Henry Gun Case Project

[BrokenolMarine]

I have been asked to post a woodworking project here now and then, and this one might interest a few more folks than the last.

I am going to "attempt" to make a very nice wooden Henry Gun Case for my Big Boy 357 Carbine. The first step has been completed. I start each project, when I don't have a goal in mind, by finding a piece of wood and letting the wood tell me what we are going to do with it. However, in this case, I sat down at the worktable in the shop and began to lay out the lines of the case. I had a rough idea what I wanted, and used the cardboard shipping box the Carbine came in for the basic interior dimensions and layout to get me started. I added some space around that, and made my initial workup on paper. Then I laid the Carbine on the drawing and ... ... good thing. The front sight, and rear Skinner Sight and hammer would have been a problem.

"Back to the drawing board," isn't just a saying. With an eraser, and some ideas in mind, I got busy again, and modified the design I had laid out. I accommodated the sights and hammer, and shorted the length by 2" and the width by 1", excess weight and wood. I had laid out two boxes of 357 in the case, but really? I redrew the design with just one.

layout of basic case.jpg (213.87 KiB) Viewed 2461 times

Now it's time to wander into the boathouse where the large pieces of wood are stored and see if I have something that calls to me. (Guncase... Henry Rifles... Pick me, Pick me... )

Walnut, Oak, Cherry... or a combination. We'll see. The funny thing is, I have absolutely NO use for such a case. None at all. I have six or eight gun cases in the vault room, and the only one I have used in the last five years is the tactical case for the SIG P556 on the last trip. When I take a LONG trip, I believe in being prepared to repel boarders. Hey, you never know.

I am going to build this case to the best of my ability, just to see if I can? The cost in hardware and Materials I'll write off as entertainment. The brass corners, the handle and the rest I have already researched. Perhaps I'll donate the case to charity, or even get some use out of it one day. But that's putting the cart before the horse... it might not turn out at all.

[JEBar]

really looking forward to following your project

[clovishound]

Well, since the furniture on the Henry is Walnut...........

[daytime dave]

This will be interesting.

[BrokenolMarine]

Geez, can't back out now.
Will be headed out to the woodshed in the morning to start the search for the wood, and I will order the hardware I settle on after I make some decent progress. Not that I think this project is outside my skillset or anything... But... I'd really hate to order a hundred bucks or more in hardware... then decide it just ain't going well.

Not that that's a possibility.

I plan to use the I-box jig the wife gave me for father's day a couple years ago as much as possible on this project. It makes box joints simple. (Sort of) The box joints are attractive and add strength.

Watch this space for updates...

[Sir Henry]

If you don't have a use for it.............I do.

[RetiredSeabee]

I will go start the popcorn, this is going to be a good show.

[BigAl52]

I wanna be right under Gene on the order list for one. Im watchin with excitment. Matter of fact I might need to go get the whiskey to salute. Al

[BrokenolMarine]

CB,

If nothing else...

It will be interesting.
Could be funny.
Might get expensive.
No matter what...I will learn something.

[BigAl52]

I vote for Cherry or how about some Hickory. Oak is boring its everywhere.

[BrokenolMarine]

I'm headed out there this morning, after coffee. We'll see what jumps out.
Pics... there will be pics, unless photobucket finally dies for good.

[BrokenolMarine]

Headed out to the Wood Shed (boathouse) this morning. I took my ride, rather than using the walker. The front wheels of the walker tend to want to dig into the gravel. That's a bad thing, since you could flip hiney over teakettle in a short second... a fall could re-break that right femur, and for some reason, I would frown on that happening.

my ride.jpg (290.47 KiB) Viewed 1662 times

The RIDE would also make bring the wood back to the woodshop much easier.

Unlocked the woodshed and went in to converse with the wood, hoping to find something that will work for the project.

woodpile.jpg (297.24 KiB) Viewed 1662 times

slabs.jpg (261.3 KiB) Viewed 1662 times

There are long boards, slabs, short boards, thin and thick, and just about anything you could wish for. Cherry, walnut, ash, oak, teak, mahogany, and more. I spent forty five minutes looking around in the stacks and finally found something I thought might work.

pick and choose.jpg (374.29 KiB) Viewed 1662 times

The two long oak boards are for another project, the tumbler for a charity kayak fishing raffle, that's another deal entirely. The other three boards in the bed of the ride should do the job.

rough.jpg (286.75 KiB) Viewed 1662 times

I think what I have here are a Black Walnut, Curly Cherry, and then either a Maple or a Walnut slab. I'll know more once I run them through the planer and get them cleaned up. All three came from the top of the Tidewater Area barn where we picked up that truckload of wood. I have a hard time identifying woods these days. Those last three surgeries really did a number on my memory. Three four to five hour periods under anesthesia can do that.

Ah, what where we talking about?

more to come....

[BrokenolMarine]

The white boathouse? It contains... boats.
Kayaks... and the trailer to haul them.
Paddles, PFDs and fishing rods and tackle.
"Boathouse."

[BrokenolMarine]

Watched the ibox dvd to refresh my memory, and cleaned and waxed the top of the table saw to insure smooth movement of the jig. Key to tight fitting joints. Okay, one of many... but one stutter of the jig on the table... that piece is ruined.
No need to ask me how I know THIS piece of trivia.

[clovishound]

All you need.

[BrokenolMarine]

I have a really good saw, three or four in fact. What I lack is either the practice, the vision, or the hand/eye coordination or understanding of the process even after watching eleventyhundred you tube videos and buying two dovetails for dummies dvds. I also bought that really nice thingee that you clamp your wood in, run your router around, and it makes perfect dovetails for drawers and such.

Ah... I guess I need to take actual classes.

The ibox works great.

[BrokenolMarine]

You just have to..
Take
Your
Time

[BrokenolMarine]

BAD NEWS -

Photobucket just died on me. Sortof. I got a notice, as you can probably see, that I needed to log on and reactivate my account due to Third Party Hosting. Third Party Hosting, in their rules... is posting photos on a forum or website. Sheesh... isn't that WHY we join the free photo hosting websites? I had been with photobucket since January of 2010.

Under their new guidelines, reactivating my account meant becoming a paid member.

I will continue with this project and take lots of pics... but I won't be posting any pics, I guess, until I find a new photo hosting site. I spent the last half hour deleting more than 600 pictures from Photobucket, and then deleting my Photobucket account.
Any suggestions for a new photo site will be greatly appreciated.

Sigh....

[Sir Henry]

I post pictures directly to this forum.

[BrokenolMarine]

Cool, you can do that?

Thanks, I have gone back and replaced the failed photobucket pics with the duplicates directly from my files, AND, added my avatar back to my profile.
The project is back on track.

Had a terrible migraine last night, so I may or may not get into the shop today....
Y'all will be the first to know.