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How to Make a Richmond Arsenal Musket Ammunition Crate By Austin Williams, 5 th Virginia Co. A There are many sources from which one can purchase a Federal arsenal musket ammunition crate and there are readily available guides in print and online to make your own. Confederate arsenals, however, are more difficult to locate and I am not aware of any sources for a reasonably authentic Richmond Arsenal crate. This guide will allow anyone with basic carpentry skills to make a Richmond Arsenal musket ammunition crate that is as authentic as available research allows. Required Materials and Tools At least four feet of 1x2 common board 1 At least three feet of 1x12 common board At least four feet of 1x10 common board At least eight cut nails – I used eight I already had to finish the handles, but you can order a pound of cut nails online for less than ten dollars from a company like Tremont Nail Company (http://www.tremontnail.com) Thirty-eight 1 ¼” wire brads – for a more authentic construction, you can use entirely cut nails, but once the nails are painted over, you have to look closely to see that the nail heads are incorrect 4 flat head standard screws – I used brass ones from a local hardware store, which will usually sell them in smaller quantities than big box home improvement stores 1 Because of the lengths of wood available at most stores, it may be more efficient to make two crates at the same time instead of one. If making two crates, purchase a six foot long 1x12, an eight foot long 1x10, and an eight foot long 1x2.

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HowtoMakeaRichmondArsenalMusketAmmunitionCrate

ByAustinWilliams,5thVirginiaCo.A

TherearemanysourcesfromwhichonecanpurchaseaFederalarsenalmusketammunitioncrateandtherearereadilyavailableguidesinprintandonlinetomakeyourown.Confederatearsenals,however,aremoredifficulttolocateandIamnotawareofanysourcesforareasonablyauthenticRichmondArsenalcrate.ThisguidewillallowanyonewithbasiccarpentryskillstomakeaRichmondArsenalmusketammunitioncratethatisasauthenticasavailableresearchallows.RequiredMaterialsandToolsAtleastfourfeetof1x2commonboard1Atleastthreefeetof1x12commonboardAtleastfourfeetof1x10commonboardAtleasteightcutnails–IusedeightIalreadyhadtofinishthehandles,butyoucan

orderapoundofcutnailsonlineforlessthantendollarsfromacompanylikeTremontNailCompany(http://www.tremontnail.com)

Thirty-eight1¼”wirebrads–foramoreauthenticconstruction,youcanuseentirelycutnails,butoncethenailsarepaintedover,youhavetolookcloselytoseethatthenailheadsareincorrect

4flatheadstandardscrews–Iusedbrassonesfromalocalhardwarestore,whichwillusuallyselltheminsmallerquantitiesthanbigboxhomeimprovementstores

1Becauseofthelengthsofwoodavailableatmoststores,itmaybemoreefficienttomaketwocratesatthesametimeinsteadofone.Ifmakingtwocrates,purchaseasixfootlong1x12,aneightfootlong1x10,andaneightfootlong1x2.

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Flatolivegreenlatexpaint–toensurethecoloriscorrect,gotoSherwinWilliamsandaskthemforapintofexteriorflatpaintinacolorcalled“NPSCannonGreen”.It’sthesamecolortheNationalParkServiceusestopainttheircannoncarriages.Ifyoulocalstorecan’tfinditinthecomputer(minedidnot),havethemcalltheGettysburgSherwinWilliamsandtheycansendyourstoretheformula.2

Whitepaint–Iusedan8fl.oz.testerofWeatheredWhiteavailablefromHomeDepot

CardstockpaperCircularsawTablesaw(optional)ChopSaw(optional)TapeMeasurePencilCarpenter’sSquareSandpaperHammerWoodglueWoodfiller(optional)Puttyknife(optional)PaintbrushMaskingtapeStencilbrush(optional)Drillanddrillbits(sizewilldependonthesizeofthecutnailsandscrews)CountersinkbitX-ActoknifeTheRichmondArsenalAmmunitionCrateBeforebeginningconstruction,studythefollowingexamplesofsurvivingRichmondDepotcrates,oneformusketammunitionandonefortheSharpscarbine.3UnfortunatelytheonlyexamplesIcouldfindwerefrom1864(unsurprisinggiventhedisposablenatureofthesecrates),sowecan’truleoutachangeintheArsenal’sdesignatsomepointinthewar.TheRichmondArsenalcrateistallerthanthestandarddimensionsusedbyFederalarsenals.ItisbuiltwithsimplebuttjointsratherthanthemorecomplexdovetailjointsseenonthecratesofmanyFederalarsenals.ThehandlesalsolackthebevelededgesorcarvedouthandholdsseenonFederalcrates.Thecratesarepaintedgreen,butduetotheageoftheartifacts,itisdifficulttomakeouttheexactcolor.Presumably,theyusedthestandardordinanceolivegreen,butthisisanassumptiononmypart.Noneofthecrateshavesurvivinglids,sowehave2IamgratefultoCharlieMitchellofCharliesBoatworksforthistip.Charlienolongermakesammunitioncratesasofthiswriting.3PhotosfromOldSouthAntiques;http://www.oldsouthantiques.com/os427p1.htmandhttp://www.oldsouthantiques.com/os1540p1.htm.

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someguessworkthereaswell.Thelabelsarestenciledonbothendswithwhitepaint(notblackoryellowasseenatsomecommerciallyavailablecrates).

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Construction1. Usingacircularsawortablesaw,ripthe1x12sothatitis10¼”wideand

the1x10sothatitis8¼”wide.2. Cuttwo15”lengthsfromyour1x10¼foryourlidandbottomusinga

circularsaworachopsaw.Cuttwo8¾”lengthsandtwo15”lengthsfromyour1x8¼forthesidesofthecrate.Takethe1x2andcuttwo10¼”lengthsforyourhandlesandtwo8¾”lengthsforyourlidstops.

3. Sandallyourcutedges.4. Usingwoodglueandeitherwirebradnailsorcutnails,assemblethesidesof

yourcratesothattheshortsidesaresandwichedbetweenthelongsides.5. Attachthebottomtoyoursidesusingwoodglueandnails.6. Glueandnailyourhandlestotheshortsidesofthecrate½”fromthetopof

thecrate.Iestimatedthisdistancebasedoffproportionalmeasurementsfromthephotos,soIcannotattesttoit’sexactaccuracy,butyoucanclearlyseethatthehandleisnotflushwiththetopofthecrate.

7. Glueandnailyourlidstopstothebottomofyourlid.Ifoundthebestwaytodothiswastomeasureoutwheremylidstopoughttosit,tackthestopsinplaceandthentestitonthecratebeforeaddingtherestofthenails.Thiswilllikelytakeafewtriesbeforeyoualignthemsoyourlidsitssquareontopofthecrateanddoesn’tsliparoundorfalloff.Youmayneedtosanddowntheendofyourlidstopstoensurethefitisnottoosnugandyoucaneasilyremovethelidofyourcrate.

8. Ididallmycutswithacircularsaw,sosomeofmyjointsweren’tperfectandIhadsomegapsinplaces.Toensureawatertightcrate(thisisdesignedtoholdammunitionafterall),Iusedaputtyknifetoworkwoodfillerintoallthegaps.Givethecrateafinalsandingtosmoothoutanyerrors.

Painting

1. Painttheentireoutsideofcratewithyourolivegreenpaint,butleavetheinsidesunpainted.Afteritdries,paintasecondcoat.

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2. Usingapieceofcardstock,printoutyourstencil.ImademystencilusingaperiodfontcalledElephant.4Itisavailableforfreedownloadonline.ImademystencilinPowerPointusingthisfont.Forthedecorativeflourishesatthetopofthetext,IusedimagesoforiginalcratestoapproximatetheshapeandthendrewthemfreehandwithapencilafterIprintedoutthestencil.IchosetodatemycratesApril1862,butifyoumakeyourownstencil,youcanchoosewhateverdateyoulike.Mystencilisattachedattheendofthisarticleforyouruse.

3. UsinganX-Actoknifecarefullycutoutallthelettersonyourstencil.Ifyouusemystencil,beawareIwasunabletofindanElephantstencilfont.Isimplytookapenandmarkedthesectionstoleaveuncutbylookingattheoriginalcrates’font.

4. Alignyourstencilontheshortendofyourcrateandattachwithmaskingtape.Carefullypaintoveryourstencilwithwhitepaint.Aftersometrialanderror,Ifoundthebesttechniquewastodipastencilbrushinthepaint,blotitabitoncardboardtoevenitout,andthenwipetheexcessawayonapapertowel.Youneedtoensureyoudon’thavetoomuchpaintonthebrush,otherwiseitwillbleedunderyourstencil.Useatinyamountofpaintonamostlydrybrushandslowlygobackovereachletteruntilitisfullyfilledin.

5. Removeyourstencil.Whenthepaintisdry,flipyourcrateoverandrepeatthestencilontheotherside.

FinishingTouches

1. Asyoucanseeontheoriginals,thehandleswereattachedusingfournails,twooneachend.Ichosetoaddtheseafterpaintingwascomplete,asseveraldesignsofFederalarsenalsincludeunpaintednailsonthehandles.Youcanomitthissteporpaintoveryournails.Useadrillbittodrillpilotholes,asthewedgeshapeofcutnailscansplitthewood.

4ThanksagaingotoCharlieMitchellforhelpingmeidentifythisfont.

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2. Federalcrateswerescrewedshuttoensureawatertightsealandtomakeitmoredifficulttoopenthecrateswithoutthepropertools.IchoosetocopythisformyRichmondArsenalcrates.Usethecountersinkbittomakeholesforeachofyourfourscrewsonthetopofthelid.Iusedmachinescrewsthatwereonly½”long,soIdrilledashortpilotholeandscrewedinthescrewssothattheydidnotstickoutthebackofthelid.Ifyouhavelongerscrews,youcancuttheextraoffwithahacksaw,orremovethescrewsentirelytosimulateacratethathasalreadybeenopenedinthefield.

Ammunitioncrateswouldhavebeenafrequentsightincampand,asthisarticleshows,buildingthemisnotchallengingandisinexpensive.Thepaintisenoughforseveralcratesandthelumberfortwocratescostmearound$30.Ihopeyoufoundthisarticlehelpfulandyoudecidetotryyourhandatmanufacturingsomecratesofyourown.

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1000 CAR CA 57-58

E L O N G A T E D BALL

T . L .

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96 lbs.