So glad to be a member of this forum. I've been working on my first "non-kit" gun, an S. Hawken halfstock in .54. So far I've got the barrel and tang inlet nicely so next I went to work on the lock. The lock is a Bob Roller that I bought 15 years or so ago (for the unbelievable price of $25!) so I had to fit the snail into the lock. I took my time and had what looked to be a tight fit with the hammer striking the nipple as purty as you please. Then I went about inletting the lock into the stock, which I was nervous about, but I got that done and the lines along the lock plate look sweet and I'm breathing a sigh of relief when I notice that when everything's fitted together in the stock there's a .5 to .75 millimeter gap at the bottom of the snail where it fits into the lock plate. Now, I looked to make sure there wasn't any wood throwing things askew and there isn't, so I guess my previous assessment of my work wasn't quite accurate. Well, I knew that something would come up sooner or later and it's really not that noticeable, but my question is...is there anything I can do to fill in that gap in the metal to metal fit? I'll probably be the only one to notice it but I just had to tap into the collective wisdom of this board. Thanks, Bearman
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First project, First boo-boo
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This is a tough one. Any hooked-breech gun is tough to do as things tend to move a little. I'd be tempted to, in order of preference and depending on how relaxed or manic I was:
A) Let it go and chalk it up to "wear".
B) Solder a thin strip of sheet steel to the bottom of the snail and then fit it carefully by filing
C) peen the inside of the lockplate very judiciously to expand it then file down smooth. This will leave dings inside your lockplate.
It always makes us nuts when we make "mistakes" like this but solving them or living with them is what gets you through.
A) Let it go and chalk it up to "wear".
B) Solder a thin strip of sheet steel to the bottom of the snail and then fit it carefully by filing
C) peen the inside of the lockplate very judiciously to expand it then file down smooth. This will leave dings inside your lockplate.
It always makes us nuts when we make "mistakes" like this but solving them or living with them is what gets you through.
Will inleting the tang and barrel a little deeper into the stock to allow the snail to move down so it rests on the lockplate?
It's a bit of work, and you may have to recontour the wrist behind the tang to smooth it into a contour that matches the tang.
Just a thought. ::
It's a bit of work, and you may have to recontour the wrist behind the tang to smooth it into a contour that matches the tang.
Just a thought. ::
Terry Zboril
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Bear,
If the fit was okay before assembly it should be okay now, unless the lock was inlet too low. It really is not a problem anyhow.
Questions, on the first good fit of snail to lock, was the mainspring in? Is the mainspring hitting the barrel anywhere? Did the gap occur after applying the finish and is the tang coming down flush with the wood?
Maybe some scraping is in order.
With the barrel out of the stock, is there any up and down movement where the (I am presuming a patent hooked breech)
breech parts join?
Lots of variables here, and just some suggestions.
Inletting black will show any unwanted contact.
Good Luck,
Terry
If the fit was okay before assembly it should be okay now, unless the lock was inlet too low. It really is not a problem anyhow.
Questions, on the first good fit of snail to lock, was the mainspring in? Is the mainspring hitting the barrel anywhere? Did the gap occur after applying the finish and is the tang coming down flush with the wood?
Maybe some scraping is in order.
With the barrel out of the stock, is there any up and down movement where the (I am presuming a patent hooked breech)
breech parts join?
Lots of variables here, and just some suggestions.
Inletting black will show any unwanted contact.
Good Luck,
Terry
I like Zonie's answer, it seems more practical, but I was thinking of some light metal swedging with a ball peen hammer. I think moving the barrel and tang down is the best way to go, now that I think about it. If you are starting with a squared blank (not a pre-carved stock) you should have ample room for doing this. :m2c:
Hi guys,
Thanks for the replies. The stock that I have is TOTW's precarved. I had thought of taking that barrel and tang down a bit farther, but the thing that held me back on that is I'm already in there a ways and thought it might take it too far. I went to Helena and measured the Bridger Hawken there so that I could get it "just right" and I also have the plans from the Hawken Shop to back up my measurements. According to these sources, I'm already about 1/16th too far in the top to bottom measurement at the wrist. I know, it's not much but I do want it to be as close to an original as I can make it. Again, it's probably only gonna be me that realizes that this is the case. Incidentally, there is also 1/16 difference in the two aforementioned sources (you mean ol' Sam didn't spec his rifles?) :hmm: I do have a tremendous resource available in that Monte Mandarino is a very good friend of my father-in-laws and I might just give him a call and have him take a peek at it. Now there's a feller that knows smokepoles! The other option is to just let it go as, I must admit, I am looking to get as near perfect as I can. Realistically, this being my first attempt, I will probably forget all about it the first time it goes Kaboooom! Thanks for the help and I'll let you all know how it goes and what I decide to do. Bearman
Thanks for the replies. The stock that I have is TOTW's precarved. I had thought of taking that barrel and tang down a bit farther, but the thing that held me back on that is I'm already in there a ways and thought it might take it too far. I went to Helena and measured the Bridger Hawken there so that I could get it "just right" and I also have the plans from the Hawken Shop to back up my measurements. According to these sources, I'm already about 1/16th too far in the top to bottom measurement at the wrist. I know, it's not much but I do want it to be as close to an original as I can make it. Again, it's probably only gonna be me that realizes that this is the case. Incidentally, there is also 1/16 difference in the two aforementioned sources (you mean ol' Sam didn't spec his rifles?) :hmm: I do have a tremendous resource available in that Monte Mandarino is a very good friend of my father-in-laws and I might just give him a call and have him take a peek at it. Now there's a feller that knows smokepoles! The other option is to just let it go as, I must admit, I am looking to get as near perfect as I can. Realistically, this being my first attempt, I will probably forget all about it the first time it goes Kaboooom! Thanks for the help and I'll let you all know how it goes and what I decide to do. Bearman
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