Building a “Friendship Special” - National Muzzle Loading Rifle

by Bill Brockway
Indiana
Copyright 7984, by Bill Brockway
Building a “Friendship Special”
Shotgunners, as a group, are not so
fortunate as their rifle and pistol
shooting brethren in one respect, this
being the scarcity of the tools of their
shooting trade. The days when we
could pick up a respectable, if plain,
English or Belgian double for 35 bucks
are gone forever. True, there are a few
serviceable modern factory-made guns
available today, but for the most part,
they are pretty clumsy clubs, not the
finely tuned works of art that a shotgun
should be. And handmade custom guns,in
designed to point, balance and shoot
like the Citoris, Perazzis and Krieghoffs
so familiar to modern skeet and trap
competitors.
Lest someone raise the argument
that such guns are somehow not traditional, let us consider the fact that the
stack barrel format was not exactly
unknown in the old days, with such
respectable makers as Twigg, Manton
and Boutet producing examples, even
in the flintlock period. It is true that the
historic over-and-under guns did not
cess to such machinery. In this article
and following articles, I shall describe
the design and building of a gun of this
type which does not require the use of
a milling machine. In fact, with the exception of the breech plugs, the entire
gun can be built using only hand tools,
The barrels used in the gun in the illustrations were a couple of factory reject Ithaca Model 37 barrels which I
bought at Friendship several years ago
for a ridiculously low price. They were
12 gauge, cylinder bored, 28 inches
addition to being scarcer than any
other variety, are just too expensive for
most of us to consider seriously.
As a result, more and more shooters
are trying their hand at making their
own shotguns. Some of these homegrown weapons are really quite nicely
designed and very well-made,
Once such pattern that surfaced in
Friendship a dozen or so years ago is
the straight pull over-and-under skeet
or trap gun. Dubbed the “Friendship
Special” by Ed Mason, the well-known
Memphis shotgun artist and international team shooter, these guns are
use the straight pull ignition, but the
style has been very well accepted, at
least by the shotgun folks who shoot in
competition, and it appears that it is
very definitely here to stay.
For hunting, I still like to use the old
side-by-side doubles, but for competition on clay birds, the Friendship Special is hard to beat.
Most of the over-and-unders seen at
Friendship are made with the body of
the action cut from solid steel with a
milling machine, which makes the style
unbuildable for the average home
workshop builder who doesn’t have ac-
long, and well finished inside and out.
Other barrels would have worked as
well, but these were available and, as
mentioned before, the price was right.
To prepare the barrels for breeching,
about 1% inches is sawed off the
breech end, reducing the depth of the
chambers (the part the shotgun shell
fits into) to approximately 1 inch. The
shortened chamber is then threaded
with a 718-14 starting tap, turning the
tap into the chamber by hand until it
stops against the forcing cone at the
I
MUZZLE BLASTS, JUNE, 1984
1
‘19
front of the chamber.
The breech plugs are turned to th$
shape shown from any free cutting
mild steel, and threaded by hand with a
7/8-14 die. Before removing the plugs
from the lathe, they should be center
bored from the front end with a 5/16
inch drill to a depth of approximately
1% inches for the powder chamber.
The plugs are then hand fitted to the
forcing cone in the barrels by grinding
a long taper on the front end. By trial
and error, this bevel should be reduced
until the back shoulder of the plug
comes flush with the end of the barrel
when the plug is fully seated.
The barrels are joined at the breech
by a steel base plate into which the
breech plugs are sweated. The plate
should be cut about l/8 inch wider than
the outside diameter of the barrels at
the breech. For the Ithaca barrels, the
plate width was l-13/16 inches. Two
9/16 inch holes are drilled through the
plate for the breech plug tenons, with
the centerline spacing of the holes being equal to the outside breech
diameter of the barrels plus a little bit,
say l/16 inch or less. Again, for the
20
Breech plug blank. This one was reject, but will give an idea of what the plug should look like
before fitting to the barrel.
MUZZLE BLASTS, JUNE, 1984
Ithaca barrels, this dimension was l-1/8
inches.
The drawing shows two drilled
plates. The thicker plate (receiver
plate) is used later in constructing the
action. To be sure that the barrel
tenons will fit the action when the gun
is assembled, it is important that these
two plates be drilled together. An easy
way to do this is to solder the two
plates together with a couple of spots
of ordinary lead and tin solder, and
“unsolder” them with a torch after the
holes are drilled. If this is done, the
temporary solder should be removed
from all surfaces by scraping and filing
before final assembly.
MUZZLE BLASTS, JUNE, 1984
Before separating the soldered
plates, however, a pilot hole should be
drilled with a No. 25 drill for the IO-24
takedown screw, located halfway between the two tenon holes. This screw
is a hardened socket head cap screw,
made for operation with an Allen
wrench. These screws are not ordinarily
available at hardware stores, but can
be obtained from machine shop or gunsmith supply houses. After the plates
are separated, enlarge the pilot hole in
the receiver plate with a No. 11 drill,
and countersink to permit the screw
head to lie flush with the surface of the
plate. The hole in the barrel base plate
can then be tapped IO-24 to accept the
screw.
The breech plugs are then brazed or
hard soldered (1100 degrees F) into the
holes in the base plate, being very
careful to fill the joint with the spelter
or solder, and making sure that the
shoulders of the plugs rest squarely
against the plate.
After brazing the plugs, the barrels
are screwed onto the assembly with a
liberal coating of epoxy or polyester
glass bedding compound to insure air
tightness. Screw the barrels all the way
down against the base plate and set
them aside in a vertical position until
the glass bed has hardened. If the barrels are not exactly parallel, they can
be gently twisted to align them by eye
before the bedding material has set.
After the barrels are mounted on the
plate, trim the ends of the plate off
square, approximately l/16 inch below
the bottom barrel and 3/16 inch above
the top barrel.
The breech plug tenons are then trimmed square, exactly l/2 inch beyond
the base plate, and the ends of the
tenons are drilled and counterbored for
the nipples. The exact dimensions of
the holes will depend on the dimensions of the nipples being used. Normally, the nipple threads will be l/4-28.
The nipples should be recessed so that
the shoulder of the nipple is flush with
the end of the plug. It is important that
the nipples fit the sockets tightly, both
below the shoulder and at the base of
the nipple. This is to prevent fire from
getting into the threads and eroding
them.
After the nipples are fitted, drill a 2
3/32 inch fire hole from the nipple seat
into the powder chamber, and the barrels will be ready to test fire.
and can be patterned,with the woodwork in place. However, since it is
necessary to have the barrels joined
befor the forend stock can be made
and installed, it is simpler to install the
spacers first and take a chance on the
barrels not being parallel.
The muzzle spacer is fitted first. To
determine its size, file a small piece of
steel to fit between the barrels and
hold them apart so that the total width
of both barrels minus the diameter of
one barrel at the muzzle equals the
total width minus one diameter at the
breech. When this condition is achieved, the centerlines of the barrels will be
parallel, at least in the vertical dimension. The spacers should be filed to fit
the curvature of the barrels closely,
and should be 3116 inch thick and l/2
To proof test the barrels, load one
side at a time with a double charge of
both powder and shot, clamp the barrels to a heavy plank, and touch them
off with a piece of cannon fuse leading
to a mound of powder covering the nipple. If the barrels survive this treatment, it is reasonable to assume that
they will withstand any accidental
overload they are likely to receive in
actual use.
The barrels are held in alignment by
two steel spacers, one at the muzzle,
and one 6 inches in front of the base
plate. Ideally, these spacers should be
installed after the gun is completed
inch long. The height of the spacers is
extremely critical, as an error as little
as l/8 inch at the muzzle will create a
whopping 5 inch change in the point of
impact at 30 yards.
To get the barrels parallel laterally,
clamp them to a true flat surface with
the spacers between the barrels. A cast
iron saw table makes a good surface to
work on. Clamp the barrels to the table
with C-clamps so that both ends of
both barrels are in contact with the
table at the same time. If the barrels
will rock on the table, they are not
parallel. Pull them into contact with
the table, using gentle pressure from
Forward barrel spacer, soldered between barrels at
IlWZZle.
22
Brticli
end of barrels, showing base plate, barrel tenons and nipples. Hole in
center is for W-24 takedown
screw.
MUZZLE BLASTS, JUNE, 1984
the clamps. Once everything is jigged
up tight and square, flow low temperature silver solder between the muzzle
spacer and the barrels. After the muzzle spacer is securely soldered in place,
the other spacer can be soldered. If
everything has been done properly, the
barrels should shoot to the same point
of impact with very little adjustment or
regulation required after the gun is
assembled.
Next month, we shall take up the
construction of the action or receiver.
Rear barrel
s o l d e r e d to
spacer, soldered between barrels 6 inches in front of action frame.
bottom barrel to receive the forearm screw.
WISCONSIN
Note the 114-20 nut
SPORTMAN’S
ASSOCIATION
The Wisconsin Sportman’s Association wishes to thank the following companies and individuals for their donations and support.
They helped make our 10th Annual Black Powder Shotgun Shoot a great success. We ask other shooters to support them
Forster Products
Muzzleloader
Mag.
Trius Products
Hoppe’s Penguin Industries
Thompson/CenterArms
Track ofthe Wolf
Crasy Crow T. P.
Black Powder Times
D.J.,
Inc.
’
Americana Ltd.
H & H Barrel Works
Northwest Traders
Ox-Yoke Originals
M T Rtj/e Barrel Co.
Stan Q Jan Gelsa
Boduen’s
Log Cabin Shop
William Felton (Engraver)
Pecatonica
L’Rifle Supply
Prism, Inc.
Tedd Cash
W-D 40
Mt. State ML. Supplies
The Wisconsin Sportman’s Association &II
3rd Annual Flintlock
Longrifle Seminar
on the campus of
WESTERN KENTUCKY
UNIVERSITY
August 6 - 10
Meeting from 8 to 5 daily
Evening Meetings 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Lectures and Demonstratfons
by:
dohn Bitins. Gary Brumftold, Lynton McKenzie,
Monti Mandarfno.
Herschel House. Mark Silver
For more informatlon, write or call:
Terry Leeper
Ind. and Eng. Technology
westem Kentucky 0nlwrslty
Bowling Green, KY 42101
Enrollment is limited and the seminar fee Is 5230.
per person. Deadline for registratkm
fee is duly 6.
1984.
MUZZLE BLASTS, JUNE, 1984
hold their 11
th Annual Black Powder Shotgun Shoot on July 27,28,29,1984.
AMERICAN SINGLE SHOT
RIFLE ASSOCIATION
Dedicated to the shooting and
collecting of rifles from the Schuetzen, Creedmoor, and Walnut Hill
traditions, the ASSRA endorses
offhand, long-range, and benchrest matches using single shot
rifles, in the U.S. and Canada. For
information and a sample copy of
the Association’s bi-monthly
publication, the American Single
Shot Rifle News, write to:
L.B. Thompson
987 Jefferson Avenue
Salem, Ohio 44460
The Brazos Valley
Muzzleloaders would
like to thank the
following for making
our Winter Rendezvous
a great success:
Dixie Gun Works
Northwest Truders
Rick Layman
Chuck Hacker
Robert Stone
Eagle Feather Trading Post
Mt. ‘St&e ML. Supply
Green River Forge, Ltd.
David Lomax
Treaty Oaks Indian Store
by Bill Brockway
*Indiana
Copyright 1984, by Bill Brockway
Part II
The Action Frame
Building a “Friendship Special”
The action frame for the Friendship
Special is essentially a steel box, brazed
or silver soldered together from various
thicknesses of mild steel plate.
All of the frame pieces, except the side
plates, are sawn to the same width,
which should be approximately l/l6
inch wider than the diameter of the barrels at the breech. For the gun I built, the
frame plates were 1,3/l 6 inches wide.
The top and bottom pieces are cold
bent in a vise to the profile shown in the
drawing. Getting the exact shape is important, for these parts must blend
smoothly into the contours of the butt
stock later, with no bumps or hollows to
spoil the lines of the gun.
18
After bending, the inside faces of the
top and bottom pieces are filed and
ground smooth to remove all the
scratches and scars from bending, and to
provide a smooth, bright surface for soldering. A portable belt sander is ideal for
this job, but is not absolutely necessary.
The construction of the box is begun
by soldering the front and back end
plates between the top and bottom
plates.
The front end plate is 112 inch thick,
and was drilled to fit the barrel tenons at
the same time the barrel base plate was
drilled. (See last month’s article on barrels.)
The top edge of the front plate must be
trimmed by sawing and filing so that the
distance from the barrel to the outside of
the top plate exactly equals the thickness
of the barrel rib that will be used. For my
gun, I used a Poly-Choke rib, which is
118 inch thick at the breech end, making
a dimension of 3/16 inch between the
barrel hole and the top edge of the front
plate.
The bottom edge of the front plate is
trimmed so that the distance between the
barrel and the outside of the bottom
plate is approximately l/16 inch. Again,
for my gun, the dimension between the
barrel hole and the bottom edge of the
front plate was 118 inch. This dimension
could be slightly greater, but the slimmer
MUZZLE BLASTS, JULY 1984‘
View of action, showing holes in forward elate for barrel tenons and takedown
sear retainer elates
the action can be made, the better it will
look.
After the front end plate is trimmed to
size and all edges are square, the rear
end plate is trimmed so that the top and
bottom plates are parallel with both end
plates in place. This takes a bit of cut and
try fitting, but go slowly, and it will not
be too hard to do.
The easiest way to solder the four
plates together is to clamp the whole assembly in a vise with the two ends sticking out either side. It can be wiggled
around and adjusted until all the joints
are square and true.
The end plates should be soldered
with either high temperature (+/- 1100
degrees F) silver solder or brazed. With
either method, it will be necessary to use
a torch capable of heating the steel to a
red heat. Either a Mapp gas or acetylene
torch will be required. Because of the
mass of the steel parts, a propane torch
won’t be able to handle the job. Smear a
generous amount of paste flux along all
the joints and, when the steel reaches a
dull red heat, apply the solder or brazing
rod. It will be sucked into the joint if the
temperature is right. Remove the torch
and let the joints cool slowly.
There are 4 partition plates inside the
action frame. The first one from the front
is a split plate, with the right half made
removable. The split plate is set in two
half round grooves in the top and bottom
MUZZLE BLASTS, JULY 1984
screw. Note relieved sides on
I
plates, as shown in the sketch. These
grooves can be filed by hand, but an easier way to make them is to clamp a piece
of scrap against the plate and run a 7132
drill into the joint between them. The
ends of the split plate are then filed to fit
the groove, and the left half is soldered
in place.
After soldering the left half of the split
plate, drill and tap from the right (loose)
half into the left (soldered) half for a 6-32
screw. The head of the screw is turned to
19
3116 of an inch for countersinking by
chucking it in an electric drill and turning it against a file.
The remaining three partition plates
are simply filed to fit, clamped, and silver soldered in place. It is important that
the narrow spaces between these plates
be parallel sided and free of solder build
up, since these spaces are the tracks in
which the free floating sears will slide.
The easiest way to accomplish this is to
solder the heavier 7132 of an inch plate
first. Then the thinner plates can be
clamped, one at a time, to the thicker
plate for soldering, using a piece of 3/32
inch scrap between the two as a spacer.
With care, each plate can be soldered
without melting the joints on the previously soldered piece.
The sides of these three retainer plates
are relieved to permit grasping the sears
when assembling and disassembling the
gun. The relieved sides also make it easier to fit the side plates and, not unimportantly, reduce the weight of the gun a
little.
After all the plates are installed, the
holes for the firing pins, or plungers, are
drilled. This will require an extra long
l/4 inch drill bit. Drills in this length are
available from gunsmith supply houses
and mail order tool companies. They are
not usually carried, however, at the corner hardware store. As a last resort, it is
even possible to braze a l/4 inch, or
smaller, extension on a standard length
bit.
The plunger holes must be parallel
and centered on the top and bottom barrels. The best way to achieve this is to
clamp the frame in a drill press vise so
that the top plate is exactly 90 degrees to
the table. It is then a simple matter to
center the drill in the barrel tenon holes
in the front end plate, and drill through
the remaining 4 plates in one pass.
Before the side plates can be attached
to the frame, the sides of the frame must
be draw filed to a perfectly flat surface
for the plates to bear against. If this is not
done, or is done too carelessly, there will
be visible gaps in the side plate joints
which will do little for the gun’s appearance after it is finished.
The side plates are sawn from l/l 6 to
3/32 inch steel, using the action frame as
a pattern. Attach the right cover plate
first, using four 4-40 countersunk screws,
set into the end plates. If the screws are
set into the top and bottom plates, they
will be cut into later, when the top and
20
MUZZLE BLASTS, JULY 1984 ~
-
1
‘_i
i
.t
i
-“i.
,,
“r::+.:‘?
Right side of the action.
4)
:,
:
._
s.1 i,,,.,’
,(
‘:;‘$
_,
.i-
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Left side of the action.
bottom surfaces of the action are
rounded off.
With the right plate screwed in place,
scribe around the inside of the first compartment in the action, remove the side
plate, and saw out the loading port, holding l/l6 inch or so inside the scribed
lines. The two slots for the cocking
pieces seen in the photographs will not
be sawed until later, after the working
parts are installed in the action.
The left side plate can then be soldered in place, using low temperature (e/
- 400 degrees F) silver solder. If the plate
is a little warped, or if the draw filing
hasn’tgroduced
a flat enough surface for
attachment, the plate can be attached
with screws and then soldered.
Next month, we shall make the moving parts and install them in the action.
5th ANNUAL
MICHIGAMA
FREETRAPPERS
RENDEZVOUS
Held at Western Wayne County
Conservation Association, Inc.
Plymouth, Michigan
(313) 453-9843
BUCK CREEK MJZZLELOADERS
Linton.lndiana
The Buck Creek Muqzleloaders, Inc. of Linton, Indiana, welcome you to our 7th Annual Labor Day Shoot, September 1,2,3,1984.
Custom built authentic Hawkins rifle to be given away. All registered shooters are eligible. All matches re-entry.
Modern and primitive camping. Wood and water available, no hook-ups. Free supper and entertainment Saturday night.
Offhand - Percussion - X-Sticks - Flintlock - Pistol
25 and 50 Yard - Ladies - Juniors - Husband/Wife - Primitfve
NMLRA rules apply. 80-100 registered shooters last year. Trade blankets and dealers welcome.
For maps and information contact:
Steve Busbirk,
RR 3, Box 54, Spencer, IN 47460. Ph. (812) 829-6213.
Dave O’Bryan,
RR 3, Box 423, Linton, IN 47441. Ph.(812)
847-9615.
MUZZLE BLASTS, JULY 1984
21
by Bill Brockway
Louisiana
Copyright 1984, by Bill Brockway
Part 111 - The
Working Parts
Building a “Friendship Special”
The action of the Friendship Special is
simplicity itself. Whether it is milled
from solid steel, as many of the originals
were, or built up from plates, like the
subject of this series, the action contains
only three moving parts (per barrel), with
assorted pins and springs to make them
work.
When the gun is cocked, the plunger
moves to the rear, compressing the
mainspring in the process, until a notch
is engaged by the sharpened edge of the
sear, where it is held in place by a vee
type sear spring.
When the trigger is pulled, it pushes
the sear upward, disengaging the notch
in the plunger, which is propelled forward by the mainspring to strike the cap
and fire the gun.
The
action
frame with working parts in place. Note bent end of trigger pin, to allow easy removal
The plungers are made from stainless
steel rod to resist the corrosive action of
black powder residue. They ride in the 11
4 inch holes drilled through the action
plates. To make the plungers, the cocking piece is first filed to the shape shown
from a piece of mild steel. In fitting the
cocking piece to the rod, a rectangular
hole is first drilled and filed in the rod,
then the tenon on the cocking piece is
filed to fit the hole. It is easier to make
the tenon fit the hole than vice versa.
Chamfer the bottom of the hole in the
rod and rivet or peen the cocking piece
tightly to the rod. After the two pieces
are riveted together, flow high temperature silver solder into the joint. The result
will be a tough connection that will be
able to stand the repeated pounding a firing pin is subjected to without coming
loose in the process.
Workingparts for the action.
20
MUZZLE BLASTS, AUGUST 1984
A hardened steel wear plate is shown
at the sear notch. This is made from a
piece of file steel, silver soldered in place
and quenched immediately as soon as
the solder freezes, or loses its liquidity,
but before the joint has had a chance to
cool significantly. The piece will be hard
enough to resist ,wear and, since the
notch does not have to resist any shock
or bending stresses, the exact degree of
hardness .is not critical. If this wear plate
is omitted, the relatively soft stainless
plunger rods will wear to an unsafe
MUZZLE BLASTS, AUGUST 1984
notch condition in just a few hundred
shots. I first made my gun without the
wear plates and when it began doubling
on the skeet field, found it did very little
for the shooter’s composure, and even
less for that of the other members of the
squad. Fortunately, the addition of the
wear plates cured that problem.
The sears are made from l/l 6 or 5164
inch thick file or spring steel, and are
made to slide loosely in the narrow
spaces between the action plates. The
steel must be annealed before it can be
drilled and filed to shape. To anneal,
heat the piece to a glowing cherry ret
and bury it in a bucket of dry wood ashes
to cool slowly. The holes in the sears are
filed slightly oversize to allow each
plunger - sear combination to operate
independently of the other. After the
sears are completed and fine tuned, they
should be hardened by heating to a
bright cherry red and quenching in water. It will help the operation of the action if the sears are polished bright after
they are hardened.
2 1
The triggers for the model gun were
built up by brazing a curved 3132 inch
thick shoe onto a l/16 inch thick blade.
They also could have been made by
clamping a l/16 or 3/32 inch blank be-
22
tween smooth vise jaws tightly and upsetting the edge by peening with the ball
side of a small ball peen hammer. If the
forging method is used, resist the urge to
hit the blank hard. This will only bend it.
Just tap the edge lightly, first one side,
then the other, until the upset edge is
wide enough to permit filing a shoe
about l/4 inch wade.
MUZZLE BLASTS, AUGUST 1984 ~
The slots for the two triggers are best
cut in the bottom of the action after the
action is completely assembled, using a
1 or 1 114 inch abrasive cut off wheel in
a Dremel tool or flexible shaft grinder.
The slots should be a slip fit, snug but not
binding, for the trigger blades. Drill
through the bottom action plate and the
trigger blades with a l/l 6 inch drill, and
pin the triggers with l/16 inch music
wire. The trigger pin will be easier to remove if it is bent 90 degrees at the outboard end. A small groove is ground in
the bottom plate for the right angle arm,
which is held in place by the action
MUZZLE BLASTS, AUGUST 1984
cover plate.
Three type of springs will be required.
The mainspring is a cut down recoil
spring for the Government issue .45 caliber auto pistol. It should be cut to fit
snugly, but not compressed, between the
plunger cocking piece and the 7/32 inch
sear retaining plate when the plunger is
fully forward.
The sear springs are made from a
piece of outboard motor starter rewind
spring, or other spring steel of similar
thickness, say l/32 of an inch thick. The
spring is cut about l/l 6 of an inch wide
and bent to a modified vee shape to fit
between the sears and the top action
plate when compressed. Heat the spring
to a cherry red for bending. Do not attempt to bend the spring cold. It will
break. After the spring is shaped, it is
hardened by heating to a bright cherry
red and quenching in water. The temper
is then drawn by dipping the spring in
30W motor oil and setting the oil on fire
with a torch. “Flash off” the oil two or
three times, and the spring should be
tempered just right to flex without either
bendinBor
breaking.
.23
The trigger spring is a very weak
spring whose only function is to keep the
triggers in contact with the sears and prevent them from rattling. This spring is a
split flat spring, with one leg bearing
against each trigger, and is made from
the mainspring from an old fashioned
wind up alarm clock. The spring is
shaped, hardened and tempered as described above for the sear springs.
With the barrels screwed tightly to the
action, the front end of the plungers are
trimmed by filing until they will just contact the nipples when the cocking pieces
are stopped against the split action plate.
The plunger notches are adjusted by
grinding so that the cocking pieces are
aligned vertically when both plungers
are fully cocked.
After the plungers are adjusted, two 51
32 inch slots are sawed and filed in the
right action cover plate to guide and sup-
After all the metal parts are assembled, the top and bottom surfaces of the
assembled action are ground and filed to
a smoothly rounded profile, to blend
into the shape of the butt stock, later.
The action is designed in such a way
that it can be completely disassembled
for cleaning with no tools other than a
screwdriver. Once the cover plate and
the outer half of the split action plate are
unscrewed, the rest of the parts can be
lifted out with the fingers. A special tool
is needed, however, for attaching and
removing the barrels. This is done with a
miniature ratchet handle and a 5/32 inch
hex bit. These are available from gunsmith supply houses, and are not expensive. The ratchet handle in the Chapman
gun screwdriver kit is just the right size,
although the hex bit included in the kit is
too small. I pulled the undersize hex
shaft out of the Chapman bit, drilled the
hole out larger, and pressed a piece of
cut off 5132 inch Allen wrench into the
bit. Works like a charm.
Right side plate. The guide slots for the cocking pieces are cut after the working parts are installed.
port the cocking pieces as they are
drawn to the rear. The clearance between the underside of the cocking
pieces and the outside of the cover plate
should be sufficient to allow the cover
plate to be slipped under the two handles when the butt stock is attached.
About 3/32 of an inch clearance will be
required.
Ratchet wrench for barrel removal. The hex shaft is a piece of 5/32”A//a,
the reversible bit,
wrench, cut off and pressed into
The working parts of the gun are now
fully operational. Next month, we shall
discuss the stocking and finishing of the
gun.
24
MUZZLE BLASTS, AUGUST 1984
Building A Friendship Special
by Bill Brockway
(copyright
1984)
Part IV (conclusion) - Stocking and Finishing
Author’s Note:
Shortly after the first articles in this series appeared in
MUZZLE BLASTS, I received word from several sources
that I had been guilty of a serious omission in the articles.
I had not mentioned the name of the designer of the
guns which I had referred to as “Friendship Specials”.
The gun was originated by Mr. C. W. Hunt, “Charlie”
to his friends, a skilled machinist and muzzle loading
shooter from northern Kentucky who, in his own words,
was trying to ‘%ome up with a better gun for competitive
shooting than those ordinarily available at the time”.
This was in the late 1960’s and, in the years since,
Charlie Hunt’s guns have found their way into the hands
of many, if not most, of the better shooters at Friendship. He has made many variations on the design, ranging from long barreled, heavy trap guns in very large
gauges to dainty little skeet guns weighing 4 l/2 pounds
or less. Many shooters have also built their own guns
from Charlie’s drawings, which he has very generously
given to people he perceived as serious shooters, and capable of the craftsmanship the guns require.
Widely read in firearms history, Charlie tells me that
the hammerless in-line action is not withoiXhistorica1
precedent, there being several examples preserveflint-and percussion persuasion, in various rare arms
collection in this country and abroad.
Charlie’s brother, Matt, is the proud owner of the very
first Charlie Hunt “‘Friendship Special”, and I don’t
doubt that he could beat you with it almost any time he
wanted to.
Charlie, I hope you will accept my apology for having
omitted this very important part of the history of the
guns, and your very considerable contribution to competition shotgun shooting as we know it today.
Two pieces of good walnut will be required to stock
our over and under, 2 x 6 x 15 inches for the buttstock,
and 3 x 3 x 11 inches for the forearm. These are minumum sizes, and larger pieces will allow a little more latitude in laying out and shaping the stock.
Before the buttstock can be laid out, however, the
blank must be bolted to the gun. To drill the hole for the
stock bolt with some assurance that it will come out centered at both ends, some sort of drilling jig will be required. The drawing shows one type that has worked well
for me. It is a homemade horizontal boring machine in
which the drill point remains stationary and the wood is
MUZZLE BLASTS, OCTOBER 1984
11
pushed onto it. In this way, if the drill is started in the
wood at the same height above the table as the chuck is
mounted, it will come out at the other end of the stock at
that height, or very close to it. It is best to start the drill
from the receiver end however, just in case.
The bit is a standard 5/16 inch twist drill with a 3/16
inch extension brazed or welded onto it.
With the hole for the stock bolt drilled, a tenon is cut
on the forward end of the blank to fit the recess in the
rear of the action. This fit should be made very close,
12
otherwise the buttstock will slip and slide around in its
socket as the gun is shot, ruining the smooth flow of the
stock lines from wood to metal and, incidentally, causing
the gun to shoot very strangely. If there is any question
about the fit, the wood can be glass bedded to the action.
The rear action plate is spotted with the deep drill, running it in from the butt end. It can then be drilled and
tapped l/4 - 20 for the stock bolt. Counterbore the stock
hole from the butt end with a 1 inch spade bit to a depth
that will allow a 6 or 8 inch hex head bolt to protrude at
MUZZLE BLASTS, OCTOBER 1984
the action end l/2 inch or so. Saw a screwdriver slot in
the bolt head and screw the stock blank to the gun.
With the buttstock attached, use a straightedge to represent the line of sight over the stock. The straightedge
should be shimmed above the muzzle a distance equal to
the thickness of the rib to be used, usually about 5/32
inch high. Measuring down from the straightedge and
back from the front trigger, lay out the outline of the
stock directly on the wood, as shown in the drawing. The
basic dimensions of drop, pull, and pitch may be varied
to suit the individual shooter. Those shown are fairly typical.
The buttstock is then bandsawn to the outline drawn,
holding just a hair to the outside of the lines.
The centerline of the stock is established by stretching a
piece of fishing line from the muzzle to the butt and centering it on the barrels. If the gun centerline does not exactly coincide with the centerline of the blank, go with the
gun centerline, which is a good reason for having an oversize blank. Stock widths are laid out from this centerline
and the stock sawn to shape in plan.
The forestock is grooved to be a tight slip fit over both
barrels. It should not be too tight however, as it may split
if forced too much. The easiest way to cut this groove is
to hog it out with the dado head on a table saw, set to the
narrowest dimension of the barrels. Finish fitting to the
barrels by paring straight down into the groove with a 3/4
or 1 inch flat chisel. Fit the bottom of the groove to the
barrel contours with gouges. Frequent use of inletting
black or candle soot will help get the fit right. After fitting to the barrels, the blank should be trimmed to the
dimensions shown.
The forestock screw is made from a l/4 - 20 countersunk flat head bolt, which screws into a square nut, filed
to the shape of the barrel and silver soldered (low temperature) in place.
Rounding and shaping the stock follows standard procedures outlined in many texts. A particularly good one is
RESTOCKING A RIFLE, by Alvin Linden. One caution
is in order, however. Too many first time builders’ stocks
MUZZLE BLASTS, OCTOBER 1984
look like square stocks with rounded corners. If this is
your first stocking job, be sure to take off enough wood,
keep it symmetrical, and be sure that all fore and aft lines
are straight - really straight. Check them with a straightedge.
The finger grooves in the fore end were cut by running
the blank over a table saw blade at an angle, using a
clamped on board as a fence. If you do this, be sure to
have the fence on the “downhill” side of the sawblade,
not above the blade, where the work can be grabbed and
pulled into the blade. Dangerous. It is best to make several trial runs on scrap lumber before trying this on your
~‘3
carefully inletted walnut blank. The finger groove can be
cut just as well with gouges. It just takes a little longer.
The trigger guard is sawed and bent to the shape shown
from 3/32 inch steel. It is anchored to the action by a partially countersunk 3/16 - 18 or l/4 - 20 machine screw,
silver soldered in place with the head ground off after soldering. It is held to the stock with a countersunk wood
screw. The little spur at the back end of the bow is not absolutely necessary, but the guard will look naked without
it. It should be riveted to the bow with a piece of 16d nail
and also silver soldered. The trigger guard ds ground and
filed to a smoothly convex profile on the outside. Where
it is inletted into the stock, it should be filed to match the
stock contour.
The ventilated rib I used on my gun is the Poly - Choke
aluminum rib, available from Brownell’s. It is fairly expensive (about $45), but beautifully designed and finished. It is ground to fit the contours of different barrels,
and must be ordered by barrel make and model number.
The rib is installed with a flexible two part adhesive, anchored with small screws into the barrel at each end.
The recoil pad is a standard Pachmayr pad, which is
available at most gun shops. It was installed with blind
screws, following the manufacturer’s directions, before
the stock was sanded and finished. A power belt or disk
sander is handy for grinding the pad to the contour of the
stock, but this can be done with files almost as easily.
The stock is sanded with garnet paper, starting with a
fairly coarse grit, say 40 grit, to remove all the tool marks
from the stock shaping. Follow this with a succession of
finer grits, 60, 80, etc., finishing with 120 or 240. The
stock should be sanded with the metal parts installed to
avoid rounding off any of the sharp edges of the inletting.
After sanding, raise the grain two or three times with a
(continued on page 52)
Bottom of action, showing trigger guard and cocking pieces. Yes, there really is a gap under the right side plate. Shouldn’t be, though.
14
MUZZLE BLASTS, OCTOBCR
1984
Friendship Special
TANNING
(continued from page 14)
damp cloth, shaving off the whiskers with new medium grade steel
wool. Several coats of good stock
finish, well rubbed in, will finish the
job.
The metal parts are polished in
much the same way as the wood, except that wet-or-dry paper or emery
cloth is used. Again start with very
coarse paper. Those file marks are
really hard to remove. Take it in
easy stages through about 320 grit.
Flat surfaces should always be polished with the paper wrapped
around a file to avoid rounding off
any edges.
I blued my gun by the slow rust
method. Start by degreasing the
parts by boiling in a solution of l/2
cup of tri sodium phosphate (TSP)
in a couple of gallons of water. TSP
is a fairly common cleaning powder
sold in paint stores.
After degreasing, swab the parts
sparingly but evenly with a bluing
solution made from l/2 teaspoon of
ammonium chloride (Sal ammoniac)
in a quart of water. Ammonium
chloride is a principal ingredient in
soldering flux, and is sold in cakes
for tinning old fashioned soldering
irons. Hang the coated parts in a
protected place until a fine coating
of rust forms all over the surface.
This may take from 2 or 3 hours to
overnight, depending upon the temperature and humidity. Rainy days
are great for rust bluing.
As soon as the rust has formed,
the parts should be boiled for 20
minutes in clean water, which will
change the color of the rust from
red to black. Then rub off the loose
surface rust with steel wool, and it
will be seen that the steel under the
rust has started to darken. Repeat
the process until the depth of color
is satisfactory. I can usually get a
very dark blue black in 3 rusting/
boiling cycles.
After the last rusting cycle, polish
the metal with steel wool and give it
a heavy coat of gun oil, which will
stop the rusting action and convert
the dark gray color to a deep blue or
black, almost as if by magic.
The gun is now ready to use. It
might be a good idea to pattern it at
a fairly close range, 20 - 25 yards or
(continued on page 69)
52
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*
a
so, to see if the two barrels will print
together, a result most devoutly to
be desired. If the centers of the patterns are way off, there is only one
thing to do. Unsolder the barrel spacers and resolder them after making
whatever adjustments are indicated
in the alignment of the barrels.
Hopefully, your gun will print
both barrels together, as mine did,
and you will receive as much enjoyment from your Friendship Special
as I have from mine.
Editor’s Note: Bill Brockway is
the author of a new book on shotgun building, RECREATING THE
DOUBLE BARREL MUZZLE
LOADING SHOTGUN. This book,
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mid 1984. George Shumway, Publisher, York, Pennsylvania.
69
Friendship Special
by Bill Brockway, Louisiana
It has been about a year since my series of articles on
building a Friendship Special over and under shotgun appeared in Muzzle Blasts (June - October, 1984), and the
response to the article has been most gratifying. I have
heard from a sizeable number of readers around the
country who have started their own guns and have questions concerning various details of construction.
Hopefully, the following will answer some of the most
asked questions.
Dexter Morris, of Charlotte, N.C., was one of the first.
He called to say that the Poly-Choke ventilated rib, which I
used on my gun, is no longer readily available. It seems that
the factory is relocating all their production machinery and
will not be back on line until some unspecified date in the future. So, unless the builder can find a Poly-Choke rib gathering dust on some dealer’s shelf, about the only alternative
left is to make a rib from scratch.
The sketches show a ventilated rib which I built for a
single barrel trap gun several years ago, which could be
very easily adapted to the over/under format. It was not
too very difficult to build, although admittedly more
work than gluing on the Poly-Choke variety.
S/16’ - 3/8’ wide rib from 16 ga.
low temp. solder to studs
file studs level after
top of rib (Ii&&f sight)
parallel to c barrel
The base for the rib consists of a row of l/4 inch diameter studs, made from drill rod, which are soldered to the
barrel with high temperature silver solder and filed so
that the tops of the studs lie in a straight line from breech
to muzzle. The rib itself is made from 16 gauge sheet
steel, 5/16 to 3/S inch wide, which is soldered to the studs
with low temperature silver solder. The studs are filed to
fit the curvature of the barrel before soldering, and are
spaced approximately 3 inches on center. A solid steel
spacer about l/2 inch long is used to support the rib at
both ends.
The rib on my trap gun was finished by cross-filing
with a metal checkering file, which gives it a non-reflective striated surface from end to end. A piece of fishing
line was used to scribe a centerline on top of the barrel
February
1986
S/16’ - 3/8 ’
height
varies
file studs to
fit barrel
9
barrel
before clamping and soldering the studs. The low temperature solder used between studs and rib eliminates the potential problem of melting the solder between studs and
barrel when the rib is soldered.
Several people have asked if it is necessary to make the
breechplugs as long as I have shown them. The answer
is . . . ..no. The plugs could just as easily have been made
with the threaded portion shorter. I would not make
them any shorter than the diameter of the bore, however,
which is the traditional way of sizing the length of threads
in shotgun plugs. I made mine longer to gain an extra
inch or more of barrel length. Regardless of the length of
the breechplug threads, the barrels must be prooftested
before shooting the gun from the shoulder. Please don’t
skip this very important step. I should hate to hear that
somebody has had a barrel disintegrate while he was
holding it in his hands.
Incidentally, Dexter has also found a source of relatively inexpensive barrels. These are replacement barrels
for the Marlin 778 shotgun. They come with a mounting
ring in the fore end vicinity, which can be removed by
melting the solder with a torch. Expect to pay about $25
apiece for them.
At a shoot over in Mississippi a few weeks ago, Carlo
Correro asked if it would work just as well to solder the
action parts with low temperature silver instead of the
combination of low and high temperature solders which I
used. The answer is, I don’t really know. There were a
couple of considerations, however, which led me to use
the high temperature solder for the structural parts of the
-L
frame. The first of these is that the front action plate,
which receives the brunt of the recoil from the barrel is
held in place by just two soldered joints in shear, and I
simply felt safer about those joints using the stronger solder. The other reason has to do with the sequence of construction. If the structural parts of the frame are held
with high temperature solder, they are less likely to come
apart under the torch when soldering other parts to the
action with low temperature solder.
By far the most frequently asked question has been for
more information on shaping the stock. I will admit to
having glossed over this part of the work pretty quickly,
so here goes with a somewhat more detailed description
of the process.
After the buttstock is fitted to the action and bolted
tightly in place, the next step is to draw the outline of the
stock on the blank. The dimensions given on page 12 of
the October ‘84 issue were taken from a gun designed to
fit me. I am fairly tall and skinny, with long arms and a
tendency to crawl the stock when I shoot, thus these dimensions will not necessarily be right for another
shooter, although some may find them to be O.K. More
typical dimensions, similar to those found on most commercial shotguns, would be something like 2 l/2 inches
drop at the butt, 1 l/4 inches drop at the comb, and 14
inches pull from front trigger to center point of butt. If in
doubt as to the best stock dimensions for your own build
and shooting style, it is probably better to go with the
standard dimensions.
Now, some stockmakers may be able to take a rough
blank and start whacking it out to its final rounded form
with no further preliminary preparation. I have never
been able to do this. The method I prefer is a variation of
that described by Alvin Linden in his fine book on stockmaking, Stocking A Rifle (Stackpole).
The first step is to cut the stock to its final dimensions
in both side profile and top view, smoothing all four surfaces to provide a four sided stock with perfectly square
corners. At this stage, all surfaces should be tested with a
straightedge to make sure that they are flat, straight and
untwisted from butt to wrist. Nothing looks more amateurish than a stock which bulges from end to end, with
what Linden refers to as a “Aldermanic underbelly”.
Shotgun stocks should be sleek and bulgeless when
viewed from the side or top. It is a good idea, however, to
leave an extra half inch or so of length at the butt end for
trimming off later, when the recoil pad is fitted.
The four sided stock is then converted to an eight sided
stock by simply planing off the comers. The new facets thus
produced are again tested for flatness and straightness with
the straightedge and, in addition, must be made the same
width and taper on opposite sides of the stock. The eight
sided stock is then made into a sixteen sided stock by the,
same process, again testing for flatness and straightness.
12
stock blank, sawed to shape
squared, and bolted to actio
4 corners to produce
stock -all facets flat,
t, and symmetrical
allow l/2’ for trimming
At this point, the stock will be very close to its final
form and if sufficient care has been exercised in developing the facets it should be straight, smoothly rounded and
free from any humps or hollows from butt to pistol grip.
The small corners between the facets can be rounded off
with a cabinetmaker’s rasp or half round double cut file.
It should be pointed out that the width of the stock where
it joins the pistol grip and the thickness of the grip, when
seen from above, are the same. There is no line or groove
between the pistol grip and the buttstock, although many
first-time stockmakers try to put one there. Take a look
at a modern pump or automatic shotgun to see how the
pistol grip should be shaped, and try to duplicate that
shape with the rasp and file.
To smooth the rough filed stock, nothing beats a piece
of fairly coarse sanding belt worked across the grain,
shoeshine fashion. Keep it moving back and forth along
the length of the stock to prevent creating any hollows,
and it will erase any remaining flat areas and irregularities, leaving the stock smoothly rounded and ready for
final sanding and finishing.
Final sanding should always be done with the grain.
The paper should be backed by a rigid sanding block,
rather than held in the fingers, to avoid the creation of
washboard-like ridges between the lines of hard and soft
grain. The very last sanding with the finest grit may be
done without the block to even out any microscopic flats
the block may have created but, until that time, use the
block. Start with a fairly coarse grade of paper, say 60
grit, and don’t go to a finer grit until all the scratches
from the rough filing have been removed. Next, do it
again with 100 grit or maybe 120, making sure that all the
60 grit scratches have been removed before going to a
finer grit. Take it by easy stages to about 320 grit or perhaps 400, and the stock will be ready for finishing.
Before the stock can be finished, however, it will be
necessary to “whisker” the wood to remove those pesky
little fibers that got mashed down into the pores during
the sanding process. To do this, swab the stock with a
damp (but not sloppy wet) cloth or towel and allow it to
dry. The stock should instantly sprout a bumper crop of
raised minisplinters, looking for all the world as though it
had never been sanded in the first place. These are the
“whiskers” and they must be removed or they will pop
Muzzle Blasts
up later to ruin the final finish. Slice them off with NEW
400 grit paper, being careful not to sand too long, just
enough to remove the whiskers nicely. Then repeat the
wetting and sanding sequence until no more whiskers appear. Two or three passes should do it.
The recoil pad should be fitted before the stock is finished. About halfway through the sanding, cut the end
of the butt off, allowing for the thickness of the pad, to
produce the desired pull length from the front trigger.
The angle at which the butt is cut determines the gun’s
pitch at the muzzle. For most guns, a decent pitch results
when a line drawn perpendicular to the center point of
the butt intersects the bottom of the top barrel at a point
about 18 inches ahead of the front trigger.
Sand or file the cut off butt so that it is truly flat and
will fit the recoil pad without any gaps. Then fasten the
pad to the stock with concealed screws in accordance with
the instructions in the box. One of the best tools for trimming the pad to match the stock is a bench mounted disc
sander. Files can also be used if a disc sander is not available. With the pad mounted to the stock, very carefully
sand or file the pad until the sides are an exact continuation of the stock all around. Then hand sand the pad and
stock together, starting with coarse paper and working to
fine. Be sure to use a sanding block. Finish sanding and
whiskering the stock with the butt pad in place.
The shaping of the forestock was covered in some detail in the original articles, so I won’t repeat it here. This
piece, however, should be sanded and whiskered just like
the buttstock before finishing.
There are almost as many recipes for stock finishing as
there are stock finishers. Past issues of Muzzle Blasts
have carried some very good articles on stock finishing,
and I commend them to you. Particularly the several articles by John Bivins. He recommends a stock finish made
from polyurethanes and, judging from the finish he gets
on his guns, it is a very good finish indeed. I have also
had good results with some of the other prepared stock
finishes on the market, most of which are a tung or linseed oil base, modified with various synthetic resins and
dryers. Regardless of the finish material selected, however, there are several things that should be done, the
omission of which will mean the difference between a
well finished stock and a poorly finished one.
The first of these is to properly fill the grain of the
February
1986
wood. Prepared fillers, such as are used on furniture, do
not work well on gunstocks. They obscure the figure in
the grain and they tend to fall out of the pores with the
continual changes in moisture content of the wood to
which a gunstock is subject. Gunstocks should be filled
with the same material used for the finish. There are a
couple of ways to do this. The stock can be wet sanded,
using the stock finish as a lubricant, which makes a filler
out of the sanding dust mixed with finish. A couple of
passes, wiped off after sanding, should fill all but the
most spongy wood. Spongy wood shouldn’t be used for
gunstocks, anyway. Another way is to paint the stock liberally with the finish and sand it off after the finish dries.
This works just as well as the first method, but is a whole
lot more work.
When the stock is filled, it should then be rubbed as
sparingly as possible with the stock finish. The key word
here is sparingly. Use just enough finish to produce a uniform sheen over all the stock and rub it in hard. The final
finish should be in the wood as much as possible, not on
the surface like a coat of paint. Most stockers dot the finish around on the stock with an index finger and then rub
it into the wood with the palm of their hand. It is surprising how little finish it takes to produce a hard wearing
beautiful surface on a stock.
I hope that all of this will have been of some help to
those of you who are now elbow deep in building your
own guns and maybe beginning to wonder if it is worth
all the frustration and effort involved. Believe me, it is.
Nothing quite equals the thrill of the first time you take a
gun you have built yourself into the field, and discover
that it really will shoot. So, hang in there and, if there are
any other questions or clarifications I can help you with,
please let me hear from you. I can be reached at 1680
Lobdell Avenue, Baton Rouge, LA 70806, and will be
happy to help if I can.
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