I posted a photo of a rebuilt trapdoor on another thread and was asked about it by a couple of members.
Rather than hijack that thread (about conversion revolvers) I decided to post the reply here.
This project ended up entirely different from what I originally intended it to be. I had planned to restore it using original pieces and parts. When I first found the barreled action in my Pops garage, I noticed the muzzle was a bit larger than I expected for a 45-70. I grabbed a 45 ACP round and tested the muzzle. The round fell through the bore all the way to the breech block! A bit of cleaning and I saw on the breechblock "1866" and I realized I did not have an 1873 (or later) barreled action but a Second Allin conversion in 50-70. No problem, I will still restore it. So began a search for parts that got me to meet many interesting folks and see a lot of rifles and parts. Al Frasca (http://www.trapdoorcollector.com/) met with me, and from him I learned more in 30 minutes than I would have in a lifetime of research. He is a truly remarkable individual and possesses a wealth of knowledge about the Springfield trapdoor. His collection is equally as educational.
Anyway, it seems my action started out as a Civil War musket and had the rear of the barrel machined and a swinging breechblock fitted in place. The 58 caliber bore was drilled out and sleeved to 50 caliber. The sleeve was shaped in three steps with the largest diameter at the breech and the smallest at the muzzle. All the work was done with belt driven machinery or hand tools. The barrel was then chambered for the 50-70 cartridge. From the marks on the underside of my particular barrel it was determined that at some point it made the trip to Bannerman's Island Arsenal and was shortened to it present length, just under 29 inches. It may have been sold overseas to a foreign military or it may have stayed in the USA but eventually the lock and stock were removed and lost. The sights were missing also.
Finding the appropriate vintage parts was neither easy nor inexpensive and the project was put to the back burner for a while. A good friend and fellow builder (Mark builds flintlock that are as good as any I have seen anywhere) kept after me about getting it built. When I told him of the expense, he commented "How did they make them originally?" While I was answering him, he interrupted and suggested I find a suitable musket with a blown or damaged barrel. Well, let me tell you, those are not easy to find either! Several years passed and Mark kept chiding me and at one point mentioned the Italians make a reasonable copy of the 1860s Springfield. Well, the light went on above my head. I started looking for a damaged one and once again drew the wrong cards to fill my hand. What I did find, however, was an Italian 1841 Mississippi Rifle with a damaged barrel and a good price. After some dickering, the 1841 came home with me and I started looking for the extra 58 caliber round barrel I had in my barrel bin. (At this point, you may notice I have a couple of irons in the fire and while I passed my IQ test, I tend to think in a linear fashion and don't cross over much.) Not finding the barrel I called Mark to see if he had one. He did not but suggested I "had" one. I assured him differently but he reminded me of the Trapdoor and how it was originally a 58. Okay, this time the light truly glowed above my head and a plan was formed.
I removed the damaged barrel from the stock and stripped the extractor and ejector spring from the TD. Laying the naked barrelled action in the 1841 stock showed how much larger the barrel channel was from the metal. Out comes the bedding compound and I fully bed the TD into the 1841 stock. The tang on the TD is shorter than the tang on the 41 so I fitted a maple dutchman in place and inlet the tang. Next up was to reinstall the ejector spring and extractor, one at a time and inlet them in the stock.
The lock for the Mississippi rifle was different from the lock for the Springfield rifles so I grabbed my miniature hand held milling machine (commonly known as a rattailed file) and proceed to inlet the TD cam into the lockplate. I reattach the hammer to see what I need to do to make it work and see it is not even close to what I need. I doubt if the casting will take the bend I want to do so I cut the hammer nose off and attach an extension. I fashioned the extension from a piece of hex stock and intended it to be a temporary fix. I dovetailed in a front sight with no problems but hesitated about dovetailing a rear sight. I saw the holes were drilled for the original but did not like those options available. Eventually I took a Blank rear sight and reworked the base to fit the round barrel and soldered it in place. I reassembled the whole rifle and looked at it. All the parts fit and the hammer contacted the firing pin but the finish was not what I liked so tear it apart again and go th work on the stock. Using scrapers, I stripped the old finish and stain from the stock and smoothed out the rough spots. I then reshaped the stock to more pleasing lines and removed some of the excess wood and weight. A couple coats of Minwax Hickory stain followed by a few coats of shellac and my base was done. I then grabbed the can of Danish Oil and layed on 5 or 6 coats of it. At that point, I called it done.
I wish I had taken photos of it throughout it’s journey but I did not.
The trapdoor breech is the part of the conversion that allowed the muzzle loading rifle to accept a breech loaded cartridge. The back of the barrel was machined out and a hinge block was screwed and soldered in place. The breechblock was fitted and it swung up and over the barrel like the trapdoor in a floor. Hence the common nickname. Here is a photo of the action closed, I do not have one of it open but will get one for you soon.
The 58 RF and 50-70 rifles and carbines all used leftover musket parts in building the firearms. The 45-70s were built from scratch as centerfire rifles and carbines.
If there is any interest, I can post more photos of the finished rifle. I am not totally pleased with the wood finish and may strip it to restain it darker but I have many other things demanding my time and the rifle does work well as it is.
I have worked up a load and it is a hoot to shoot and not too bad to carry in the field. Maybe I will get a whistle pig with it this year.
Rather than hijack that thread (about conversion revolvers) I decided to post the reply here.
This project ended up entirely different from what I originally intended it to be. I had planned to restore it using original pieces and parts. When I first found the barreled action in my Pops garage, I noticed the muzzle was a bit larger than I expected for a 45-70. I grabbed a 45 ACP round and tested the muzzle. The round fell through the bore all the way to the breech block! A bit of cleaning and I saw on the breechblock "1866" and I realized I did not have an 1873 (or later) barreled action but a Second Allin conversion in 50-70. No problem, I will still restore it. So began a search for parts that got me to meet many interesting folks and see a lot of rifles and parts. Al Frasca (http://www.trapdoorcollector.com/) met with me, and from him I learned more in 30 minutes than I would have in a lifetime of research. He is a truly remarkable individual and possesses a wealth of knowledge about the Springfield trapdoor. His collection is equally as educational.
Anyway, it seems my action started out as a Civil War musket and had the rear of the barrel machined and a swinging breechblock fitted in place. The 58 caliber bore was drilled out and sleeved to 50 caliber. The sleeve was shaped in three steps with the largest diameter at the breech and the smallest at the muzzle. All the work was done with belt driven machinery or hand tools. The barrel was then chambered for the 50-70 cartridge. From the marks on the underside of my particular barrel it was determined that at some point it made the trip to Bannerman's Island Arsenal and was shortened to it present length, just under 29 inches. It may have been sold overseas to a foreign military or it may have stayed in the USA but eventually the lock and stock were removed and lost. The sights were missing also.
Finding the appropriate vintage parts was neither easy nor inexpensive and the project was put to the back burner for a while. A good friend and fellow builder (Mark builds flintlock that are as good as any I have seen anywhere) kept after me about getting it built. When I told him of the expense, he commented "How did they make them originally?" While I was answering him, he interrupted and suggested I find a suitable musket with a blown or damaged barrel. Well, let me tell you, those are not easy to find either! Several years passed and Mark kept chiding me and at one point mentioned the Italians make a reasonable copy of the 1860s Springfield. Well, the light went on above my head. I started looking for a damaged one and once again drew the wrong cards to fill my hand. What I did find, however, was an Italian 1841 Mississippi Rifle with a damaged barrel and a good price. After some dickering, the 1841 came home with me and I started looking for the extra 58 caliber round barrel I had in my barrel bin. (At this point, you may notice I have a couple of irons in the fire and while I passed my IQ test, I tend to think in a linear fashion and don't cross over much.) Not finding the barrel I called Mark to see if he had one. He did not but suggested I "had" one. I assured him differently but he reminded me of the Trapdoor and how it was originally a 58. Okay, this time the light truly glowed above my head and a plan was formed.
I removed the damaged barrel from the stock and stripped the extractor and ejector spring from the TD. Laying the naked barrelled action in the 1841 stock showed how much larger the barrel channel was from the metal. Out comes the bedding compound and I fully bed the TD into the 1841 stock. The tang on the TD is shorter than the tang on the 41 so I fitted a maple dutchman in place and inlet the tang. Next up was to reinstall the ejector spring and extractor, one at a time and inlet them in the stock.
The lock for the Mississippi rifle was different from the lock for the Springfield rifles so I grabbed my miniature hand held milling machine (commonly known as a rattailed file) and proceed to inlet the TD cam into the lockplate. I reattach the hammer to see what I need to do to make it work and see it is not even close to what I need. I doubt if the casting will take the bend I want to do so I cut the hammer nose off and attach an extension. I fashioned the extension from a piece of hex stock and intended it to be a temporary fix. I dovetailed in a front sight with no problems but hesitated about dovetailing a rear sight. I saw the holes were drilled for the original but did not like those options available. Eventually I took a Blank rear sight and reworked the base to fit the round barrel and soldered it in place. I reassembled the whole rifle and looked at it. All the parts fit and the hammer contacted the firing pin but the finish was not what I liked so tear it apart again and go th work on the stock. Using scrapers, I stripped the old finish and stain from the stock and smoothed out the rough spots. I then reshaped the stock to more pleasing lines and removed some of the excess wood and weight. A couple coats of Minwax Hickory stain followed by a few coats of shellac and my base was done. I then grabbed the can of Danish Oil and layed on 5 or 6 coats of it. At that point, I called it done.
I wish I had taken photos of it throughout it’s journey but I did not.
The trapdoor breech is the part of the conversion that allowed the muzzle loading rifle to accept a breech loaded cartridge. The back of the barrel was machined out and a hinge block was screwed and soldered in place. The breechblock was fitted and it swung up and over the barrel like the trapdoor in a floor. Hence the common nickname. Here is a photo of the action closed, I do not have one of it open but will get one for you soon.
The 58 RF and 50-70 rifles and carbines all used leftover musket parts in building the firearms. The 45-70s were built from scratch as centerfire rifles and carbines.
If there is any interest, I can post more photos of the finished rifle. I am not totally pleased with the wood finish and may strip it to restain it darker but I have many other things demanding my time and the rifle does work well as it is.
I have worked up a load and it is a hoot to shoot and not too bad to carry in the field. Maybe I will get a whistle pig with it this year.
