Friday, March 20, 2020

Recent work by Steve Boyleston

This is a rifle I just completed with a really interesting history.  I bought it in the rough from a small Auction in Ohio.  It was started in 1965 in Ohio.  I do not know who the maker was as he passed away, so the rifle sat dormant since that time. When I received it, it was made from a blank of very figured curly maple. It is square with the outside profile, no way to change it. There was a Russ Hamm Bedford County Flintlock that sparks as good as any lock. The side plate was real unusual but so were some of the Angstadts original pieces. There was a Berks County style toe plate. It had double set triggers with no trigger guard. With the profile having the old exaggerated Roman Nose I decided to make a Lehigh rifle which was probably the original makers thought.  It has a 13/16ths 45 Cal Barrel, stamped “Barrel by Dave R. Taylor of Little Hocking, Ohio.  He was a top maker in his time and would be way over 100 years old today. Several years ago I bought an original 1800 Peter Angstadt 2 piece Patch Box. I decided it was fitting to use it on the rifle, it has an old frontier shop hinge repair on the bottom . The basic carved designs are from the Joe Kindig Rifle. I also used some Stoffel Long border designs. It has the Lehigh Indian Head in front of the trigger guard. The Silver inlays are engraved like the original rifle. The stain that I used was Nitric Acid that I get from Eric Kettenburg 15 years ago, rubbed with boiled Linseed oil, it polished out like a fine varnish, nothing else. It is funny the rifle is 65 years old now. I do not who started it out back then but maybe they would like it.
















Copy and photos supplied by Steve Boyleston.

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