more then!

Curtis
 
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