Oh boy did I ever !
The barrel was the worst as a) had to make the welds pretty reliable(!), b) had to start with a heck of a big billet, and c)processed all the wrought iron out of old victorian railings that had been painted with some of that old bitumen type paint that seems to get right into the metal .. euuch!
Also did it mostly with a home made "appallachian" style power hammer!
Will Jones, www.ironwill.org.uk

that makes it ALL the more IMPRESSIVE.
your persistence and motivation paid off BIG TIME. IMO

I love that pattern on the steel. Is that damascus? Not familiar with guns or swords, but would like to be. janet R.

Hi Janet,
People get very technical and nerdy about defining true "damascus" so I'd call it pattern welded to save a semantic/mettallurgic/historic debate... but yes basically it's that process of firewelding together strips of different metals, folding and rewelding till you get the desired number of layers, then manipulating the pattern by twisting (in this case) the billet or by grinding or drilling into it then reforging to mix up the laminates in a pretty way.
Will Jones, www.ironwill.org.uk

Hi
I did a little experimenting with the traditionalwrapping round a bar technique, and rapidly decided it was beyond my abilities - so yes I made a solid billet and drilled it.
I got in touch with a wonderful guy at "the toadhall rifle shop" (cool website) who advised me that the barrel should be as soft as possible for this kind of gun, so it's a wrought iron/mild steel mix.
And yes I've shot it a few times now - but probably won't use it that often as I'm paranoid about damaging it or not cleaning the powder residue off well enough and letting it rust.
Will Jones, www.ironwill.org.uk