Because of the limitations set by the size of the Ebony blanks, I could not use standard size Brass tubing for the ferules, plus the ferules had a curved chamfer at the blade end so each was made from Brass bar stock.
The ferules where the last Items to be made, from this photograph you can see that all the parts look rather too new to pass off as a hundred plus years old.
Now I have no intention of passing these Turnscrews off as genuine antiques, I just made them with a lifetime of gathered knowledge and the best of my ability. Though when I have shuffled off my mortal coil and they are removed from the gun case and handled, it would need to be a clever person to detect that they are not what they propose to be.
All that said I decided to age the metals with a do it all mixture who's formula was given to me many years in the past, it really is a do it all mixture. It will age rust steel also impart that black look of age in a couple of hours also it will age tarnish Brass. For the Ebony it will be white/clear wax mixed with Cigarette Ash from my local Village Pub well I am a non smoker. What do you think so far?
Put the Turnscrews together time and I do like to use the Victorian method of heating the blade tang to burn its way in to the handle, and held there by rust, doing it this way does not put any stress on the wood and causing a split. Now because the blades are so short heating the tangs to red heat could change the blades temper that we went to so much trouble to get right. so if you look at the vice the jaws have two Aluminium heat sinks to prevent the heat passing to the working end of the blade.
Now the permanent rust fixing though this will take some time to make the unmovable bond to the steel. When you have managed to get the tang into the handle with about an eighth of an inch to go pour some water in to the handle hole you have just made and then fit the handle to the tangs full extent. You can see that I use a well used rubber mallet for this part, the water you have placed in the handle tang hole will slowly cause the tang to rust slightly and grip the wood.
I hope that this may inspire one or two of you folks to make things, you dont need a fancy lathe to turn wooden handles a DIY drill can be adapted. I have one more project to undertake next, this will be adapting a 1970s Pig skin and wood guncase to a toe under to hopefully squeeze in my Webley 700 one and a half. This project will be my last and final effort, not to exaggerate things I suffer from Macular Degeneration and in consequence my eyesight is failing for fine detail.
Ernie aka damascus
