I heard this in a recent post!  If it's true, and each Ballard adds ten years there's a few on here that will live for a couple centuries...    At the rate I'm going I should make it past the century mark as long as the proverbial "beer" truck doesn't run me over.   
Added a couple pictures, the Ballard at the bottom of the  picture is most current project.  It was and is going to remain a 22, picked it up - action only- needing springs and all the screws - made some progress today.  Sights are undecided yet but I started another front like the WR discussed recently.  The barrel is an new experiment for me, rather than the norm, lining an old barrel with 22, I turned one to fit inside a Damascus barrel off a 12 gage.  Got the inside coated with Shellac and when it cures out I'll see how the Damascus "pops".  Wood is coming but it's a ways out.

The Ballard might add Ten but a Steven's a Hi Wall and a Borchardt will add Twenty or more. 
Nice projects and thanks for sharing?

Has anyone seen what appears to be metal nose caps on those Ballard's?
My Ballard has cost me ten years. Third barrel, two homemade, BRC. 38-35, 32-40. All do about 1 1/2" at 100 yards.
Will keep at it. Other rifles do better.
Chuck

That is my struggle I like them all. I don’t know about adding years to your life but definitely add interest to your years, which is just as good.

Since I'm now good for another 100 years, I'll have to change my will.

"Yes....everything I am today, I owe to Ballard Rifles;"

Got a chuckle out of that.

Couldn't come up with a tub that didn't require a lot of solution, a walk around Homodepot a thought came to me... a quick solution tub...
Here's  results...

I use PVC pipe also for soaking barrels, or applying solution to barrels. I like the idea of more PVC as a stand under the PVC tube. Have to add that to mine.

Almost all pre-Marlin Ballard rifles had metal forearm caps, unless they were a carbine or military stock.

I've listened at the range- I know all the railbird wisdom.

I sure hope that they do add 10 years to your life ... I have 4 of them so far!

Potential of centuries???   

One I am working on for a friend it came with a Perch Belly, Offhand is no longer doable and this one will now enable him to compete off the bench.

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Days spent working on old rifles do not diminish the days of your life.
Same as days on the water!

Dale,
There's a gun show coming up that can cure that problem, let us know if you need advice...     
Greg

Thanks guys but I seem to have 1885itis.  Dale.

So, what might happen to a guy who sells a Ballard?

I am no threat I am with DWT1885 he has his priorities set on the right track.

I actually like them all Vall and it's actually quite hard to find one not to like.

What I truly enjoy seeing and hearing is all of the individual tastes. And like you there are several I would not care to own but they are all indeed very charming and beautiful by there own unique and individual designs. 

I'll know it when I see it - and may have to live ten years longer to pay for it!

Always interesting and fun projects. If you regularly play with barrel length damascus, you could consider an upright pvc tank. I know of a few of them setup, takes very little surface area, and with a slip fit cap, ready to go at any time. I'm only wondering out loud, but maybe the breech end of a damascus barrel could be heated in a forge and flared on a mandrel to follow the contour right up to the face of the action. Sorry to drift off topic, but thanks again for showing your projects.

Craig,
I had considered placing a flange of some kind on the tube and use the PVC standing up right, still may make one.  As for swaging or flaring the barrel... I may do that, thanks for the idea.  I have 5 more Damascus tubes to experiment with.   

If anyone plans to dabble in this, I learned a few do's and don't but for the most part it's similar to stuffing a liner in a barrel - only in reverse.  If you use a shotgun barrel, cut the choked area off before trying to figure length of barrel you're messing with.  Same with the chamber end, don't go thinking you'll fit the liner to it, more hassle than it's worth.  My barrel length ended up finishing at 26".   And finally, when I do the next one, I'll use acraglas or loctite - I tinned this one, it worked but it's considerable effort and not really needed.

There's a couple more things about this 22 project that I haven't mentioned yet, I'll have a little more to report on after some range time with it. 

Hopefully I've added yet another 10 years, should be a Ballard showing up tonight or tomorrow.   

If it's numbers matching, then it likely was either a .38 Long rechambered to .38-56, or a .32 Long rebored, and chambered in .38-56. Either way, as you say I'd never shoot it, even with lighter loads.
Might be a good candidate to sleeve the chamber, and then reline it to a smaller caliber.

Rex that is really nice!    I once owned a Ballard Pacific that was pretty interesting.  It was a light weight barrel in .40-85 with a shotgun buttplate.   I bought it sight unseen from a dealer in Ontario Canada.  The bore was rated good and I asked them to have a good look at it before I completed the purchase.  When I got it, it was clear that the bore was good because it had been relined , but the chamber had a large bulge.   I ended up selling it off, but I probably should have kept it. 

Chris.

I only bought a frame but the breach block from my 40-85 pacific fits perfectly so I am using it until I find another or make one.  I loaded up 50 rounds this morning and it is up to -8 now so I think I will give it a try.  I almost put a shot gun buttplate on this one but the plank had some serious knots to work around and I couldn’t get things lined up for a shotgun butt plate.  Hopefully in 38-55 it will be okay.  My 40-85 pacific has a crescent plate and you don’t shoot it often without a slip on recoil pad.  I had the bruises to prove the point.

Val I found a couple of pictures of my old rifle:

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Chris.

Old-Win wrote on Mar 9^th, 2019 at 2:00pm:


If you mean the wooden "ball" that fills the ring on the Pacific, then the answer is nobody makes one. If they did, it would need to be just a close fit, as they were hand finished, and not all exactly alike. I've made a few from scrap walnut, and they're not too hard to make. Even a amateur with wood llike me can make them.

do you feel any younger?

Aaron

Rex N wrote on Mar 10^th, 2019 at 8:38am:



^^^^^^ WHAT HE SAID! ^^^^^^