Wishing you and your family a happy and safe 4th of July.
Art, Jan and Robert
Saturday, July 4, 2020
Happy Birthday, Hershel!
Hershel House is an incredible individual. Over the years he has been a driving force in the revival of the lost arts of old time gun making, blacksmithing and corn meal production. He work is known world wide. The pieces he produces look as though they originated in another time. Shooters all swear by the accuracy of a Hershel gun. Collectors eagerly seek out any available piece. His knives are seen everywhere. When Hershel arrives at a show he is immediately surrounded by a crowd. Everyone wants to speak with him. Visits to his home are like a trip back in time. His encouragement and sharing with other builders is legendary. I have taken great pleasure in collecting and shooting some wonderful pieces from his shop. Over the years Jan and I have enjoyed all our visits with Hershel and his daughter Jana Lee. Hershel is truly a treasure. Art Riser Contemporary Makers
Photographs at Hershel's in October 2002 by Jan Riser.
July 4, 1859 Jug by Dave
Storage jar (about 30 gallons), alkaline glaze
Dave
Aiken County, S.C., July 4, 1859
The jar lost most of its glaze and suffered other damage after years of exposure to the elements on a farm in Greene County, Georgia. Such jars may have been wagoned and sold to east Georgia plantations soon after they were made.
"The fourth of July is Surely come
to blow the fife and beat the drum."
Friday, July 3, 2020
Thursday, July 2, 2020
Building the Daniel Boone Rifle featuring Mike Miller
Building the Daniel Boone Rifle featuring Mike Miller
Noted gunbuilder Mike Miller from Edmonton, Kentucky uses his vast knowledge of American firearms to recreate a likely possibility of what must be very similar to what Daniel Boone would have carried: a brass-mounted, maple-stocked, long-barreled flintlock rifle with a wooden patchbox, featuring bold architecture that was prevalent prior to the Revolutionary War.
Mike demonstrates his techniques to teach how to build this traditional flintlock rifle. Starting with a curly maple stock blank, a long tapered and flared octagon barrel, a lock and some brass castings, Mike demonstrates in detail how you too can build a fine flintlock rifle that would have been common on the frontier among longhunters and early settlers.
This four disc DVD set is 5 hours and 20 minutes of detailed instruction taped in HD on location at Mike Miller's shop.
This video can be found for sell here.
Copy and photo from Muzzleloader Magazine.
Wednesday, July 1, 2020
Contemporary Makers Portraits: John Schippers
Book Author
Engraver
Gun Builder
Photographer
Teacher
More photos can be seen here.
More photos can be seen here.
Stock Carving & Silver Wire Inlay.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7 | 1 P.M. - 5 P.M.
THURSDAY & FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8 - 9 | 8 AM - 5 PM
Engraving.
SATURDAY - TUESDAY, OCTOBER 3 - 6 | 8 AM - 5 PM
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7 | 8 A.M. - 12 P.M.
More information here.
Photographs of John and his guns by Jan Riser.
Tuesday, June 30, 2020
2020 CLA Live Auction: COLONIAL FOWLER by James Frost and Powder Horn by Mike Small
When it comes to sheer versatility in the field, few period firearms can compare to the smoothbore fowler. Capable of taking a wide spectrum of wild game, fowlers saw extensive use in early America as humble meat guns. But in a very real sense, the weapon helped shape the United States. During the early days of the Revolutionary War, New England militia units regularly took to the field armed with smoothbore fowlers, employing them in the epic fights for liberty at Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill.
For this year’s CLF fundraising auction, artist and gun builder James Frost has created an exceptional example of the classic New England fowler. The gun, explains Frost, combines French and English stylistic features and is a typical fowler from the middle to the third quarter of the 18th century. This gun started its life as a kit from Jim Chambers Flintlocks, and demonstrates that top quality materials, paired with an individual maker’s unique creative talents, can result in a first-rate example of fine craftsmanship.
Frost constructed this gun around a 10 gauge, 46 inch long, octagon-to-round barrel. The barrel is married to a remarkably patterned stock of curly maple, and the artist finished the wood with a combination of alcohol-based stains and a hand rubbed finish of English red oil. The fowler features brass furniture; the barrel, as well as the Chambers lock, were given a cold rust brown finish.
The fowler is accompanied by a stellar powder horn by artist Mike Small. This robust 18” horn is well-paired with Frost’s 10 gauge fowler. Featuring a gracefully turned cherry base plug 3” in diamenter, and hickory stopper, the horn was aged with natural vegetable dyes. Patterned after horns typical of original examples from Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, this screw tip horn is an exactingly crafted masterpiece.
For more information on the work of the artists, contact them directly:
James Frost: jimboblues@yahoo.com
Mike Small: wbgv1@yahoo.com
To see all the Artists' contributions to the 2020 CLF Live Fund Raising Auction, visit our website at http://www.contemporarylongriflefoundation.org/2020-live-auction/
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