Need help with muzzleloader.

D

Dave L.

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Hi dudes and dudettes.

I realised I wouldn't need a PAL to own a matchlock or flintlock musket.

Well, I've got an idea. We got a shipment of steel drillrod at the hardware store. The tough stuff.

A long time ago I did a school project on guns and ancient weaponry, and I built a flintlock action. It wasn't intended to be actually used, so I set it aside and kept the designs for it. It's pretty simple, uses a gear and a claw with a spring, so it's more or less a wheellock. I was digging through my room when I found it. Somthing in my fiendish brain clicked and here I am now.

Well, I got the bright idea to buy a rod of this drillrod and make a hole exactly one inch in diameter down it, then cutting a small hole in the side to create a flash hole for the powder, then reinforcing it with some bolts. Then I could fit it to a reciever and a stock, etc. to make the rest of it. My goal is to create a 4-bore black-powder flintlock muzzleloading shotgun.

Only problem is I don't know how powerful the powder's going to be, or where I should start. I'm not sure what size I should select. The bore hole will be 1" in diameter, smoothbore, not rifled. It won't be choked. My goal is to get four and a half ounces of lead, nearly 2000 grains moving - and moving as fast as I can get it to go with black powder.

The problem boils down to this - how thick should I make the walls of the barrel, how much black powder do I need to do the job, and what kind of pressures will I have to make this thing stand up to? Should I be looking for a specific type of steel? Hi-or-lo-carbon? Should I use 1050 or 1095? How about stainless 420?

And lastly, what's the prospect of me just kaboomifying myself?

Man, I can imagine the recoil... it's gonna be pretty bad!

- Dave.
 
1137 steel is good for ml barrels. Toolsteels like 1095 are probably not a good idea. How are you going to drill and ream the bore? With a 4 ga bore, your breech diameter should be 2" or so. Smoothbore flintlock working pressures would be unlikely to exceed 15 000psi, could be somewhat less. Proof levels could be much greater. Seamless mechanical steel tubing has been used successfully for smoothbore barrels. It is rather ductile, which is not a bad thing in a barrel, and will tend to bulge or split in the event of an overload, unlike some steels which would shatter. Be very careful though that there are no imperfections in it from been drawn.
There are a lot of variables in building and using a ml gun. There is no reason why such a project could not be done safely, with a sound, properly breeched barrel. Go to www. muzzleloadingforum.com, and find the cannon section - your project is getting into the category of a small cannon - and read the section on mishaps.
 
While I see nothing wrong with building your own muzzle loader, I see a lot wrong with your particular methods. Like Tiriaq, I would avoid drill rod for a barrel and would instead use DOM tubing with a wall thickness approaching 1/2" for the barrel. The advantage is that you do not have to bore the barrel. The breach diameter on my 5 guage (.95 bore) is 1.8". I would also suggest that you need a metal lathe to turn the barrel to a taper, so that you can make the gun light enough to pick up. You also need the lathe to thread the breach for a breach plug and of course to make the breach plug.
I would also suggest that a poorly made flint lock (lock only) is an exercise in frustration and you should give a lot of thought towards buying a quality lock in order to get dependable sparking.
Finally I would strongly suggest reading one of the various how to books on building a flintlock gun before starting the project because I would expect you to learn a lot of the answers, (some unasked so far) to your questions about building a muzzle loader.
You will find powder charges and loads in the back of the Dixie catalogue and also in WW Greener's "the Gun and its Development". I suspect you are looking at about 300 grains of 1F powder and a velocity of around 1200 fps.
Finally I think a lot of muzzle loading barrels are made from 12L14 steel but I also think that choice of steels is extremely controversial with lots of strong opinions.
To some extent I don't see the point in making such a heavy guage gun; they tend to be heavy with lots of recoil and you have to be careful in shooting them, not to imbed your thumb in your beak :>)

cheers mooncoon
 
The standard load for a 4 bore is 3 1/2 oz. shot and 10-12 drams of BP.(275-330gr.)....the double gun that I have info on is 21 lbs. and the barrel is 41 1/2".
 
Hmm... Mechanical steel tubing? I'll check it out. So a minimum thickness of 1/2" at the breech, eh? I might have to do a little searching around for that.

Well, I guess I'll get started by finding some books - you got any titles for me? I can check at the library - the ever-helpful library! :)

Thanks!

- Dave.
 
As mooncoon suggests the use of 12L14, Laled, etc. is controversal. This steel machines beautifully, and a fine finish is easily obtained. Theoretically, its yield point makes it satisfactory for ml barrels. Many barrels have been made from it. Unfortunately, it tends to brittleness, particularly when cold. Better barrels are made from 1137, 4140 alloy steels. Mechanical tubing (B1018) is a pain to machine, but can make a decent smoothbore barrel, assuming it is free from drawing defects. I have made barrels using 5/8" and 3/4" ID tube; musket barrels to 48" from 1 1/2" OD stock. The machining characteristics of mechanical tube make taper turning a 48" barrel less than amusing.
Mechanical tubing can be purchased from a steel warehouse. Unfortunately, they will want to sell you more than you need. Industrial suppliers are not set up for single item cash and carry sales. One full length piece of tube may be the minimum you can get. 16-20 feet of 2"OD x 1"ID tube will be very heavy and awkward. There are companies which specialize in smaller orders for home shop machinists- MetalSupermarket, MetalExpress, etc. You are in Toronto, check the yellow pages.
As far as books go, get a Dixie or Track of the Wolf catalogue. Lots of information, including books available. www. dixiegun.com, www. trackofthewolf.com.
If you want to make a flintlock gun, there are many options, even if you do not have access to a lathe.
 
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