The Father of the American Underhammer System

It is so unfortunate when someone who really deserves credit for a truly great accomplishment is ignored and forgotten by history. Case in point, most of us learned in grade school that Marconi invented the wireless radio. Right? However, the facts indicate that it was actually the electrical genius, Nicola Tesla, who had patented the idea prior to Marconi. Some even say that Marconi flat out stole the idea from Tesla. Only recently has the credit been given to Tesla - now that he's been gone almost 70 years. There were others who capitalized on (translate as "stole") many of Tesla’s ingenius ideas, including another notable, Thomas Edison.

Within our own cherished realm of underhammer firearms, there are a few names that instantly command attention because of their contributions to the development, and hence, the history of underhammer firearms. Names such as Asa Story, Nicandor Kendle, David Hilliard, and Ethan Allen, as well as many others, come to mind as being the pioneers in the underhammer movement.

Clicking on the photos will enlarge them for detailed viewing. 
Clicking the Back arrow on your browser will return you to the text.

However, few of us underhammer aficionados have even heard of the Ruggles brothers, Fordyce and Adin, of Hardwick, Massachusetts. Fordyce Ruggles is another one of those genius minds that was lost in history and it was he who is the father of the underhammer system in America. Even a cursory comparison of the work of history’s underhammer notables with the original Ruggles design will show that those whom we consider to be the cornerstones were simply copycats of their day.

My very good mate from down under, Terry, recently came upon an article written by underhammer researcher and historian, Nicholas L. Chandler, in which the whole story about the origins of the underhammer system with the Ruggles brothers is disclosed. Following is Terry’s overview of the Chandler article. If, after reading Terry’s article, you would like the whole story, just follow this link: asoac.org/bulletins/96_chandler_ruggles.pdf  for the full pdf download of Mr. Chandler's excellent article.

RUGGLES PATENTED UNDERHAMMER of 1826

by

Terry Berry

In our wonderful world of underhammer firearms, a multitude of gems surface from time to time, both in the physical items and interesting documentation on the subject matter. The recent posting of the great firearms made by Jonathan Bumstead, Richard Holmes, Mark Bond and Greg Sefton are fabulous examples of innovative thinking and execution by the builders.

I’m sure a lot of us who have the capability of building our own Underhammer firearm, still tinker around the edges, making numerous drawings and tossing around ideas between one another, without making it happen. I’m guilty of that affliction, but hope to make that underhammer dream into a reality soon. We will see. 

I think we all know the basic history of the Underhammer in America but do we know who made the very first firearm using that simple lock work?

It is believed by some that as Forsyth’s percussion cap entered the firearms scene, the Underhammer just evolved. The truth is, someone had to make one. Someone had to develop the idea and instead of putting pencil to paper and looking at the drawing and taking the idea no further, someone actually took the idea and made it into a reality. Who was that person?

Well, I was snooping around the internet looking for Underhammer historical information and I happened across a document that may shed light on who made the first American Underhammer firearm. A well detailed article on this very subject has surfaced, written by Nicholas Chandler. In his article, he reveals that the first underhammer was more than likely built by the brothers, Fordyce and Adin Ruggles, in a workshop just outside the Massachusetts village of Hardwick in Worcester County.

It seems that the Ruggles brothers established their workshop in December of 1825 and worked on their design for a pistol that was efficient, cheap to produce and cost effective, to enable the average man to afford to buy one.

This design was apparently successful enough to allow the US Patent Office to issue a patent for the “… invention and improvements … in firearms …” on November 24th 1826. It is unfortunate however, that the patent no longer exists due to loss, along with other patents, during the US Patent Office fire of 1836. 

“It is likely that this was the first US patent for an underhammer gun and the first for any percussion produced in quantity.” It seems that the Ruggles brothers had little or no experience as gunmakers but had mechanical ability through working with their father who was a millwright.

The west was opening up and large numbers of immigrants were arriving from Europe and along with some of the population of the east, they were heading west for greater opportunities and future prosperity. This mass movement of people provided a need for “… inexpensive and reliable firearms that could be carried to the new frontiers.”

Comparison of the drawings of the Kendall and Hilliard action, below,

reveal the true inspiration for their design as the Ruggles Patent.

 

The only firearms available to these westward bound settlers, were guns made in England and Europe or guns manufactured with imported parts by American gunmakers. By their nature, the complicated guns thus made, were expensive and more than often out of the financial reach of the westward bound.

It seems that the Ruggles brothers responded to this glaring demand for inexpensive and reliable arms and set out to design and patent a pistol that could be made with materials on hand in the rural areas and by mechanically minded people without necessarily being trained as gunsmiths. “The end result, was a uniquely American product that was cheaper to make than either its imported or domestic counterparts.”

The total number of parts of the Ruggles firearm is 10, with only 4 of them moving. The trigger, trigger spring, hammer and hammer spring. Therefore, this simple design compared very favourably against the more than 20 parts for the standard and by comparison, complicated side lock pistol.

“With this patented design, intricate, close tolerance lock parts and precise inletting of the grip to accommodate the lock, side plate, trigger guard and barrel, were eliminated. The underhammer pistol parts could be made by a mechanic with a basic skill level. The result of the Ruggles patent is a new all-American pistol, made by local labour, from local materials, at a competitive cost.”

With a secure patent, the Ruggles brothers began producing pistols and fowlers and they promoted their products heavily, at local fairs and gatherings and news articles were written admiring the brilliance of the unique and reasonably priced invention.

“What happened next is truly bizarre. On January 29 1828, 14 months after his patent was issued, Fordyce was testing one of his pistols in a field near Ware Village, not far from his shop. After awhile, he went to a tavern to warm himself.  A young man seated himself near Fordyce and, unobserved, took the weapon, (which was loaded) from his pocket. He then proceeded without examination, to snap it, the muzzle being less than two feet from the unfortunate owner. It exploded and the ball entered his breast, lodged in his body and Fordyce expired as a consequence of the wound.”

A tragic event to say the least. It must have been devastating for the business and family members. However, recent documents uncovered show that Fordyce’s brother, Adin, was not totally devastated by this terrible event. In the months following, Adin and two others, Samuel Pike and Daniel Billings, applied to the US Patent Office for a patent for a pistol.

 It is common knowledge that the Hilliard design is a modification of 

the Kendall which was a modification of the work of Asa Story. 

All are copies of the original Ruggles patent.

It is not known whether this new application changed the specifications of Fordyce’s pistol, or was made because of the belief that with his death, a new patent was a requirement. Subsequently the application was rejected, due to the fact that the applicants could not come up with the $30 fee and only one witnesses signature appeared on the document, instead of the required two.

After this patent rejection, Adin Ruggles and his wife Cynthia and the family, along with Samuel Pike, moved from Hardwick to Stafford. The Hardwick shop was sold and a new establishment was set up in Stafford, where after acquiring land, he built and equipped a new workshop and continued to produce the Ruggles designed pistols, fowlers and rifles.

In 1833, Ruggles was pushed to higher production by the visit to the New England states by President Andrew Jackson. The President had been travelling the northern areas and had stopped overnight in Hartford after celebrations and parades put on by the city. Selected people were invited to meet the President and Adin Ruggles was one of them. At his meeting, he presented President Jackson with a brace of “silver mounted rifle pistols.” It is said that the President was favourably impressed by these firearms. This was a tremendous boost to Adin Ruggles.

Again, in 1833, Ruggles entered into an arrangement with “E. Hutchings & Co. of Baltimore MD.” This business was well-placed to provide the many immigrants that berthed in Baltimore harbour, with the necessary supplies for their trek westward, including  the“Patent Pocket Rifle” made by Ruggles.

Unfortunately, fate struck again on November 18, 1833. Just when business was picking up for Adin Ruggles, he was accidentally shot and killed by a workman who was test firing a pistol out the back door of the workshop.

Unbelievably, the business continued with Cynthia Ruggles at the helm and the business enjoyed its greatest period of production output. After several years of minor changes to grip design, barrel length and decoration, a standard production model evolved that was sold from 1834 until the Ruggles factory closed in 1838. Between these dates, the factory turned out thousands of pistols to meet the demand, with virtually all of them following the standard pattern.

It is believed that up to five talented gunmakers working for Cynthia Ruggles made their own pistols following the Ruggles patented design but placed their own names on the guns. Obviously done with her blessings. How many of these were produced is unknown. Cynthia Ruggles retained ownership of the factory and obviously guided it to the success it finally saw. Unfortunately, Fordyce and Adin never saw the final result of their innovative, simple and absolutely brilliant patented design.

It is incredible to think that the simple mechanism still holds us spell bound to this very day and all the “improvements” that flow through our fertile minds merely defeat the principle of sound, simple, and efficient design. However, it is in mankind’s makeup to try and improve that which cannot be improved, suffice to say that maybe, just maybe, someone out there will create the underhammer with one moving part instead of two.

Nicholas Chandler's article is a great piece of history and a very interesting read. For any student of the early American firearms industry to not have access to this vital information will leave him with a void and an incomplete knowledge of the subject. Chandler's article is very well-researched and opens up a brand new window of knowledge into the early American firearms industry.

Our sincere thanks to Terry for sharing his review with us.

Cheers mate!

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How about a Double Set - trigger Underhammer?

Double set-triggers aren’t a common feature in underhammer lock designs, new or old. The fact is that underhammer locks were so simple, with direct engagement of the hammer and trigger, that a double set-trigger was not usually needed to achieve a crisp, light trigger pull.

With a conventional sidelock, the trigger is a separate unit that must make contact with the spur on the sear to release the lock’s tumbler thus allowing the hammer to fall. Because of the “looseness” and tolerance between the trigger and sear there was quite a variation in trigger pulls between guns even of the same design and from the same maker. Achieving a really light, crisp trigger release in the typical sidelock rifle with a single trigger required the skills of an advanced gunsmith. All that equates to added expense to the rifle. Which, of course, spawned the creation of the double set-trigger.

However, when the hammer and trigger are directly connected, as in most underhammer designs, it is much easier to achieve a nice release of the trigger without a double set mechanism.

All that said, I have to admit that double set-triggers still intrigue me and I am guilty, too, of designing them for underhammers that just don’t need them. It’s a dichotomy that plagues me because while the double set mechanism intrigues me with the possibilities of clever design, it also violates my sensibilities regarding an adherence to the KISS principle in underhammers. Unless, of course, maybe I was making another long-range or offhand schuetzen rifle! That would be really cool and the set-trigger would be a real advantage.

One of our readers, Jonathan Bumstead, who is also an underhammer designer, has shared with us his latest creation in which he, too, succumbed to the allure of the two-trigger system. While he hasn’t shown us how he did it, I am really curious because anyone who can make a set-trigger mechanism that will consistently work in such a small space is on to something and I, for one, would like to know more!

Check it out. Remember that clicking on the photos will enlarge them for a close-up view. Just click the Back arrow on your browser to return you to the text.

Hello Roger,

This is the Underhammer rifle that I've been working on. The frame is patterned after the Numrich “H&A” type that my buddy, Marlow Westerbeck, and I make at his shop. The 'lock' is machined as an insert and is fitted into the frame. This design gets me away from using those visible hammer and trigger screws. 

This system has an internal mainspring and uses double set triggers! It also has a hammer with a half-cock position and a fly on its tumbler. I designed the lock as a proof of concept to see if I could fit it within the space allowed by the machined opening in the cylindrical frame. From the front to the rear of the parts, the lock spans 3.5". It gets kind of crowded in there! Normally I lean towards mule ear locks, but have two people to thank for turning my world upside down - Marlow, of course, and Laurie Fenton from NSW Australia. Both of those guys started me looking at underhammers just a little bit differently.

The stock is a maple shotgun set from Tiger Hunt (www.gunstockwood.com). The barrel is .45 caliber and is 32” X 1” and rifled with a 1:56” round ball twist. The trigger guard began as a Hawken style, until I fab'd it into an English-looking piece. The buttplate was also purchased, but was modified to suit my idea. I fit the forearm with a horn cap at each end and made all the other parts, including the wooden bottom rib, in my shop.

The gold bands on the receiver were a shared idea between Marlow and me. It was one of those, "Hey what do you think about this? " asks one, "Well, that's simple enough to do. " says the other, and it went from there. Marlow is the welder, so the bands on the frame are his doing. Basically it amounts to using a lathe parting tool on the raw bar stock and laying in some shallow grooves. He brazed in the grooves with some brass rod and then trued the bar back in the lathe.

While we were brazing on the frame it was heated and the resulting heat-blue really made the brass bands POP. So it was decided that the frame would be heat-blued. The blue finish isn’t very wear-resistant and would benefit from some laquer sealer like that used on case hardened guns. The blue color in the photos is a bit different than what it looks like close up. I also attempted the same treatment on the pipes which produced a nice effect.

The mainspring in this action is flat because there is precious little space inside for a coil spring and strut. If the frame had been machined a bit differently, there might have been a way to use a coiled mainspring. However, on the MK. 2 version of this lock insert, I'll be doing things a bit differently. There still won't be a lot of room, but it should be a more mechanically sound unit. With a little bit of alteration this lock design could possibly be retrofit into other UH rifle designs. I'm working out the details of a flint version as well.

As for the actual lock design, I'm not keeping it a secret, it’s just that the first version is rather crude! Most of the UH locks I build could be considered variations of the Cook or Bacon-style locks. My original design was really worked out by the T.L.A.R. method i.e. That Looks About Right! 

I had a simple idea and sketch, but basically I built it by first making one piece then making the next and fitting them together and so forth in progression. The second version will be made using all the experience (translate that as, "mistakes made") that I gained building the first one.

Thanks for your interest.

Jonathan

All photos copyright by Jonathan Bumstead

Thank you, Jonathan, for sharing another successful build. I don't know about the rest of your readers, but I am really impressed with the creativity of the builders we've showcased, like Jonathan. It's a developing body of great work that, again, I am hoping will be an inspiration to more of you to build your own underhammer rifle. 

There is nothing quite like walking through the woods, or wherever your sanctuary may be, and hunting it with a rifle that you made with your own two hands. When you fill the larder with that rifle, it then holds a very special place in your heart and in your memory. Unless, of course, you're not a hopeless romantic, then it's just another gun.

I suppose that if you're stalking and shooting paper bullseyes the feeling might be similar. Although I have never developed such an affection for one of my target rifles. It just isn't the same as a rifle that you use to make meat. It's just different.

Oh well, it is what it is.

Cheers!

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The Holmes Underhammer - another unique design!

Most underhammer builders begin by choosing an action from those that are readily available and add to it. There are however, those few who are not satisfied with the ordinary and have their own ideas about how things should work - which, to quote Martha Stewart,  "It's a good thing." (She would probably croak if she knew we were quoting her in this kind of venue!)

After all, it was for the most part that same "not good enough" attitude and Yankee ingenuity that really sparked the whole underhammer revolution in the first place shortly after Reverend Forsyth hit upon the percussion cap idea back in 1807, or thereabouts. (No, I don’t believe he was a relative of Capt. James Forsyth of later Forsyth rifling fame).

Once the percussion cap made its way across the pond, it seems that every backwoods blacksmith and gunmaker in the newly formed united States of America was developing his own version of an underhammer action to take advantage of the new ignition system. Gone was the need of complex and expensive English flintlocks or the newly developed caplocks that evolved from them. Most anyone with half a lick of sense and some basic tool working skills could make a serviceable underhammer action and ultimately a rifle - or shotgun - with little trouble.

I really admire those few makers of today who take the time to design and build their own underhammer actions. I know that many more underhammer builders probably would also do so if they had the skills, tools,  and facilities to fabricate - and the time. Sometimes you have to make a priority decision whether to spend your time designing and fabricating an underhammer action, or to just build your rifle with existing components and get into the field or range to shoot it. As for me, it seems that I’m spending far more time these days dreaming up and fabricating new designs and less time actually shooting them. But, that’s okay as it’s my choice – for now.

Richard Holmes is one of us who have to have it our own way. So he created his own underhammer action and a rifle design that is also quite unique - even down to the barrel configuration. Clicking on any of the photos will enlarge them for closer viewing of the rather unique design features of the Holmes Underhammer. Clicking the "Back" button on your browser will return you to the text.

According to Richard, “The receiver starts off as a piece of bar stock 5/8” wide. The two ends are machined to accept the cup rings. The 5/8” bar stock is also turned down on the breech end to 5/8” round by 1” long and threaded to form the breech plug screw. The back end is drilled and tapped to accept the stock bolt”

“To assemble the rifle, you put the front ring on then screw the barrel onto the breechplug and torque it down. You then add the two wooden inserts (both ends of the inserts are recessed to fit in the half moon recesses in the cups) and put the rear cup on, which is recessed on both sides. The stock is also recessed to fit into the rear cup recess. Then slip the stock onto the receiver and torque it down with the drawbolt.”

“Both the barrel and the buttstock are tightly torqued to the receiver. There is also a .004"- thick annealed copper washer that fits between the front nose of the breech plug and the front-inside shoulder of the barrel threads so that as you tighten the barrel the copper washer work hardens and completely seals the breech.”

Richard continues, “I made the barrel flat-topped and bottomed instead of filing it octagon to increase the weight. It is a round, tapered barrel, 29.5” long and made of 12L14 steel. It’s .50 caliber and rifled with 8 lands and grooves with a twist of 1:72”; grooves are .009” deep and the lands are smaller than the grooves. The round part of barrel is 1.100 at the breech. We hand file all the flats on the barrels we make. It’s a lot of grunt work that gives one a lot of time to think about things.”

“I expect that this rifle will take a large powder charge and the extra weight will help check the recoil although the exact charge will be determined when the rifle is bench tested at 50 and 100 yards. I want as flat a trajectory as I can get without decreasing accuracy and I want to shoot semi-hard balls with a temper about half way between linotype and pure lead. For better ignition I prefer musket caps.”

The rear sight is a peep and has an aperture diameter of .250” and is adjustable for elevation. The large aperture makes the sight act like a ghost ring sight. The front sight leaf is pure silver, somewhat fat, and will be modified when the rifle is sighted in.”

Clicking on these sight photos will enlarge them so you can more readily
see the flat-topped and bottom barrel design.

“The finished rifle weighs in at 9 pounds as indicated on my scale.”

“So there’s my underhammer rifle. I made the whole rifle, lock, stock, barrel and screws. The only things I bought were the steel and the wood blank.”

Photos copyright claimed by Richard Holmes

Thank you, Richard, for sharing your ideas and your work with us. What isn't readily apparent in the photos is Richards use of the tail of his mainspring to reach up inside the action and provide double duty as his trigger return spring. Also, in case you didn't catch it, Richard and his brother also make their own barrels on a hand-operated rifling machine which they also built.

Well, friends and neighbors, there you have it. Another successful build. And this one from scratch!

Just as a footnote, I want to commend Richard for incorporating a safety notch in his lockwork. I know some of you are probably tired of hearing my rants about underhammer safety, but usually stupid does, and should, hurt, and in the worst cases it's deadly. I just don't want anyone bringing any more undue negative attention to our favored activities because of their stupidity in designing and/or making an underhammer, or any firearm for that matter, without proper consideration for the safe handling and use thereof. 

Enough said.  NOT!

Be safe!

Cheers!

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Mark Bond's latest underhammer

One of the most popular underhammer actions for the builder are those variants of the bent-cylinder "Hopkins & Allen" action that George Numrich introduced in his line of rifles way back in the '50s. That's waaaay retro for some of our younger readers. 

For those of you who are not familiar with the history of the "Hopkins & Allen" you may scroll down and go back through the Older Posts to our first feature, Underhammer History - briefly. There you can become one of the few who know the real story about the H&A underhammer and the fact that the Hopkins and Allen Manufacturing company of old had nothing to do with the rifle that later bore their name!

In addition to its low cost, George's underhammer action had one outstanding feature that really set it apart from most of the underhammer actions of the previous century. A feature that, in this scribe's opinion, is George's greatest contribution to modern underhammer history. That feature is the half-cock notch he so wisely included in his lockwork.

Here, again, we see the legacy left to us by George living on through a rifle recently built by one of our loyal readers, Mark Bond. Here's his story, and a few pics, too.

My Latest Underhammer

Roger,

I love your blog and have been reading it for some time. 

 Clicking on any of the photos will enlarge them for detailed viewing.

Clicking the Back button on your browser will return you to the text.

Here are some photos of my most recent build. You can tell I was influenced by the “H&A” underhammers. I built this rifle using an underhammer action from Fire & Iron Manufacturing (http://www.fire-iron.biz) mated to a Green Mountain (www.gmriflebarrel.com) barrel 7/8" X 36" long X 50 caliber with a 1:70 twist. At first I left the barrel in the white to show off the polished lock, but the Arizona sun gave such a glare when I was shooting at the range so I browned the barrel.

The wood I chose is tight, curly maple. I stained the wood using Min-Wax Gunstock stain because it has an orange tint and it allowed me to give the rifle a tiger like stripping. Then I applied 5 coats of gun oil to seal and protect the wood. I also chose a 3/8" hickory rod for the loading rod and candy stripped her to go with the tiger stripping theme. The ramrod tip has a .50 caliber jag with a hidden ball puller.

My rifle has a beaded front blade sight and adjustable semi-buckhorn rear sight. After a little adjusting and filing on the sights I have her dialed in and consistent with off hand shooting at 100 yards. Although the total weigh of the rifle is 7.4 pounds, because I had some shoulder injuries a while back, I decided to use an old Winchester butt plate to allow for a gentler recoil on my surgically-repaired shoulder. 

Although I am a lefty I carved this stock for a right-handed shooter because I was going to sell her as just another hobby build. (I hate to admit it, but we do live in a right-hand world.) The wood turned out so nice, and after test firing her, I decided that I am keeping this one for my fun.

Once again, thanks for sharing your love of underhammers. It’s good to know that there are a few of us who love the beauty and simplicity of these smoke poles.

~Mark Bond

Photo copyrights by Mark Bond

  

Thank you, Mark, for sharing your latest build. 

 As I've said to you potential builders, Come on in. The water's fine! 

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