2015 SCI Rifle

Mike Dubber

Mike Dubber

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Now that I've completed the Sam Colt 200th Anniversary .45, I'm into the Safari International African Edition Rifle. SCI has named this project the "World Heritage Series" and this is the first-of-series gun.

This is a John Bolliger (Pocatello, ID Riflemaker) 416 Rigby - the steel butt plate that is. John and are collaborating on this work-in-progress rifle for the SCI Show. This will also be the SCI Auction Rifle for 2015. The SCI will sponsor five big game rifles, each focusing on different continents and animals...each subsequent project will be built by different makers and engravers, all involved in the five-year series. John and I were selected to initiate the project with the "African."

I've been on this gun for some time now - engraving all the parts and pieces with scroll work and borders. The Elephant is the first major inlay - 24K Gold with Argentium Silver tusks!



More photos wil be posted to www.engravingtransfers.com as work progresses.
 
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monk

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thanks for showing this. quite beautiful to the eye. it must be nice to have your skills & talent. i personally find your work just, well frankly, beyond words to describe.
 
Mike Dubber

Mike Dubber

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Thanks Monk: to put this into perspective for all the hard working engravers out there, I spent a full week doing the inlaid borders and scrolls on this butt plate. Then I spent two weeks inlaying gold and silver metal for the elephant and cutting all the bulino detail. Everyone needs to understand that working at this level requires lots of time. it was not until late in my engraving career that I started to appreciate how much time it really takes to make an animal look lifelike.
 
Southern Custom

Southern Custom

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Beautiful Mike. Will you be at the SCI Convention in 2015? This may be my first year to attend if all the stars align. Hope to see the gun firsthand.
Layne
 
Mike Dubber

Mike Dubber

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You are correct, the Argentium Silver hardens quite quickly when you to set it into a confined inlay cavity (although not as quickly as Sterling). I like the Argentium because (for this massive inlay) I excavated the cavities for the tusks and set them fully before I removed/excavated metal for the gold work. Then, as I was setting the gold up to the edges of the tusks (using wires, not sheet) there was much less occurrence of damage to the tusks and I was able to hammer the gold hard enough to mate it to the Argentium without visible partings.

This elephant was a bi-metal inlay where the metals touch. If I were making a all-silver inlay, I would have used Fine Silver, because that works and inlays much like 24K gold.
 
fegarex

fegarex

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Mikie DU good!! :)
As usual, another great looking job so far Mike. I'm sure the rest will be a knock out as well. I always like the little "extras" you seem to incorporate into a design. It should be a hit.
Rex
 
Marrinan

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Mike, What else is there to say, beautiful work. I would think, even though the gun will likely never be shot, a person would be tempted to shoulder it and damage the fine line and dot work. Can't wait to see the other magic that you will add. Fred
 
Mike Dubber

Mike Dubber

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I agree Fred: if the new owner shoulders the rifle - or worse yet, leans it butt-down against a tree - I would scream!

Here are a couple of shop photos of work-in-progress of the receiver, bolt handle and scope rings. There are plenty of difficult curves and a multitude metal compositions and hardness to deal with. Furthermore, more than personal issues in play, is the fact that there five different craftsmen involved in the project: woodwork, metalwork, trunk case, knifemaker and final finish. Each one is giving his best shot: this one is kicking my butt!

Auction prices are unpredictable, but in this case the gun is being highly promoted internationally in the SCI Magazine: a two-page article in the Summer Issue, followed by a six pager in the issue that goes to print just before the January, 2015 SCI Show in Las Vegas.


 
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Omar Haltam

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Thank you for sharing the great detail Mr. Dubber very beautiful
piece. Your work is a n inspiration for all us new comers who are starting in the field of engraving.
and thank you for telling us how long It took to do certain jobs , this gives us an idea on how we should work to perfect our scrolls and lines instead flying through them and trying to become better to fast...
There is an old arabic proverb that states...
"Fastness and Perfection are two opposites that do not go together hand in hand".



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Mike Dubber

Mike Dubber

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I agree wholeheartedly with the Arabic Proverb. When I was first being trained as a jeweler and stone setter by a hard-nosed German Shop owner, he told me not to hurry through the work. "Take your time to get it right" he said, "we will work on speed after the first year". That came as a surprise to me, but it really helped me settle in and appreciate that while speed and efficiency were important retail functions of his business, the finished work was even more important in sustaining that business.

The more I worked the more skill gained and I faster I became. During my 10 years at that shop I saw several other novice jewelers who never understood that Mr. Tapscott was watching very closely and gauging their skill and speed. They didn't last very long; he could not afford to keep them if they could not produce.
 
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