I have a newbie question in regards to building a flintlock. I have built several percussion style rifles from the following kits Thompson Center, Lyman, and CVA. I am going to build a flintlock kit probably from Track of the Wolf or Pecantonic River. On the vent in the barrel for the flintlock does it come from TOW and Pecantonic drilled or do you drill it and tap it after you inlet your lock. Been lurking on the site for quite a while admiring the craftsmanship of the rifle builders on this site. Thanks
Drilling And Tapping The Vent On A Flintlock
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Black Hand
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It is unlikely that it comes installed.
blackpowderscout
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You do it yourself. It's pretty straightforward.
Keb
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You would want to drill it after the barrel & lock are inlet. They need to be, or should be, in place to properly locate the touch hole. I locate it but don't drill it until the gun is ready to shoot. That's just me.
The hole for the vent doesn't exist on the barrel when you get it. It must be located and drilled by the builder.
A word of caution here:
The location for the vent depends on the location of the breech plug face. It must be forward of the breech plug.
With this in mind, the lock mortice will already be roughed in so the locks location is fixed.
That leaves the barrel as the only thing that can be moved to position the face of the breech plug at the proper place, relative to the center of the flintlocks pan.
The recommended proceedure for building one of these pre-carved stocks is to first, finish inletting the lock. (They do not fit when you get the kit).
Once the lock is inlet, install the breech plug. (I recommend paying the small fee to have the supplier do it).
With the breech plug in place measure the exact distance from the muzzle to the face of the breech plug and transfer that location to the outside of the barrel where you can see it.
Measure the diameter of the vent liners threads and divide the size by 2. Add 1/32" to the value and mark a line on the barrel that represents this dimension.
That line should line up with the center of the pan on the lock.
Usually, the stockmaker will leave extra wood at the end of the barrel channel so your job will be to remove this wood, moving the barrel back towards the butt until the line on the barrel lines up with the center of the pan.
Sounds like fun doesn't it?
A word of caution here:
The location for the vent depends on the location of the breech plug face. It must be forward of the breech plug.
With this in mind, the lock mortice will already be roughed in so the locks location is fixed.
That leaves the barrel as the only thing that can be moved to position the face of the breech plug at the proper place, relative to the center of the flintlocks pan.
The recommended proceedure for building one of these pre-carved stocks is to first, finish inletting the lock. (They do not fit when you get the kit).
Once the lock is inlet, install the breech plug. (I recommend paying the small fee to have the supplier do it).
With the breech plug in place measure the exact distance from the muzzle to the face of the breech plug and transfer that location to the outside of the barrel where you can see it.
Measure the diameter of the vent liners threads and divide the size by 2. Add 1/32" to the value and mark a line on the barrel that represents this dimension.
That line should line up with the center of the pan on the lock.
Usually, the stockmaker will leave extra wood at the end of the barrel channel so your job will be to remove this wood, moving the barrel back towards the butt until the line on the barrel lines up with the center of the pan.
Sounds like fun doesn't it?
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what Zonie said ...
additionally, you might want to consider the purchase of any one of a number of good books - I would point you to The Gunsmith of Grenville County, by Peter Alexander, or the Recreating the American Longrifle, Shumway, et al ... both are good books, and can be had at Track of the Wolf's website. Alexander's book is about forty bucks, which sounds like a lot of money, but it will save you much more than the purchase price in parts you don't ruin, as well as time you don't waste, and delays you don't endure, and time in purgatory for bad language you don't use, all 'cause you knew what pitfall to avoid, 'cause you read the book.
there are some good videos, too ... by way of warning, once you start this building thing, there's little hope of turning back ... don't ask me how I know ... i'm too busy in my shop to answer a bunch of questions ...
:rotf:
additionally, you might want to consider the purchase of any one of a number of good books - I would point you to The Gunsmith of Grenville County, by Peter Alexander, or the Recreating the American Longrifle, Shumway, et al ... both are good books, and can be had at Track of the Wolf's website. Alexander's book is about forty bucks, which sounds like a lot of money, but it will save you much more than the purchase price in parts you don't ruin, as well as time you don't waste, and delays you don't endure, and time in purgatory for bad language you don't use, all 'cause you knew what pitfall to avoid, 'cause you read the book.
there are some good videos, too ... by way of warning, once you start this building thing, there's little hope of turning back ... don't ask me how I know ... i'm too busy in my shop to answer a bunch of questions ...
:rotf:
eaglesnester
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Oh my God: I have started the building thing. Is there no hope?
Black Hand
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Nope. The only treatment is to build...eaglesnester said:
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