Treatment of a 17th C wheellock rifle
A beautifully decorated 17th C wheellock rifle (04.3.163) by Polish gunsmith Johannes Hartel was taken off display in the galleries for photography, and a splinter was discovered. Under the guidance of my supervisor, Sean Belair, I reattached the splintering section with fish glue: first, we slipped a piece of painting release paper between the steel barrel and wood to provide a barrier; then I applied the fish glue into the joint with a disposable pinpoint brush and clamped the section with silicone clamps. Any excess glue coming out of the joint was wiped off using a cotton bud lightly moistened with water. The rifle was also missing one of the barrel pins (usually made of horn) which hold the steel barrel in the wood [cradle?], and so while the fish glue was left to dry, I created a replacement pin out of a bamboo chopstick which I shaped on a belt grinder, cut to size with a hand saw, and smoothed once more on the grinder. Further treatment to camouflage the head of the replacement pin and make it appear like horn was not deemed necessary in the context of the busy mother-of-pearl inlay.
Setting up the silicone clamps on the barrel. (Photo: Sean Belair)

Leaving the fish glue to dry. (Photo: Jennifer Kim)

The glued-down splintered section after drying (the next day). (Photo: Jennifer Kim)

Test fitting the girth of the bamboo peg. (Photo: Jennifer Kim)

Finished replacement bamboo peg in place. (Photo: Jennifer Kim)
Transporting the rifle after treatment to photography. (Photo: Sean Belair)