2020 and early 2021 brought many problems to the muzzleloading industry, among them the timely delivery of parts. Knowing it could takes weeks for a box to arrive, Mike wanted to have a go at building his own patchbox to match the original.

To get started, Mike needed to make the domed lid for the box. The ornate box sides and front could be easily cut from flat brass with a jewelers saw and file, but the domed lid posed some difficulty. The lid could be formed using a ball peen hammer, but removing the hammer marks would thin the lid and create more work. Mike opted to carve a form for the lid out of some hard maple blocks.

Much like the original builders in early America, this form wasn’t made using computer controlled machining and only needed to be “close enough”. Using chisels, a carving knife, and a plane, Mike forms the top and bottom dies to form the patchbox lid.

In the metal working area of the shop, we use an arbor press to apply pressure to the forms, shaping the brass to the form. With some luck, the lid came out great the first time. We formed up several box lids, just in case things went awry while making the hinges.

With all the hardware shaped and ready, it’s time to inlet it into the stock. This is an intimidating but simple process, all we need to do is not remove any wood that doesn’t need to be removed and it will turn out great.

Mike starts by drilling pilot holes to match the brass to the stock. These screws will stabilize the brass, making it easier for us to start the inletting. With the pieces screwed down, Mike traces the edges with a small knife, like an exacto.

Some gunsmiths use a pencil, some a scribe, but Mike likes using the thin knife blade because it gives us a very thin and permanent line to work from, unlike a pencil like which can smudge.

When the lines are established, Mike unscrews the brass and begins removing the wood underneath. This is a slow back and forth process. remove some wood, check the fit and repeat until the metal fits flush in the stock. As a note on fitting these ornate box sides, don’t try to freehand every curve, use the curves of your chisels and gouges to work around the curves for a nice tight fit.

If you accidentally remove too much wood and your brass sits too low in the stock, you can use thick paper to shim your hardware back to the level of your wood. By the time you are inletting your box, your stock is usually shaped and removing wood could ruin the lines. Shims are an easy way to correct some mistakes and move on with the build.

Mike waits for the sides and “front” of the box to be inlet before he begins fitting the box lid. The lid requires a narrow lip around the edge of the box for support, and with it some more patience when it comes to wood removal. Mike removes enough wood for the box lid to sit flush across the whole stock before stopping and laying out what wood will be removed for the box cavity.

Next, it’s time to prepare the box for the springs.

For this box to function, we’ll need to make some springs. The first spring will propel the lid open, the second will keep the lid closed. We’ll be forming these springs in the hot shop, using a torch and some spring stock. This isn’t precision engineering, but there is some level of patience and thought needed to make all of these mechanisms work, especially on the patchbox closure spring.

Watch the video above to see how we tackle these 200 year old muzzleloader building problems.