Chassepot needle rifle: Better than s...shooting

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  • Blacksmith101

    Grumpy Old Man
    Jun 22, 2012
    22,154
    Take a trip to Goodwill or Amvets Thrift store and look for silk scarves or silk ties. Possibly silk shirts made in Hong Kong or silk blouses.
     

    SlowShooter

    SeaWaves not TigerStripes
    Dec 28, 2011
    390
    Silver Spring, MD
    Eventually I will take this route just to see how it works. Silk is not only expensive but it's also hard to work with. My mom who was really good with needle is already gone. My wife, she really hates my sport and only good with the keyboard. I think I have to take tailoring class before planing anything with silk.
     

    Blacksmith101

    Grumpy Old Man
    Jun 22, 2012
    22,154
    Eventually I will take this route just to see how it works. Silk is not only expensive but it's also hard to work with. My mom who was really good with needle is already gone. My wife, she really hates my sport and only good with the keyboard. I think I have to take tailoring class before planing anything with silk.

    Try wrapping it over a form and using fabric glue.
     

    303_enfield

    Ultimate Member
    May 30, 2007
    4,649
    DelMarVa
    IM me an I'll send some old silk ties an I think I sill have some raw silk shirts from being stationed in hell (well I don't think hell is that hot).
     

    Blacksmith101

    Grumpy Old Man
    Jun 22, 2012
    22,154
    I just bought a quart of Weldwood contact cement from Home Depot. I hope it works. Wrap around the case forming tool is easy, build the case-head is another story. I don't have a plan yet.

    I assume the case head is cup shaped? You could possibly think about adding sizing to the silk
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sizing

    Then molding the cups like molding leather, done wet then allowed to dry in or over a form
    http://blog.weaverleathersupply.com/the-leather-element-wet-molding-leather/

    Of course the forms would be much smaller.
     

    SlowShooter

    SeaWaves not TigerStripes
    Dec 28, 2011
    390
    Silver Spring, MD
    Thanks for the INFO Blacksmith101.

    I will have a batch of new ammo built very soon. It will have no paper, no Scotch tape, less marking tape. I will use strings and regular wood glue or contact cement to hold things together (what ever easier to work with and save time and cost. how every it must be strong with less mass.). In general the new ammo will be lighter with thinner casing.
     

    smdub

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Nov 14, 2012
    4,643
    MoCo
    Could you make the casings out of gun cotton so they burn up more throughly?
     

    SlowShooter

    SeaWaves not TigerStripes
    Dec 28, 2011
    390
    Silver Spring, MD
    Could you make the casings out of gun cotton so they burn up more throughly?

    Burning completely is not a problem. The issue here is the reliable extraction of the percussion cap. 50% of the time it will be expelled out of the barrel by the explosion of the black powder. I thought that the fiber of the casing will help trap and pull it out in case it refuses to come out.
     

    SlowShooter

    SeaWaves not TigerStripes
    Dec 28, 2011
    390
    Silver Spring, MD
    I just got a 100% silk tie from a nearby thrift shop. If no body here claims for a long lost heirloom, I will cut it up and start needling up 5 casing. I already have a plan to do it without using glue. Wait and see.
     

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    SlowShooter

    SeaWaves not TigerStripes
    Dec 28, 2011
    390
    Silver Spring, MD
    It's taking shape. I successfully rolled and formed casehead for some of them. hopefully they will hold the percussion cap and black powder properly. Attack the cast bullet to the case will not be too difficult. I found the tape that stick to silk very strong.
     

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    SlowShooter

    SeaWaves not TigerStripes
    Dec 28, 2011
    390
    Silver Spring, MD
    I also cut all the wings on the percussion caps. I think the original caps did not have any wing to begin with. At first I thought the wings will help the cap flight out of the bore better but it works in the opposite way. they make the cap bigger and heavier. Wingless caps will be attached to paper washers so they can be held in place.
     

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    SlowShooter

    SeaWaves not TigerStripes
    Dec 28, 2011
    390
    Silver Spring, MD
    Update:

    I finally finished the 5 silk cartridges this afternoon.

    No, it did not take half a year to do it. Since last summer, I have started a new sport. Some thing I have done now and then, but never went futher than a family event. This takes too much of my time so....

    Attached are the pictures of the cartridges. If anyone see others have done something similar in the past, please let me know so I done have to test fire these.
     

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