6mm said:
I always inlet the barrel/tang first. Then I mark the vent hole position and insure it clears the front of the breech plug face (plus vent liner threads if you are using one). THEN I position the lock so that the vent hole will be correct in relation to the pan. Works for me.
Dennis
Then you are one lucky sucker. :wink: As past practice on here has Proven over & over & over,,,,,,,,,,,,, that procedure will most likely end up with some real vent liner issues. :shake:
On a Precarve with a preinlet barrel channel & Preinlet lock mortice.......... You put the LOCK in first & then the barrel..... You can move the barrel back, the lock is where they put the inlet, you can't move the inlet......
If it is a Preshaped stock with a Precut barrel channel, precut lock inlet, etc.
1: Inlet the lock 90% of the way as it is going to be where they put it.
2: Take the breechplug out & lay it along the barrel at the breech on the flat the vent
liner would be. (we are measuring depth on the outside) Take a scribe & make a
mark at the end of the breech plug.
3: Lay the vent on the barrel about 1/16" away from the end of the line you scribed for
the end of the breechplug.(of the "face" of the breechplug I should say)
4: Make a mark on the barrel to indicate the Center of the vent liner.. Now remove the
vent liner & make a parallel scribe line on this vent center across same flat. Now
you should have 2 parallel lines on that flat fairly close, depends on the size of
the vent liner.
5: Now on the vent liner line you just made, take a small punch & make a small punch
mark on the line dead center of the flat. THAT is where you want the vent liner to center.
6: Make a thin pencil line in the center of the flashpan & put the lock in the stock.
Put the barrel on the stock & put something under the muzzle to hold it up & slide
the barrel back until the center line of the pan lines up with the center punch dot you
made on the barrel. The wood behind the breech end has to come out to allow the
barrel to go back to the correct position for vent liner alignment.
7: Inlet the barrel to the proper depth. Once it is in, look across the flashpan & the
dot needs on the flat needs to be at the top edge of the flashpan. Can be just
barely forward is OK. Not low. Not high, not behind the dot.
Example photo attached.
If the dot is high, the barrel needs to come down. If you cannot see the dot, the barrel
is low & it needs shimmed up. If it is too far forward, you move the barrel back more.
If it is too far back, you screwed up & now have to shim the barrel forward. Not Good...
8: Now after ya got the lock in, barrel in place.. Now we do the tang. Put the
breechplug/tang back into the barrel. Align the hash marks on the bottom of the barrel.
Put the barrel up on the stock, shim up the muzzle as before, now move the barrel
to where you had it breeched at the rear of the stock. Take a pencil & draw a line
around the tang lug. Cut that out & do it precisely at the top as it WILL show if
you have don't go slot & use inletting black or something.. Get it town to where the
tang part is hitting on the wood..
9: The barrel is about 1/4" from being down now. Put a small nut or something 1/4"
thick under the muzzle between the barrel & the inlet to hold the muzzle up. Look
at the gap now between the tang & the stock curving down to the wrist. That is
the Contour you need the tang bent to.
10: Take the barrel to the big vice & bend tang accordingly. It is usually Arched, so
bend it the same way. I usually do the part up close to the barrel first, then slip it
out & a lil more, & etc. using the barrel as the lever to pull it. (You won't bend the
barrel, and if ya do the barrel was junk or too thin & unsafe)
11: Now taper the tang in a slight V shape & the lug/boss under the tang ya had your
wrench on when ya put it in. Make sure you slightly bevel the Rear of the tang as
well. It has to all have a chamfer to go in & out easily.
12: Inlet the tang. It will have a tendency to put the barrel out towards the muzzle as
you do this, don't let it. You need the breech FIRM to the wood at the breech. After
you have it all in there good & you can easily work the barrel in & out of the inlet,
you are ready to glass the breech if you were a lil sloppy. I glass bed ALL of mine.
Put some modeling clay in the end of the barrel where you threaded the plug in
as if not the accraglas will lock the barrel down. Make sure Everything is tapered,
no holes anywhere, etc. Apply the release agent to the barrel & tang, let it dry. Mix
the accraglass, out it in the breech area of the stock & tang, put the barrel in &
clamp it down. Clean up all excess now & especially in the lock area.
13: After all of this. Put the underlugs on the barrel & get the barrel pinned to the stock.
14: Now finish inletting the lock, get it drilled, tapped & bolted in.
15: Put the trigger in, drill & install the tang bolt
Proceed with the build.
Note: If the barrel is preinlet but NO Lock Inlet, you put the barrel in the stock First &
take the lock to the barrel for proper alignment.
