Tom Hartranft
05-18-2011, 7:40 PM
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
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr183/tjh_020/1105%20Tompion/CivilWarTompion.jpg
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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