Civil War Tompion

[Tom Hartranft]

So what in the heck is a Tompion? My Civil War re-enactor son asked me today if we could make him a Tompion for his .58 caliber re-enactor civil war rifle. I had never heard of such a thing ... he sent me a picture. I Googled for some add'l info and found the following photos and description.

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http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr183/tjh_020/1105%20Tompion/CivilWarTompion.jpg

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So ... off to the lathe with some left over ash I had in the shop. Turned one, cut two saw kerfs in the plug part that goes into the rifle barrel like shown in the above pic ... and ... one of the plug quarter sections broke off -- not much material remaining on a 0.58" dia wooden rod that is cut into quarters lengthwise.

So ... off to the lathe again. Made some adjustments from the prototype that I made initially. Plus, I only cut one saw kerf lengthwise in the plug part that goes into the rifle barrel ... for better strength ... while still enabling some compression when the wooden plug is inserted into the end of the rifle barrel. I put a couple of coats of True Oil on the knob and will put BLO on the plug section since it goes into the metal rifle barrel.

http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr183/tjh_020/1105%20Tompion/IMG_0958480x640.jpg



Same view with Tompion rotated 90 degrees.



http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr183/tjh_020/1105%20Tompion/IMG_0959480x640.jpg


He goes out on 'maneuvers' this weekend with his Civil War re-enactor buddies and the weatherman calls for rain so ... his rifle barrel should stay dry.

So now we all know what a Tompion is.


Best,


Tom

[David E Keller]

Cool! That's the first 'clothes pin for a gun thingy' that I've ever seen.

[Roger Chandler]

Good stuff, and thank you for the history lesson............I live in an area that held a lot of civil war battles, and re-enactors are in our area this past week...........really interesting!

[Tim Thiebaut]

Boy they are sure proud of their original one in the ad...$65 for a cloths pin!! I can just imagine what would happen if some poor guy forgot to take this out of the end of the barrell before fireing his gun. I think your son will like yours much more then any store bought one, and thanks for the history lesson.

[John Hart]

And to think they were made the same way you did it. Too cool. We need pics of the rifle with it in it

[Roger Chandler]

And to think they were made the same way you did it. Too cool. We need pics of the rifle with it in it

John............I wonder if it is possible that they carved them with a knife and then took a saw and cut the kerfs to make it compress? Not disputing...........just wondering if they were made on a lathe, by carving or perhaps both ways.........JK might have some idea since he made kentucky rifles.......

[Steve Schlumpf]

Tom - thanks for the history lesson! Never heard of such a thing! Your son will sure appreciate it this coming weekend! Don't be surprised if you get a bunch of orders real soon! Nice work!

[Jim Burr]

So it's a gun umbrella! Those guys thought of everything. Nice work Tom!!