Build #5

[Chris In SE PA]

While I was debating how to proceed with the snag I experienced in Build #4, I started on Build #5.

Pre-Carved Maple Stock.
Rice Colonial 43" 54 caliber barrel
L & R Golden Age Double Set triggers
Siler Golden Age Lock
German Silver hardware.

As I was inletting the breech I made mistake #1. I chipped a piece out of the stock. So, I mixed a little Tight-Bond with some stain and put it back in place.

 

[Chris In SE PA]

I like to glass bed my guns. I'm not looking for pro's or Con's on that topic. I've made up my mind years ago about the benefits of Acraglas. I take a lot of precautions to ensure that it'll come apart tomorrow. Acraglas is awesome. But accidentally glue the barrel in the channel, and it's in there forever.

The barrel that I have already has the dovetails cut in for the tennons, the touch hole is drilled, as is the bolt hole in the tang. All of those are tightly packed with clay before a very generous coating of release agent is sprayed on the barrel. I make a small "dam" at the end of the stock with clay. This keeps the glass in the channel and not running onto my floor. I spray the INSIDE of the muzzle and then place a ball of tape inside it also. I used 25 ml of glas at the 1:4 ratio. I've found that 25 ml is about right for a 42" barrel. I then tinted it with the same stain I will be using for the stock itself. I level the stock and then spread the glas mixture through the channel using a popsicle stick. I make sure that all of the wood has a light coating before the barrel is dropped into the channel.

Set the barrel in the stock and clamp it in place. The clamps aren't farmer tight. They're finger tight to make sure that everything stays where you put it. But, not tight enough to squeeze out the liquid.

Immediately wipe the excess off of the stock if any comes out. A rag slightly damp with some vinegar works the best for that purpose. (Glacial Acetic Acid is even better).

I'll leave it clamped until tomorrow morning and then pull it apart.

 

[akroguy]

No argument from me here! I bed the breech area as my inletting isn't as good as I want it to be and I want the recoil energy to go into a fully bedded inlet.

What's your opinion on working with the German silver furniture? I've found it seems to vary in hardness from part to part. I bought some extra plate to fabricate a toe plate and it was like working tool steel. The cast butt plate and trigger guard, however, were only just slightly harder to work than brass.

 

[Pete G]

German silver work hardens just like brass. Aneal it.

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

Next time you fix a chip like that stain both the chip and surrounding wood before you glue it down.

 

[Chris In SE PA]

Next time you fix a chip like that stain both the chip and surrounding wood before you glue it down.

Thanks

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
You can always get Acra Glas to release using a heat gun even if you forget the release agent. I squeeze the barrel hard so much of the epoxy squeezes out. I just put newspaper or paper towels on the floor under it. I don't want a thick bed. I am not filling gaps but rather infusing the epoxy into the wood of the barrel channel so it strengthens the thin wood significantly. Some good news, Brownells has AcraGlas in larger quantities in stock again.

dave

 

[ColonialRifleSmith]

I use this. Blends right in and dries in about 10 minutes. It's also great when you get a stock with a crack in it. fills the crack and bonds the edges so the crack doesn't spread. Semper Fi.

 

[Chris In SE PA]

I could have put a little more pressure on the forward most clamp. I got a small void in the glass. Nothing that I can't live without.

 

[Chris In SE PA]

Next I started inlet of the lock.

 

[Col. Batguano]

I see no good reason (other than time and cost) NOT to acri-glass the bedding and particularly the breach and tang areas. Entry pipe area too. That wood is rally flimsy when it's off the gun, and the breech & tang take most of the recoil energy. Glassing helps spread out the recoil forces and helps keep it from cracking.

 

[Chris In SE PA]

Inlet the ram rod pipes today

 

[Chris In SE PA]

I'm not a purest yet. That's a dry erase marker in place of a soot lamp.

 

[Chris In SE PA]

My skills at performing inlets are still a work in progress. I'm getting better. But, not at the quality of the work you see elsewhere on this site.

 

[Chris In SE PA]

Front of trigger guard

 

[Chris In SE PA]

In hindsight, I should have shortened the trigger plate. It extended underneath the front of the guard. So, I filled it down a little.

 

[Chris In SE PA]

Pins drilled in.

 

[Chris In SE PA]

Nosecap installed. I scratched it up a little with the rasp. So, I'll be fixing that later.

 

[Chris In SE PA]

I don't have a band saw.

I do have a coping saw. Takes a little longer

 

[JoeG]

My skills at performing inlets are still a work in progress. I'm getting better. But, not at the quality of the work you see elsewhere on this site.

I think you are being hard on yourself, as we all are prone to do at times. My wood skills are not as beautiful as others either, but considering it is a hobby not a job, I try not to let it bother me. I am learning every time I work at it, and enjoying it, good enough for me.