Stevens

[Billthomas]

Copy of a 44 1\2 Stevens with thicker side walls

[richhodg66]

Is this a modern reproduction?

My dad collected 44 1/2 Stevens rather extensively and had quite a few of them in many configurations and calibers. He' s been selling them off the past several years and doesn't have many now, but they are really neat rifles.

[slumlord44]

Nice 44 1/2. Got a question or just sharing? I have several. Great guns. It's a shame they only made them for a few years. What caliber?

[358wcf]

I took up the Stevens bandwagon a year or so ago- traded into a very nice 44 1/2 (Model 45) in 22LR- will restore this one for sure. Made prior to WW1, in the USA, by craftsmen. Gave myself a retirement present last year as well, ordering from CPA their modern Stevens 44 1/2 with two barrels in 32-40 and 30-30. Starting to have some real target-shooting fun with this one- stay tuned for more---
Chuck 358wcf

[oldred]

Fellows Bill builds these rifles himself and what you are seeing there are examples of his handiwork! Check out some of the other rifles and pistols he has built, these are in other threads that have been posted in the last couple of days and are well worth the look. It's amazing what this man has accomplished!

[Billthomas]

I made that one in .44 mag, that keeps the shooting cheap. I thought the original had fairly thin side walls so I made these thicker, I have a better pic that I'll post if its not lost in the computer. Bill T.

[oldred]

Bill you have me all fired up to get back to working on my latest project, now if I can just get those dang farmers to quit breaking their tractors, hay balers, etc I might get time to work on something fun.

[Billthomas]

That's great, but remember we all have to eat, keep them tractors running. do you want to see some rough pics of the two 1885s in progress? if so do I post them here of on a pm? Bill T.

[oldred]

I would like to see them posted here, there are several folks here who have been wanting to try their hand at this and this is just the kind of thing that can encourage them to get started. I wish I had of taken more photos of mine as I progressed but it's too late now, photos of both finished guns or any stage of the progress would be of great interest to some of us.

[Pinsnscrews]

Bill, I would recommend setting up an account with an online photo source like Flikr or Photobucket. Picassa also, though I have seen issues with Picassa photos not linking correctly on forums. You have magnificent work to showcase, and I would also love to see more of it, both finished and in the works. The advantage to the online sources is they are in one place, so if you are on another forum, you will be able to link them into your posts there as well.

[Billthomas]

We bought a new computer recently, and my son transferred my photos, they are now mixed in with other data and take a lot of searching, some I've never found Bill T

[Billthomas]

[Billthomas]

[oldred]

Got your PM,

These pics are interesting indeed and I see a lot of similarities there between them and they way I did mine, a notable exception was that I used a Port-a-band saw mounted in a vise to saw out the rough receiver blank rather than the series of mill/drill holes. Just out of curosity since it really isn't important one way or the other but is the pilot hole for the barrel shown in the pic there 5/8"?

On my first rifle, the large one, I purposely deviated significantly from the original appearance, the reasoning being that this was a custom rifle and was originally conceived as to be my own design based on the 1885. Of course before I got very far it became apparent there was no way this was going to be even close to anything of my own design and I seriously regretted even trying to make it look different! On the second one while I did scale it down I tried to maintain the original appearance as closely as practical with the exception of using the hidden screws and sear pin and also by copying Ruger's 10/22 barrel attachment system for a quick change barrel. The intention is to have a switch barrel rifle chambered in 22 WMR and 17 HMR, not a quick change such as the simple H&R or Contender/Encore but easily less than 4 minutes to do anyway. I still haven't fitted the 17 barrel blank and it's still in it's cardboard shipping tube, ah well someday!

[Billthomas]

First, that's not really rust, that camera tries to make me look like a slob.5/8 correct, at that time wasn't sure what barrel thread I needed, they are 15/16 by 16tpi now. I have afew more pics but there does not seem to be much interest, it has always been like that

[Billthomas]

Oops, the 5/8 hole goes through and roughs in the loading port behind the hammer. Bill t

[oldred]

I would like to see these threads encourage a few more to try their hand at doing this, it's got to be one of the most satisfying hobbies I have ever dabbled with. I really do believe that a lot of folks might be surprised by what they can accomplish given enough patience and attention to detail and it would be a lot of fun seeing different rifles/pistols and some other folks' ideas. Even some of the simpler firearms such as Muzzle loaders can be a LOT of fun and a fellow can take a lot of pride in owning and shooting something he has built from scratch. It sure has been fun seeing your projects and it has been an inspiration to me to maybe spend a bit more time on the hobbies and less time working on tractors and such, I retired several years ago so that sort of thing was supposed to take a back seat to my hobbies.

Thanks for taking the time to post these pictures, I can assure you there has been a lot of interest in them!

[dsbock]

Bill,

Please post more pictures of your build progress. I (for one) am very interested in the process you use.

I have several of Frank de Haas's single shot books as well as Walter Mueller's Building a Single-Shot, Falling Block Rifle Action. While I don't have access to the tools and I don't have the skills needed (yet), I do have the interest in tackling this project someday.

Thank you for sharing.

David

[Billthomas]

I was going to recommend his book and I looked them up on Amazon and couldn't believe how much the price has risen. My first one had to be replaced I read it so much, I have all of his books. You can enlarge his section views until they are right and print them on sticky back paper then just stick them on the metal, lightly center punch the out lines and machine away, graat for small items like triggers, hammers ,etc. His high wall views leave out the fore stock socket, so look at all the pics you can. Bill T.

[Billthomas]

You can see some of the broaching tools, and how close you can get the block raceway before filing, The edge chamfers save a lot of filing also, there is a simple formula for the amount of metal that can be removed safely. That tool to hold the action in the vise is called a goose neck, home made very useful. The tap for the barrel thread is also a home grown product, wish we were all sitting out in the shop. Do you want to see pics of the shop? Bill T