doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com William R. Schaefer Riflemaker & Rifleman

The quality of the workmanship is extraordinary! Have a close look at the picture of the barrel transition. See how crisp and sharp the edges of the octagon flats are? And how the surface finish of the round is seamless right up to the bands?

Man, just when I thought I was getting pretty good at this stuff....

Glenn

Glenn,
In order to do good work one must see what good work really is and many of the best examples are in antiquity.
Also notice how the octagon is slightly crowned at the band transition, very nice!

The bluing/browning on the edges is worn off because they are so sharp. I get them this sharp, then lightly run 320 grit on a lage flat file down the tops of the edge just before bluing to create a miniscule flat that won't rub off so quickly.

It's a lovely rifle,and, as with so many of Michael's, has a "story" to go along with!
Best,
Steve

Really nice work. The very plain thumb screw seems inconsistent with the other fine detail work on the rifle. Do you think this is original or a replacement? Does the thumb screw thread into the shaft of the sight or just clamp it in place?

Jerry, The thumb screw clamps the sight in place, it may look plain but it's nicely made and I suspect it is original to the rifle. Notice there is no engraving, even on the screws, consistent with his other work.

The challenge with doing restoration work on a piece like this is everything has to be done to the same level of workmanship, lucky I have this caliber of workman nearby who can keep me out of trouble.
The bluing might get a bit more worn, It's hard to put down. I'm glad you all are enjoying it.

The lock, trigger guard and half octagon barrel are remarkably similar to those on rifles made by Nathaniel Whitmore. Any connection?

Other than both working in Massachusetts I've never run across any connection between them. However I did get to look at the Grant-Whitmore when it was displayed at the Smithsonian.

Mr. Petrov:

Thanks very much for the sight photos. It's an unusual tang sight. Do you think Mr. Schaefer built it from scratch, or is there another maker's mark or name on it?

There are no marks on anything on the rifle save Schaefer's and the Owner's name on the barrel. I have no reason to think anyone but Schaefer built the sight. It's not like there are a lot of them to compare to, the only other one I have a picture of has a fold down "lollipop" one. I've got the word out looking for more before I build a rear barrel sight.