Entry Pipe

[crockett]

This heads the list of dumb questions. I always thought an entry pipe had its tail( that back portion covering the stock) inletted into the wood of the stock. On some rifles it looks like this back portion just lies on the wood with no inletting. I have also seen some cast models where the wood is so thick that perhaps all the wood was cut away or entry pipes where the tail seems to go straight back.
In any event, is there a standard way to handle this or are various approached used???

 

[George F.]

Well, as far as I know the rear extension of the entry thimble is inletted as all of the other furniture is inletted. The extension is fully inletted though, wood filed to blend the extension into the stock contours. Hope this helped......George F.

 

[Zonie]

I'm sure there are some old guns out there that have the inlet extension just laying on top of the wood, but in my opinion, it was done because either the gunmaker was lazy or just didn't know how to do the job right. (IMO, inletting this little thing is one of the bigger pita's of building.)

I have also seen patchboxes, inlays, and trigger guards just sitting on top of the stocks surfaces.
IMO, this doesn't make them "right", just old.

 

The easiest way to inlet a entry pipe is to fully shape the forearm of the gun first. I have seen some folks start inletting the entry pipe while the stock is still square. Way too much inletting and is why many think this is a hard peice to inlet. After shaping the forearm... put the thimble in the rod hole and draw around the tang and start whittling straight down. No fuss and a whole lot easier. You should be able to inlet a entry pipe in less than two hours this way with practice. Not a whole lot of wood to remove for inletting a ramrod pipe.

 

[hawkeye1755]

It's all inletted. As Cooner54 said in less than two hours with practice.
:hatsoff:

 

[Vaino]

Now that looks good. I agree that a fore end should be taken down to nearly finished level and contour thereby eliminating many hours of "sneaking up" on the final inletted depth. However, the distance from the RR groove to the top of the fore end should be measured carefully so that it's slightly greater than the corresponding dim. on the entry pipe....possibly that's why some tangs lay on top of the wood. If short on wood, then a new entry pipe is req'd and perhaps the easy way out was taken instead...Fred

 

[Hoyt]

The easiest way to inlet a entry pipe is to fully shape the forearm of the gun first. I have seen some folks start inletting the entry pipe while the stock is still square. Way too much inletting and is why many think this is a hard peice to inlet. After shaping the forearm... put the thimble in the rod hole and draw around the tang and start whittling straight down. No fuss and a whole lot easier. You should be able to inlet a entry pipe in less than two hours this way with practice. Not a whole lot of wood to remove for inletting a ramrod pipe.

I agree ...much easier for me anyway...to inlet after the forearm is shaped. Easier for me to tell what's going on that way.

 

[Stophel]

It took me a LONG time to figure out to not try to inlet the lower rod pipe (and all the other parts too) while the wood is squared...

I actually have yet to see (or more likely, notice) any modern made guns where the lower rod pipe finial is just laying on the wood. You will certainly see on old guns where it kind of has this appearance, as the wood will wear/shrink away around the finial, leaving the finial standing a bit.

Hey, Undertaker, when you do one like the one above, do you inlet it straight down, as normal, with the "ears" standing out, then when the body of the finial is all the way down, you bend the ears and inlet them as they go down? I've never done one like this.