fancy steampunk blunderbuss rifle

This will show you how to build a cool fancy steampunk blunderbuss rifle.
(for the grunge people...its fancy, it's victorian, ...just deal with it).

Step 1: Materials and stuff

Generally it is good to overbuy on everything so you can make some choices.
Nothing in this tutorial is essential, feel free to experiment. I did. Go raid the thrift stores for all the brass you can find.

brass stuff (chandelier, lamp, candlestick, bucket, towel rack supports, coathook, screws, nuts, bolts)
wooden banister
table leg
1/4" wooden doweling
gorilla glue or equivalent
snowpants
railing
spraypaint (gold, copper)
brown stain
jigsaw or equivalent
drill
tinsnips
screwdrivers,hammer, needle nose pliers, metal file, vice grips, punch (+ random regular tools to suit)
gloves
old phonebook or large chunk of wood

Comments

[sonaps]

I seem to be the only person that finds this irking, but a blunderbuss could never be considered a rifle. Rifles shoot a single shot, at far distance, with relatively good accuracy. A blunderbuss fires many pieces of shot a short distance, and is highly inaccurate. All in all it is an amazing piece of sculpture, but I'm a bit of a gun nut so I had to say this.

[badideasrus]

.... well, tecnically, a blunderbuss could be considered a rifle if the barrel were in fact rifled, as that is the defining factor. also, a rifle doesn't have to be accurate or shoot long distance. its all in how the gun was made that determines those.

and i would consider a giant shot gun VERY accurate, considering that its practically impossible to miss (at short distance [though short is a reletive word here. i'm sure a real one could hit something at as far as 50+ yards])

[solipsism]

well if it makes you feel better it shoots 0 distance and is very inaccurate since it NEVER hits anything, so I guess it can't be a rifle so it must  be a blunderbus  :)

[Arbitror]

Darn, it's only a prop...

[Mr. Brownie]

Ummm, of course. A steampunk fan should always make props, not real weapons.

[hg341]

im a steampunk fan but i think shadow ops is right
it should be powered by steam though
^{it is realy good looking though}

[Mr. Brownie]

But what if you burn yourself with the steam? Or it explodes in your face? Precautions are your friends.

[solipsism]

you did notice goggles and gloves were worn?  :)

[badideasrus]

lol.

i have the peices to something i plan to build (a steampunk cannon, if ever i can get the cash to get more pieces[jobless bum....:( ] ) that i plan on includeing a fire extinguisher in. never has to be dangerous. there are multiple ways to make 'functional' weapons that are reletively save. think paintball guns.

though, mine is just supossed to shoot the gas, not a projectile.

[Arbitror]

I'm joking...

[snapel]

It's time to change it >:D

[prop master]

all i have to say is awesome build its a very nice wepon and i am going to build my own version

[MAVREV13]

sick that is beast.

[noneedto]

wooooow nice work mann,

this is freaking wicked ;)

[fwjs28]

the main image is Photoshopped, yet most of the others look like a three year old set loose with MS paint

[red-king]

 that's not very nice.

[fwjs28]

ohh, but it is really cool 4/5

[Minimoose999]

Would love to see how you made those snazzy goggles/hat ^_

[Hikaru]

Yes.

[solipsism]

i already did one for the helmet....look me up

[fuzvulf]

Nice work. -for small tubing, I use a screen door spring *(about $3 U.S.) and if you have a harbor freight near you you can buy a nice tubing bender set for around $30. Some of harbor freight's stuff is pretty much disposable but it is hard to mess up a tubing bender. I wouldn't use salt if you plan on keeping your piece for long. with all of the different metals, if you don't get every bit of it off and out you'll get a galvanic reaction which will quickly turn things green and pit pretty finishes.

[Mr. Blisters]

If you've got room in your freezer, plug one end of your tube, fill it with water and freeze it. You can then bend it without creasing/crumpling it (old trumpet-maker's trick)

[Arty Marty]

You can also fill pipe with sand (packed tight) for the same effect - makes it a lot easier to bend and not kink. (and you don't need a huge freezer or to wait hours for water to turn to ice) but I like the ice idea, never thought of that....

[Arty Marty]

By the way, the project looks amazing, and looking forward to the goggles 'ible!

[gfella]

You should make an operational one. Now that would be cool!

[mrthumbtack]

Great job! Your costume is really intricate and amazing.
You've inspired me to finally post a slideshow of my own steampunk costume:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Steampunk-Ray-Gun-and-Costume/

[Doctor What]

Absolutely excellent. It has a lovely look!

[PKTraceur]

You need steampunked shoes and knee covers... -PKT

[HardCoreHacker]

ur like... THE STEAM GOD!!!!!!!!!!!

[HardCoreHacker]

That is for the first pic

[NetReaper]

i agree, awesome pic

[Honus]

Very nice work! Steampunk's not necessarily my thing but I can really appreciate the craftsmanship that went into this.

[Fildain]

Hey, in the future. If you fill the tubing with sand before you bend it you will not have so many problems with it creasing. Cool looking gun.

[thepelton]

Another way to prevent creasing is to wrap a spring around it before bending.

[Dr.Paj]

I believe I saw this on how a trombone was made... Fill the tube with water, freeze the water, and then bend it. You might not be able to bend it by hand with ice in the tube, but you never know. Also, you should let the ice melt before you continue.

[Iridium7]

looks like something from narnia or the golden compass

[thepelton]

Neat! I think I'll show this to my brother. Incidentally, I remember seeing a cartoon in a book a number of years ago in which a rifle stock was attached to a slide trombone. I think that would make a neat, kinda cyberpunk, project.

[xwx]

THIS IS EPIC!!! seriously it rocks dude I like the spiraly tubes :D

[Bobblob]

Nicely done and very well (and maybe even painfully) documented! I bet it took you hours to put together? Very creative use of spare part and odd bits too. You would be scary if you had proper tools I suspect! A small crit: The wooden banister shape is too pervasive for my taste. I would have changed it ( disguised it more) A hint for bending thin tubing: To reduce kinks fill it with fine sand ( maybe even salt but I never used salt) Thanks for sharing this and I look forward to your punk glasses Instructable.

[SinAmos]

I have dismantled lamp parts I was going to use to make my own on version, but I never got around to it. Lamps are great for parts.