I enjoy studying pictures of gunmakers workbenches. In the July/August issue of Shooting Sportsman that just arrived there is an article on Watson Brothers by Douglas Tate. On p 66 in the upper left corner is a picture of a workbench with lots of tools on the bench and in racks behind the bench. To the left of vise on top of the bench there is a micrometer and a screwdriver. To the left of them is a round rod that is maybe 3/4" to 1" in diamter and maybe 3" or 4" long with larger diamter round discs at each end. Looks like it might be brass. Can anyone identify what that tool is? What is it used for? A hand held tapper or hammer?

Forester

Though I cant see it,I was thinking the business end of some kind of dent raiser.but the larger end disc say nah
How about something to do with the bbl "hollows" on a for-end...as in a kinda handy bbl diameter prop, to help as a rough sizing aid when shaping out those bbl channels
pretty tough ( but fun ) to guess without a pic, can you get one up ?...picture, that is,lol
franc

Forester you have good eyes I missed that, I also love bench photos.
A wild guess would be a chamber gauge the 4 bore brass is 4 inch's long, it looks to be about that long.
Here is another tool I am wondering about.
In that same photo just behind the vice is a vertical rod.
In the photo on page 67 is the same vertical rod in the lower right.
I was wondering if it was hold the barrels when you are not working on them, so they are not laying on the bench being safer standing up.
Gary

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gary, that link doesn't gets me to a pic of a bench, should it?
franc

i have no guess- but why would a chamber gauge have raised ends like that?

sorry link was not to photo.

Without the photo, this is only a guess.The description of the tool seems to be of a scraper for inletting a forearm.
Mike

I was with the photographer (Matt Brown) when the shop pics were taken. That is Michael Louca's bench, sited where he can literally 'oversee' his craftsmen. If you'd like, Forester, I could ask him, or if Douglas Tate sees this post perhaps he can?

Michael may not get the mag for a week or two though.

Good question.

I also saw what Gary R identified to the right of the vise and wondered what it was. I note there is a rack of barrels on the wall in the picture, but I like the idea of a stand to hold barrels vertically on the bench.

After looking at the photos again, with all the hand tools on Michael Louca's bench, I do not see a typical hammer anywhere. There is nothing in either picture with a hammer handle on it. Does that says something interesting about the techniques and knowledge of a British gunmaker?

If we could get an answer from Douglas Tate or Michael Louca that would be very interesting.

I have forwarded Forester's question to Mike.

Doug

This just in from Mike Louca at Watson Bros.

"I haven't seen the issue yet, when did it come out? I would like some copies"

I will update when Mike responds more fully

Doug

Knowing Mike Louca , is it a wine goblet or whisky tumbler?????

Perhaps yet another broken part of his Aston Martin???

Well if the timeline of me getting my SSM is any indication, Mr. Louca in the UK should get his copy sometime around Jan. 2016.

SSM is a great magazine but they have some circulation/mailing issues. With each yearly subscription I miss at least 1 issue completely and most of the others show up late and/or damaged.

Or your Mailman likes it as much as you do.



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