Gatogordo,

Thanks for the opinion of the blank. I am concerned about the wrist grain too, but it was a stellar price, so I thought I would give it a shot. I will look it over once it arrive s and decide if I am going to keep it or not. I am not married to it, and there are lots of others out there. Thanks for the compliments on my knives too.

Low Wall, What is your friends name? Chances are I know him, or at least of him if he is a serious knifemaker.

I am very fortunate to have nice equipment. I have a wire EDM and a CNC mill that I put to good use on this one. My lathe is the weak link. It's a 1946 model Craftsman, and is small and a little loose as well. My next equipment purchase is to be a decent lathe.

A couple of changes I will make to the next one I build will be to add a top fastener, probably a cross bolt, and to make the action longer by about 3/4". The extra length would be distributed evenly in the body, none in the tang. Other than that, I am pleased with the design. Of course it has to go bang a couple hundred times before I consider it a success, but it is better than I had anticipated to this point.

Bailey
The fellow who made the rifle is Darcy Ellis...you probably don't know him as he is fairly low production bladesmith and has not been to any shows down in the states...Darcy is planning on making another falling block this comming winter...
You may know another good knifemaker friend of mine, Bob Lay who gets around to a number of shows in the states...

Nice looking work so far! I also would not use that blank. I am pretty fussy about wood I will use, wether it be on my own or a client's gun.

If you are in the market for wood, then I am sure you know there are lots of good wood merchants out there. I would reccomend Luxus Walnut if you want some nice Turkish. If you want California English then I would talk to Jim Preslick. Well, I just rememebred that Luxus has some 2-piece California English as well.

If you are still going back and forth on the ejector idea, then I owuld go the ejector route if you are planning on making enough of these actions to sell. Personally, i would not use an ejector, but it is easier to disable an ejector than to add one to an extractor gun.

Love the 7x57R plan. Very easy to find brass for it here in the US. Lots of people into high end guns like the 7x57 caliber. There are a few rimmed .22 calibers-.222R, Hornet, K-hornet, Ackley Hornet, .225 Winchester, etc.

Please keep posting pictures for us!

I know what you mean about the ejector being more versatile and giving me the option of disabling it if I don't like it. I am going to see if my current plans will allow for it. I am intending to free float the barrel, and the bar coming off the face of the monoblock under the barrel will be the issue on the ejector. I think I can fit a southgate system in there, just have to draw it out in CAD and see what I have to work with.

I got the stock blank in yesterday, and while it isn't the perfect blank, the grain flow is better than in the picture. I did a preliminary layout and turned the front end down a bit, and the grain flow nearly matches the wrist. I think it is nice enough, and I bought it for a low enough price that if I don't feel comfortable with the resulting stock, I can make knife handles out of it and not loose a dime. The fiddleback is really tight, and Bowie collectors just love that figure in walnut.

The choice of 7X57R was from most of the people I have discussed this with. I have had a booth at the DSC show for several years, and the overwhelming suggestions were either .375 H&H or 7X57R. Obviously I went the prudent route of the two. I am not a reloader, and just do not want to take on another skill set. ( 5 kids, a couple of horses and this project equals a full enough plate). Factory ammo is available enough for the 7x57r and of course 22 hornet.

I will shoot a few more pictures in the next couple of days.

quote:

Originally posted by Bailey Bradshaw:
Never had a break action single, but I am in the middle of building one and am at a point where I need to make a desicion....ejector or just an extractor...

Any of you have ejector guns and not like that feature? I don't reload, but don't care to leave my brass in the field either.

Don't put an ejector on a dangerous game gun. The noise they make throwing out the empty can give away your location to an irate critter...... Other than that, you can always catch the empty as it exits the breech if you save your brass.......

Did a little more work on the action tang. I milled a taper to the tang, milled the center down leaving the edges full thickness and filled a bevel to them. I did more polishing on the action tang as well.



Since this won't be my only gun build, I decided to cut my teeth and just install an extractor. Mechanically, all that is left to do before shaping the action is the extractor, make new lock spring struts and a lock retaining part to keep the lock slide retracted while the action is open.


The stock blank pictured earlier is going to work out just fine. The layout was wrong in the initial pictures from the wood dealer. It was upside down. I made a pattern from plexiglass and played with the layout and was able to get ideal grain flow through the wrist as you can see in the pictures. I also have a plenty large piece for the forend (the "matching" forend block they sent was equal to what I could buy at Lowe's).



It's getting close to barrel ordering time now!!

quote:

Originally posted by Bailey Bradshaw:
Did a little more work on the action tang. I milled a taper to the tang, milled the center down leaving the edges full thickness and filled a bevel to them. I did more polishing on the action tang as well.



Since this won't be my only gun build, I decided to cut my teeth and just install an extractor. Mechanically, all that is left to do before shaping the action is the extractor, make new lock spring struts and a lock retaining part to keep the lock slide retracted while the action is open.


The stock blank pictured earlier is going to work out just fine. The layout was wrong in the initial pictures from the wood dealer. It was upside down. I made a pattern from plexiglass and played with the layout and was able to get ideal grain flow through the wrist as you can see in the pictures. I also have a plenty large piece for the forend (the "matching" forend block they sent was equal to what I could buy at Lowe's).



It's getting close to barrel ordering time now!!

That is one superb-looking, intriguing action there. Looks like you are going to have a fantastic rifle when finished.....

Keep showing us your progress!

Wow! I would love to have one of your barreled actions in 25-35 Win....I would like to see the top strap of the tang come up over the comb and then stock it with a piece of Russian Circassian Walnut from Bill Dowtins Old World Walnut, he has some awesome wood at very reasonable pricing..

Well, Been busy on my rifle since Blade show. I "stole" a few days after the show...feel guilty as hell, but a guys go to have a little fun.

The stock is sanded to 220 grit with a couple of coats of linseed oil. It will require MANY more hours of finish work, not to mention checkering. The wood to metal fit has a couple of spots I can't make perfect, but the are very small and will fill with epoxy bedding. I may glue some slivers of walnut in and refit those areas though. The drawbolt sticking out th eback will be recessed, just not sure as to what style of butt I want. I LOVE skeleton plates, and will more than likely go with that. I didn't want to drill too large a hole, or find that I need to remove more wood to balance the gun so I will wait until I have the action shaped and the barrel/forend completed.

It fits me perfectly, the styling turned out better than I thought it would look, and the wood looks incredible. I am a happy camper so far. Let me know what you think!!

Bailey I am sorry to sound a negative note, but if ever I saw a single shot rifle that called out for a Bavarian cheek piece with a double rabbet, then yours is it. Will there be a ducks bill on the fore end?
The grip is great, but I'm not so sure about that pancake cheek piece, none the less it looks to be a Great Rifle! I'm jealous.

Neat! It is coming together quite nicely...Your pistol grip is unlike any that I have ever seen but I like it....

Bailey,

Is the stock design original? If so, then I applaud your creativity! I enjoy looking at examples like this where someone else has taken a chance and executed a design for their own satisfaction. Refreshing. Even if this is a style I'm not yet familiar with, then I applaude your exicution!

I've been watching your project quietly with great interest as I am completing a similar one (however not a totally scratch action as yours).

Once again, well done!

I figured the stock would raise a few feathers. It is inspired by a rifle made by Peter Hofer. I think the grip area on mine flows better, but and still tweaking the cheek piece. It will have a border, and needs to be tapered into the comb on the wrist end more. I don't care for bavarian style cheek pieces.

The forend will have a similar ribbon. Kind of a modified schabel forend with Anson latch.

I if was making this one to sell, I wouldn't have shaped the stock like this, but I must say I really like it.

Bailey,
You have tweeked my curiosity, how would you have done things had you been making the rifle for sale.
You don't like the Bavarian cheek piece that's fine but I am pleased to see you are thinking of a modified schnabel for end, it should balance the style of the grip very well.
When I first became aware of the Germanic style it seemed ugly, but over the years my views have changed.
just my 2c worth.

oldun,

I would make the stock in more of a classic English style. Probably a price of Wales.

With my background in custom knives, I tend to feel a bit more freedom with design and styling, but realize many gun buyers/collectors tend to ahere to established styles with minor touches for making a gun standout. It,s a similar situation with Japanese style swords. I've made many of them, and many of my customers have a set of rules to judge a piece from. Many of the rules are correct, many are simply a style preference. I have trained in martial arts for 20 yrs, including several years in swordsmanship. IMHO, as long as the construction of the sword is safe and "battle worthy", the embelishment and styling is a personal thing. The styling can vary dramaticly as long as it doesn't interfere with the intended function. However, from a marketing point of view, a variation in styling limits market appeal.

Bavarian style stock are nice, but can be harsh looking to me. I like certain elements that have nice flow with lines of beauty and consistent origin of line. Typicly the bavarian cheek piece is where it all falls apart for me.

The English style stocks show restraint with a conservative approach, but they adhere to the above rules almost without exception, so it maximizes market appeal with being artisticly sound and a well established tradition.

Bailey,
Thank you for your reply, I share your views about English restraint, they show the same in their clothing, jewellery and furniture designs. However, I'm not over keen on the Prince of Wales stock.
We shall just have to leave things at "in the eye of the beholder"
Many of us look forward to pictures of the finished rifle. Keep up the good work.
Bailey, Your work on your www page is absolutely beautiful, you are a very talented man.

I need more photos!!!

OK, here are a couple more pics. I have the forend wood mated to the forend iron, am working on the Anson latch to hold the forearm on, installed the trigger guard and have the extractor in, but not quite fitted enough to close the action with it in place. It REALLY is time to order the barrel now :-)

Thanks, I love this gun!

Making steady progress....

I have the stock bedded in and got the barrel in this week. I am having a local machine shop thread the barrel end and the monoblock....should be ready by Friday.

I have a few coats of oil on the stock but need about 4 more to fill the grain and get a thin layer on top.



I really wasn't sold on the first trigger guard I made as it needed to blend into the neck of the stock quicker. I have always liked this shape( not sure what the proper name is ), so I made a new one...



and a couple of angle shots of the rough shaped action. It is at 120 grit from my belt grinder, but will eventually be stoned to 600 grit before engraving.





The barrel is a blank from Shilen. I will machine it to a tapered octagon with integral rib and front sight base.

Once I have that done, I will have it chambered and crowned...then it's PROOF TIME!!