building a Sharps

[Kent Shootwell]

Over the my years of interest in Sharps I've gathered a few parts, then I got a raw receiver and some parts given to me. Slow progress and building the log cabin has me at this point. I ordered a rifled barrel blank from Douglas with a six groove 1 in 20 twist 40 calibre then shaped it to a half octagon Hartford contour chambered for the 2 1/2" straight. I made the triggers for the trigger bar and now making the tumbler from scratch. The import tumbler goes back in the drawer. One of import hammers have to be welded and reshaped the other back in the drawer. Lots of slow hobby work to go. I'll run this tread if there's interest.

IMG_0460 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

[Niederlander]

That's going to be quite a project!  Looking forward to following it!

[Professor Marvel]

Lots of slow hobby work to go. I'll run this tread if there's interest.

Yes, please!

[The Pathfinder]

Now that looks like fun! Had a older friend build up his own Sharps many years ago, but he started with a complete original action. Good luck with it, we'll all be waiting for updates.

[Baltimore Ed]

There?s a stock and forearm hiding in that big block of walnut. You just need to find them. Looking forward to seeing your progress.

[Blair]

Hello,

I built myself an early Sharps Sporting Rifle conversion from percussion to centerfire back in the mid 1990's.
I started the build using a Siles Sporting Rifle for the basic action, incorporating many original parts, including a near mint '59/'63 percussion lock plate.
I chose a 45-70 only because it was the easiest and cheapest round to go with for the time I built the rifle. A heavy 30" barrel, 1 in 16 twist (BP only). I have never had a chance to shoot it at anything greater than 600 m only because we had no greater distances where I live. It did great!
It was a fun build. Please keep us all updated.

My best,
Blair 

[Kent Shootwell]

OK let the games begin.
Blair, you will have an idea of hurtles to this kind of project as I'm sure some of the others will to various degrees.
Today I spent some time organizing parts and tools to see what needed dealt with first. It took some digging before I found my #10x28 tap for working on the trigger bar. Back in the day every one seemed to want to make things with out any standard to follow. Unlucky for me Sharps didn't go with #10x24 threads like we might now. I laid out the stock shape on the wood to get the best grain and avoid a couple of flaws. Backing up to when this started a long time ago, I converted the lever from an original percussion to a cartridge type by adding a roller and the travel stop. This required a woodruff cutter to cut the groove and fabricating the stop. It's pinned in place with two pins as the originals were so look close to see them. The roller is on it's own pin. The breech block is an import so I welded it up to reshape it form the conversion looking one to a 1874 contour.

IMG_0462 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

[kwilliams1876]

The 1 in 20" twist is for light bullets.  For long range work with heavy bullets you would be better of with 1 in 14" to 16", 420 grain or so bullets in a .40 cal.
kw

[Kent Shootwell]

The 1 in 20" twist is for light bullets.  For long range work with heavy bullets you would be better of with 1 in 14" to 16", 420 grain or so bullets in a .40 cal.
kw

The 6 groove and twist was selected to match original Sharps rifles. I have a Shiloh 45 for longer range and a 50 for more power but no 40 calibre. Originals used 370 grain bullets and I figured that should kill deer 🦌.

[Kent Shootwell]

Finished the tumbler other then heat treat. Milling the recess for the fly had me sweating bullets but the Harbor Freight mill/drill worked well enough. Now I'll have a low quarter cock that suits me. The angle of the photo looks like it covers the quarter cock notch but a trial fitting shows that it works.
IMG_0466 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

[dusty texian]

The tumbler look's good Ken , going to enjoy following your Sharp's build . ,,,DT

[Kent Shootwell]

The trigger bar is machined from mild steel and the last piece to make is a small piece to complete it where the middle tang screw goes. I had already made the rear trigger of mild steel and the front trigger return spring from an old clock spring. Once finished the appropriate parts will be case color hardened.
IMG_0468 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

[Kent Shootwell]

Nearly done with the metal parts. I've shaped the nose of the hammer with the bevel of a Harford 74 and contoured the lock plate. My Shilohs of coarse are styled as Bridgeport 74s and this is a good opportunity to make this rifle a bit unique. This lock also has the large bridle like a few Hartford guns have. I'll have to make a couple of escutcheons then start on the dreaded stock making. 


IMG_0469 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

[Professor Marvel]

Looking good, sir!

how do you plan to thread the receiever?
I have always been puzzled about getting the threads right so the barrel ends up with the sight on top.....

I fear I have not yet successfully managed a succesful interior thread on my lathe...

yhs
prof fumbles

[Kent Shootwell]

Inside threads can be exciting to run but after doing a few you'll not have much trouble. Left hand threads can add a bit more thinking to the process but are the same. Sharps didn't use left hand threads thankfully. This receiver had the barrel threads already cut. Had it not been done it would be done on the lathe. The set up I would do is with a face plate and a angle plate. It would be possible with just the face plate but that would require a long boring bar with the treading tool. I would fear to much vibration in that case. A fully equipped machine shop I'm sure would do this step on a mill but a basement hobbyist like me doesn't have that capability. The treads are 10 threads per inch square thread that I cut on the barrel before cutting the octagon. That way I can fit the barrel and establish the head space before there is a top or bottom.

[Blair]

Kent,

Like I said my build was based off of a Siles Sporting Rifle. So it too already had threads cut into the receiver. I sent the complete receiver plus lock off to Sunny France to be barreled with a full length 30 in. octagon barrel.
Sunny asked me why I was using a '59/'63 lock? I told him it was because I wanted to build the earlies cartridge conversion Sharps I could get. Sunny asked if I wanted the "Hartford" style barrel? I said Yes, considering the 45-70 chambering I had requested.
There can be a lot of variation in these rifles. Perhaps even more so in the earlier conversions. Even more so if you are using mix of repro and original parts and pieces. They will not always interchange.
Research into them during this critical time period in very much in order.
My best,
Blair

[Professor Marvel]

Thanks Kent & Blair-

If one uses V threads, can one use a tap&die?

cutting with a lathe, as you said, the setup is probably the hardest part... then "timing the threads" .
I think I'll practice on cheap black pipe to start...

yhs
prof marvel

[rbertalotto]

How did you get " Old Reliable" stamped on that barrel blank?

[Kent Shootwell]

Prof, A tap and die is useful for many applications. For barrel work the treads can be rather large and would be difficult to do a nice job with. Also I want the treads to be closely fit and of best finish so a lathe cut gives me the treads I require for a barrel. Practice is all way good!

Roy, I sent a buddy of mine a photo of the "Old Reliable" stamp on a original Sharps and threw his computer skills he made a black and white image of it. Then he enlarged it very much and cleaned up the edges of each letter on a pixel level to make a crisp image. That we took to a custom jeweler friend of his that does laser engraving and he scaled it and did a test piece. Then he cut it onto the barrel to the correct size and location. I'm lucky to have people with skills to call on. It came out so nice I also had him do my 50x2 1/2" Sharps as well.

[Kent Shootwell]

My quest for a butt plate that I prefer has panned out. I was nearly ready to go with rifle butt that would be nice but not the one of my dreams. When out of the inter net blue a fellow that had seen my search on another site contacted me with one that used an original mid range butt plate as a pattern. Dropping everything I dashed to the post office to send him his price. Today I have in my sweaty hands a high quality brass mid range butt plate. The forearm has been started and now the butt will start taking shape.

IMG_0472 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr