It was recommended that I write something about myself to include on the bookwebsite. Not knowing much about book marketing, it was stressed that people are moreinclined to have faith in your work if they know a little more about you. I'm sure most willagree that it gets boring really fast when people start talking about themselves. We'll not let itgo there.

My name is Gary Hankins AKA Hank. I'm sometimes asked if there's any kinship toWilliam C. Hankins of the Sharps & Hankins fame. I simply don't know. My great greatgranddad's name was William H. who served as a captain in the CSA. Are they related?Perhaps I should look that up. Being born and raised in the farm country of central Ohio therewas plenty opportunity to learn the skills of hunting. As an avid hunter himself, my dadalways kept guns in the house his favorite being the Browning "Sweet 16". It is an accuratestatement to say I grew up with guns and was taught to handle them with diligence andrespect. From the age of ten until high school graduation my summer months were spentworking in my dad's auto body shop where I learned metal working and finishing. My formaleducational consists of a degree in electrical engineering, which has served me well. Overthe course of time several fortune 500 companies employed me as an r&d engineer, processengineer, quality engineer, quality manager and plant manager all the while tinkering with,studying and building black powder guns.

My first black powder gun was a Christmas present way back in 1974. It was aJapanese made flintlock horse pistol kit marketed under the Ultra-High Products trade name.The frizzen could not be hardened so it was fired a total of four times using strike anywherekitchen matches instead of a flint. It made great big booms and the recoil from the .69 caliberround ball was overwhelming. The frizzen spring snapped on the fourth shot and it was neverreplaced. I still have that pistol. The frizzen spring is missing and the frizzen is just as it wasfinished over 40 years ago. Many other kits followed that one of which, other than the horsepistol, only two remain in my collection. My first scratch built was a percussion target pistolcompleted in 1991. The working parts of the lock came from Dixie Gun Works and thelockplate was carved out of a piece of 3/16 steel plate. Much to my surprise it turned out tobe an extremely accurate shooter. I still have it too. Double flint sporting guns caught myattention also in 1991 after seeing Bill Brockway's Recreating the Double Barrel Muzzle-Loading Shotgun. It was a good book and I relied heavily on it to complete my first doubleflint. Seemed like it took an eternity to complete. Many more followed and each one was alearning experience. With my growing interest in the double flint sporting gun, researchbecame a vital part of the hobby reading and documenting everything I could about them andhow to build them from scratch. Then one day a friend suggested that I write a book.

The first edition of the Classic English Double Barrel was published in 2002. It waspretty lame actually with only a couple dozen copies sold. It was given a well deservedfacelift and the second edition was published in 2007 as an eBook. But, once again, it fellshort of its intended purpose the primary complaint from readers being the lack of photos.Old reviews of the second edition still live on the web. To fix the shortfall the second editionwas rewritten to include a couple hundred actual construction photos. Some sections wereexpanded to include additional historical and technical information and more appendicesadded to include the making of tools and alternate methods of making gun parts. Everythingwas packaged up and recompiled to make what you see now, the third edition offered both inprint and as an eBook. A few pages from the Barrels section are included below.

Is it a good book? Preliminary feedback says yes but you'll have to judge that foryourself. I could offer my own opinion but it would be jaded, a brazen attempt to force myviews onto you. I won't do that but will say I hope you find The Classic English Double Barrelinformative, helpful and interesting. Give us some feedback. Let us know what you think of itand should you decide to build a replica 18th century English style sporting gun, best of luckwith your project. There. How boring was that?

From Hank's messy but highly organized desk:

25

BarrelsBefore we go into the details of barrels, we need to talk about safety. To

accurately reproduce the classic English flint double, Damascus1 barrels are in order.Even though plain steel barrels can be worked into fine examples, plain steel barrelssimply do not capture the character or inherent beauty of the classics. Damascusbarrels are becoming scarce but are still found at gun shows and swap meets and onthe internet. Most Damascus barrels found today came from old hammer guns builtduring the mid to later part of the 19th century and into the early 20th century. There isno way of knowing how these barrels were maintained or cared for. Primers andpowder of a century past or more was corrosive. If not properly cleaned or cared for,corrosive residue left in the barrels can and will destroy the integrity of the forgedwound iron over time. NEVER and I repeat NEVER fire a gun built with these barrels fromthe shoulder without first properly proof testing them. Your life or someone else's lifecould be at stake.

A short discussion of length

Prior to the dawn of the 19th century the barrel of a typical English fowling piecewas quite long, sometimes approaching 40 inches in length. There are several theoriesas to why this is so. But, as doubles grew in favor, barrel lengths began growing shorterwith the majority of English makers producing doubles having barrel lengths of 28 to 30inches after 1800 with some of the larger bores approaching 32 inches. This works outpretty good as most barrel sets found today are well within this range. However, I preferlonger barrels as a longer barreled piece is easier to swing and point accurately andless inclined to check prematurely. One thing to keep in mind is the fact that a muzzleheavy gun is not as lively as one having greater weight toward the butt. Balance is amajor contributing factor to a well handling, naturally pointing double. The subject ofbalance is covered in greater detail in the section titled Carving the Stock where wediscuss how to balance your recreation to suit your requirements.

Types of Damascus twist

In the early days of lightweight smooth bore barrel making, wires of dissimilartype was wound around a mandrel then hammers forged the wire together to make atube. The mandrel was removed and the tube was machined to shape and polished.Two tubes were soldered together using a top and bottom rib to make a barrel set.Treating the barrel set with chemicals and specialized processes caused the dissimilarmetal to take different colors, which brought out the pattern of the twist. As the art ofbarrel making advanced, further developments resulted in the introduction of the moreeconomically produced modern "nitro" steel barrel. Some of these barrels were treatedto mimic a Damascus pattern and may even be stamped "Damascus Twist" somewhereon the barrels. They may or may not be true Damascus but the one we want has the

1 The term Damascus as used in this context refers liberally to all types and patterns of forge welded shotgun barrels.

26

familiar plain twist pattern as the barrels of original works typically display this type ofpattern. If you wish your recreation to be as authentic as possible then stay with theplain twist pattern. A pattern other than the plain twist will finish as a fine contemporarywork but not as a true representation of the classics.

The most effective way to determine if a barrel set is true Damascus is to polish aportion of the barrel mirror bright and drop a bit of sulfuric acid on the polished portion.If it is true patterned Damascus, lines will appear almost instantly. This, however, is nottoo good of an idea when trying to find them at the swap meet. Most old barrels will bedirty, rusty brown and grimy. The cleanest part is normally the protected area under theforearm around the lug. Sometimes a Damascus pattern is immediately visible there. Ifnot, use some steel to polish that area up a little. If the barrels have a true Damascuspattern it will more than likely show up. If there is no pattern, you may still decide to usethem for your project if they pass the next test.

Ring that barrel!

A very simple yet effective way to test the overall integrity of an old set of barrelsis to ring them. Hold the barrels up by allowing them to hang suspended from a finger ortwo by the locking lug under the breech. Give one barrel a good tap near the muzzlewith whatever is handy. Repeat the test on the other barrel. If the barrels are sound theywill ring and reverberate as a bell with a sharp, crisp tone. If there is a dull thud or abroken tone then that means the ribs are loose or worse- there is a hole rusted in one ofthe barrels. Throw that set aside. When you find a sound set, look down the bore of bothbarrels. Severe pitting is bad news. Mild pitting poses no problem. Moderate pitting issalvageable but requires more work on your part to make them useable. Assess thedent situation too. Mild dents are easily raised. Severe dents are a lost cause. Look atthe barrels lengthwise from muzzle to breech. Mild waves are typical of Damascusbarrels and of little or no concern. If obvious bulging is visible which does not match the

Plain twist pattern Single iron stub Damascus

Two iron stub Damascus Three iron stub Damascus

Images source: damascusknowledge.com

27

waviness of the rest of the barrel, throw that set aside. If all checks out, strike a deal withthe seller and smile as you walk away.

Breechloader to flintlock?

We now have a decent set of barrels. The next step is to make the transition frombreechloader to muzzleloader. It's also time to make a decision. This stage is the besttime to decide which time period you wish to recreate as the breech plug designevolved as the era progressed. The breech plug design used prior to 1790 is anadaptation of that used on single barrel fowlers. None of the breech plug is visible andthe lock fits directly against the barrel. Henry Nock patented a new style of breech plugApril 25, 1787. His breech plug design is exposed and adds an inch or so to the overalllength of the barrels. With Nock's design, the breech plugs are the same width as thebarrels and the locks fit against the breech plugs. The early and Nock style breech plugthereby creates a wider stock profile at the wrist across the tail end of the locks. Around1792 Joseph Manton further improved Nock's design by machining a tapered recessinto the side of the breech plug. As with the Nock design, the lock still fits against thebreech plug but this design allows the locks to set closer together thereby creating amuch narrower profile at the wrist across the tail end of the locks.

Barrel set purchased on the internet for $75.00 U.S. Chambers bored 0.813" x 2 5/8", the chamber diameters beingon the high side of the 12 bore typical dimension. Barrels display a two iron pattern similar to the two iron patternillustrated above. While this pattern is not representative of the classics, this barrel set will lend itself to a finecontemporary example if it passes all of the tests.

Three types of breech plugs used during the classic era of the double flint shotgun. From left to right: the earlytype breech plug; Henry Nock's patent c. 1787; Joseph Manton's patent c. 1792.

28

A time to trim

You may be wondering what to do about the lump and lugs under the barrels.They have to come off and the barrels must be proof tested before going to far into theprocess. There is no need to invest any more time than necessary in a set of barrels thatmay be unsafe. A set of temporary breech plugs is needed to proof test the barrels. Anearly breech loading chamber is typically 2 5/8" deep not including the forcing cone.This depth is excessive for our purpose and some of the breech end of the barrels mustbe trimmed off before installing the temporary plugs. The actual chamber depth mustbe determined before any cutting begins. The chambers must be no more than 1 1/2"deep for 10 and 12 bore barrels, 1" for smaller bores. This depth is critical to preventcreating an air space between the powder charge and the wadding with a smallercharge. A 70 grain powder charge (2 ½ dram equivalent, a very light 12 bore load) fillsa 0.298 cubic inch space completely. The powder chamber of the breech plugs whenfinished must be small enough to fully contain the smallest powder charge anticipatedto prevent an air pocket from being formed between the powder and wadding whenloaded. This is important as even a small air space can create a dangerous situation.Barrel rupture could occur. It is better to have some of the gunpowder spill into thebarrel to prevent creating an air space between the powder and wadding. A simplegage is used to measure the actual chamber depth. Make the gage out of wooden

Barrel Bore Width (A) Tap Size10 0.841"-0.885" 15/16"-1412 0.798"-0.812" 7/8"-1416 0.732"-0.746" 7/8"-1420 0.685"-0.699" 3/4"-1628 0.614"-0.629" 11/16"-16

craft sticks as the one pictured to the left of the table above. Glue the pieces togetherand make width "A" to match the chamber diameter of your barrel set. The finishedlength of the handle of the gage should be no less than 4". Next, we trim off the lugs.

Nix the lugs

We still have these things sticking out of the bottom of the barrels. What to do?Cut them off. Any method except a cutting torch is acceptable. The thing to rememberis to avoid nicking or gouging the barrels. A bit of care exercised here will save a lot ofwork later. We'll start with the forearm lug. The complete forearm lug is typically adumbbell shaped piece brazed in place between the barrels. It is best to not try toremove it completely, as this requires separating the barrels. To begin, remove the hookwith a hacksaw then grind the remaining portion down to within a few thousandths ofthe rib and barrels. Work the rest away by hand using a chisel or a file following up withsandpaper. Be careful not to go too deep. Going too deep will create a trough in therib or barrels and will mar the otherwise clean lines. When properly worked down andpolished the remains of the lug is invisible to the untrained eye.

A

4"

29

Now for the lugs at the breech. These are easier to remove than the forearm lugdue their straightforward accessibility. Be sure to save the parts after removing them, asone will be used later in the trigger assembly. Start by removing the extractor if there is

one. Set the barrels up on the band saw lengthwise keeping the flat parallel to theblade and perpendicular to the table. Make the cut a few thousandths above the flat.Use guide blocks clamped into position onto the saw table to help keep the barrel set

from wobbling about as the cut is made. This prevents nicks in the barrels from the sawblade during cutting and provides a smooth, even cut. Ifyou don't have access to a band saw then carefullyremove the lugs with a hacksaw. After removing the lugs,work the remains away by hand the same as the forearmlug. This barrel set is taking shape. Remember the gagewe made earlier? Go get it. We'll cut the chambers tolength next. Slide the gage into the chamber of one ofthe barrels. The gage should fit snugly but loose enoughto move easily. If it is too tight then file one side slightly toremove the excess. If it is too loose then throw that gageaway and make another. Once the proper width is set,

In the example above, the hook was first trimmed off using a hack saw. More was removed as seen in the middlepicture using an angle grinder. The rest was removed with a hammer and cold chisel. Yes, the top barrel is gougedfrom the chisel. Sometimes the author has trouble following his own advice.

The lugs at the breech are easy to remove due theirstraightforward accessibility. Start by removing theextractor if there is one.

Set the barrels up on the bandsaw lengthwise keeping theflat parallel to the blade andperpendicular to the table.

After removing thelugs, work the remainsaway by hand thesame as the forearmlug.

Remember the gage we madeearlier? Go get it.

30

the gage will stop at the beginning of the forcing cone. Measure the chamber depth ofthe right barrel. Place a pencil mark on the handle of the gage to indicate the truedepth of the chamber. Repeat the process for the other barrel. Measure the distanceof both lines from the wide end of the gage. Write down the measurements, as you willneed them. If both measurements are with 0.050" +/- of each other then no specialeffort will be needed when making the breech plugs. Check each chamber twice andaverage the numbers. Now subtract 1 1/2" from the shortest average chamber depthand compare the minimum and maximum side to side. If the difference between thetwo is greater than 0.050" then the chamber end of one breech plug must be madelonger.

If this is the case then make note of which chamber is deeper. This special case isaddressed in detail in the Breechplugs section. Now measure 1 1/2" from the wide endof the gage. Draw another line on the gage handle at this point. The differencebetween the two lines is the length to cut off.

Referring to the photo above, notice that the original chamber depth is 2 5/8" asdetermined by the gage. Since we want our new chamber depth to be no greaterthan 1 1/2" for the 12 bore barrels, 2 5/8" - 1 1/2" = 1 1/8". So, the breech end of thebarrels must be cut back 1 1/8" to provide a 1 1/2" chamber depth.

As shown in the photo above, a line is scribed 1 1/8" back from the breech end.Make the cut on this line. The breech end of the barrels may be cut any number ofways but a band saw always does the job quickly and cleanly. A chop saw with a jigmade to hold the barrels perpendicular to the saw blade and level to the saw base

Measure the chamber depthof the right barrel. Place apencil mark across thehandle of the gage to markthe true depth of thechamber. Repeat theprocess for the other barrel.

Measure 1 1/2" from the wide end of the gage.Draw another line on the gage handle at thispoint. The difference between the two lines isthe length to cut off.

The breech end of the barrels must be cut back1 1/8" to provide a 1 1/2" chamber depth. Ifneeded, slip the extractor back into position toget an accurate measurement. Remove it beforemaking the cut.

31

also makes a quick, square cut. The more square this cut, the less work has to be donelater to true up the barrels at the breech. After the cut is made, save the cut-off part asthe rib may be used later. Remove any burrs from cutting and lightly file the cut edgeof the barrels to smooth things up. Finally, use the gage to verify that each chamber isthe correct depth.

You may be wondering "Why do all that measuring and math stuff if thechamber depth on most old hammer guns is 2 5/8"? Why not save a few steps and justmeasure back 1 1/8" and make the cut?" The answer is simple. The operative phrase ismost old hammer guns have a chamber depth of 2 5/8". Shot shells grew in length overtime. The chambers of many favorite old doubles was deepened to accept a longershot shell. Or, the barrels may have deeper chambers from the factory. The only way tojudge the actual chamber depth is by measuring it to determine where to make aprecise cut with a resultant 1 1/2" chamber depth. It's also important to make sure thatthe chambers are the same depth +/- a few thousandths. If they are not the samedepths then the breech plugs require special attention during fabrication to assure theproper fit in all aspects. It is critical that the breech plugs fit correctly.

Tapping the chambers

Tap the chambers using a tap size shown in thetable above. As it works out, the taps indicated result inbetter than 80% thread depth without doing any boring orreaming of the chamber. Since we are working with a 12bore barrel set, a 7/8" -14 plug (second) tap is used to cutthe threads. Make sure the tap leads in centered to thebore. If tapped off center, the breech plugs will sit crookedin relation to the bore resulting in a poor fit to the forcingcone, barrels and false breech. Crooked plugs make for adifficult time when fitting the false breech to the breechplug hooks and barrels. Work the tap slowly and use plenty

The barrels can be cut any number of ways. Ahorizontal band saw and a jig made to hold thebarrels perpendicular to the saw blade and levelto the saw base makes a quick, square cut. Themore square this cut, the less work has to be donelater to true up the barrels at the breech.

Breech end trimmed to the correct chamber depth. After the cut is made,save the cut-off part as the ribs may be used later. Remove any burrsfrom cutting and lightly file the cut edge of the barrels to smooth it up.

Use the gage to verify the 1 1/2"chamber depth.

A 7/8"-14 plug (second) tapis used to cut the 12 borechamber threads.

32

cutting fluid. Do not force the tap. It will stop when the leading edge contacts theforcing cone. After both chambers are tapped, thoroughly clean the threads andbores.

Make the temporary breech plugs

I use annealed 4130 7/8"-14 threaded steel rod for 12 bore temporary breechplugs. Any grade of steel will do, it just happens that my inventory contains a lifetimesupply of 4130 7/8"-14 threaded rod. Threaded steel rod of any size can be purchasedfrom a machine shop or industrial distributor in standard bar length. Check with a shopnear you. They may even have short lengths available for the asking. If none isavailable, the shop may be able to make the temporary plugs for you if you don't havea lathe to make your own. A bolt of the appropriate size, length and thread pitch isanother alternative to consider. Remove the head otherwise two will not fit side by side.If making a plug from threaded rod or a bolt, start with a 2 1/4" long section for 10 and12 bore barrels, 1 3/4" long for smaller bores. Square both ends then drill a 5/16" hole toa depth of 2" in the center of the plug to make the powder chamber for 10 and 12 borebarrels, 1 1/2" deep for smaller bores. On the other end, drill a centered 1/16" holethrough to the chamber. Slightly bevel the threads of the leading edge of the plug onthe powder chamber end. Chamfer the opening to the powder chamber slightly.Remove all burrs and one temporary plug is finished. Make another identical to the first.This step will not have to be repeated should you decide to build more doubles of thesame bore size as the plugs can be used over and over if properly cared for.

Coat the threads of the temporary plugs lightly with never seize compound andthread them into the barrels. Use a pipe wrench to snug them up in the breech but donot over tighten. The barrels are now ready to proof test.

Make sure the tap leadsin centered to the bore.If it tapped off center,the breech plugs will sitcrooked in relationshipto the bore resulting ina poor fit to the forcingcone, barrels and falsebreech.

12 bore temporary breech plugs madefrom annealed 4130 7/8"-14 threadedsteel rod. These plugs have been usedrepeatedly as evidenced by the batteredthreads on the end opposite the chamberopening. This is from using a pipewrench to tighten the plugs into thebarrel.

After both chambersare tapped, thoroughlyclean the threads andbores.