First Steps and Lessons Learned.

[Valkyrie]

So I finally started to work on my first build.
Today I I let the barre and tang to the stock. Took about four hours. I have a preinlet stock from ToW. First thing I learned was that the breach area was inlet much deeper than the rest of the barrel Chanel and trying to get all of it inlet level wasn’t gonna work out. So I got the barrel sitting well along the barrel channel and inlet the tang. There was a significant gap I see the breach end of the barrel. I had already intended to bed this area so I just mixed up epoxy and filled it in under the barrel and breach plug. I know it’s frowned upon but this is gonna be a dedicated hunting rifle and the entire barrel channel and lick mortise will be sealed with a thinned out epoxy or possibly cyano glue to keep out the weather. So that job being done it looks pretty good except for inletting black everywhere. It may be a while before I do anything more just because I like to think long and hard before I do anything. Researching stuff too.
It is a lot of fun though.

 

[Sidney Smith]

Pre-inletted stocks always reveal issues such as the one you encountered. It happens. Just sit back and do as you're doing and a solution will come to you. That's why it's best not to get a stock with a preinlet lock mortise or side plate mortise. Once the barrel is seated then you work those in. Sometimes with a pre-inletted lock mortise you find that they placed it too far back or not low enough to allow for good pan placement at the touchable etc.

Just don't get discouraged. There's always a fix.

 

[Flintandsteel]

You definitely DONT want a gap at the breech end of the barrel. That is where all recoil is transferred. Move the barrel back till you have a tight fit there. If not, you have cracked stock at lock bolts and barrel pins.
you donot need bedding compound there.

 

[Valkyrie]

Pre-inletted stocks always reveal issues such as the one you encountered. It happens. Just sit back and do as you're doing and a solution will come to you. That's why it's best not to get a stock with a preinlet lock mortise or side plate mortise. Once the barrel is seated then you work those in. Sometimes with a pre-inletted lock mortise you find that they placed it too far back or not low enough to allow for good pan placement at the touchable etc.

Just don't get discouraged. There's always a fix.

I wish now I would have not bought the ore inlet. This is a nice stock and it will look great when I’m done but just doing a trial fit of the lock plate and I see the precut mortise is wonky. I’ll be able to make it work but may take some homemade filler to hide some of the gaps. I know a non-inlet stick is more work but I feel like I could be more precise. I’ve practiced a lot of chisel and mortise work on scrap wood and did pretty good once I got the hang of things.

 

[Vaino]

Most of my builds were from blanks which are sent out for the bbl/RR work. Built 3 LRs from parts sets and all the precarves had mistakes....some fixable and some not. Building from a blank is easier and any mistakes would be mine {hopefully none}. Having an oversize lock inlet can be fixed but care must be used so the repair isn't evident. .....gluing in wood which has the grain going the right way is better than epoxy. I stain the piece of wood and inlet before using super glue so the "seam" isn't noticeable ....the super glue dissolves the stain. The piece of wood has to be clamped tightly to the inlet,,,,Fred

 

[Valkyrie]

Most of my builds were from blanks which are sent out for the bbl/RR work. Built 3 LRs from parts sets and all the precarves had mistakes....some fixable and some not. Building from a blank is easier and any mistakes would be mine {hopefully none}. Having an oversize lock inlet can be fixed but care must be used so the repair isn't evident. .....gluing in wood which has the grain going the right way is better than epoxy. I stain the piece of wood and inlet before using super glue so the "seam" isn't noticeable ....the super glue dissolves the stain. The piece of wood has to be clamped tightly to the inlet,,,,Fred

I have some hard maple laying around that I can make thin slivers to glue into place to hide the factory mortise. I need to work on getting the lock mechanism inlet but probably not gonna get to that until later.

 

[JCKelly]

Mistakes on my builds were all mine. Always started from plank. At one time owned 5/6 of a Maple tree.

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
Did you make a drawing for your gun to make sure all the parts should fit as you intend? Saves a lot of tears and fixing mistakes later.

dave

 

[Sidney Smith]

My last build was from a precarved stock from Pecatonica river. I had them only do the barrel channel and ramrod hole, as I don't have the tools or skill to do those two procedures. I did the rest myself. Barrel channel was fine. Ramrod hole wandered off at the breech end, of course right into where the mainspring mortise went luckily not a real problem, but I did have to make a tool to scrap wood away so the ramrod would fit. I did the lock mortise, tang, and side plate mortises myself and glad I did. Someday I plan to build from a blank.

 

[Vaino]

Hi Dave.....do you normally make drawings of your builds? From the first build on I've never made a drawing and the mistakes made wouldn't have been prevented by a drawing. I do use a Shuler buttstock template for the BCs but the Lancasters are drawn freehand. Most of the builds are from blanks.

My first gun building read was Buchele's and the step by step procedures were enumerated which greatly helped because of the logical next steps. Thinking ahead w/ any kind of project ensures success.

I think making a drawing of an intended build can be a useful undertaking but a beginning builder normally doesn't have the knowledge to make a meaningful drawing and later on when he's acquired the needed skills, might not need a drawing.

I think a very useful reason for a drawing is showing the customer what you intend to build for him...so when presented w/ his MLer, he's aware of what he OK'd. Have built 3 LRs and 2 Hawkens for customers and a drawing wasn't made, but many pics of my previous builds were shown and the features that the customers wanted were written down on paper and signed by the customers.

Most of my builds were spec guns which entailed no previous customer contact which I preferred......Fred

 

[SDSmlf]

Hi,
Did you make a drawing for your gun to make sure all the parts should fit as you intend? Saves a lot of tears and fixing mistakes later.

dave

OP started with a TOW pre-inlet stock, so it is highly likely that a full size set of plans are available from TOW. The plans may not be exactly what the OP is building, but in my experience, having a set of scale plans as a reference or starting point, is a big plus. Gives you a chance to measure and sketch as you think ideas through.

 

[Valkyrie]

Thanks guys. I am not going by a set of plans. I’m putting this together a la cart so to speak. It’s slow and I am on track with how I have visualized the rifle. My approach is from a picture in my head. It’s just tedious but I think it’s gonna be really nice. Eventually. I be have solved the inlet issue for the breach and I’ll deal with the lock mortise later on. My next step is to get barrel tenons installed and pin the barrel.

 

[dave_person]

Hi Fred,
I make drawings of every gun I build unless I am repeating a design for which I already have a drawing. I build such a diversity of guns that to not start with a drawing would be a terrible mistake. Moreover, new builders would benefit greatly from making drawings that show how parts fit. However, so many do not and their results show it.

dave

 

[Vaino]

Hi Dave.... as you sometimes build close copies of LRs w/ a history or a LR pictured in one of the books, I can see where a drawing would make things easier and produce a more accurate "copy". I've never done what you do. I find artwork the most challenging facet of gunbuilding mainly because I'm not an artist as you are......but still don't make a drawing of the carving on paper, only on the wood.

Perhaps my training as a toolmaker and tool and machine designer enabled me to visualize the steps ahead and sometimes I did make sketches but not too often. ...why draw it twice.

Your builds are beautiful and interesting, so your methods can only be correct.....Fred

 

[Sidney Smith]

When I did the lock mortise on my squirrel gun, I used my TVM Lancaster to guide me. Plus I have Chuck Dixons book, so between the book and having another gun to visualize from, it went pretty smoothly.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I have found TOW pans to be a help but not an exact example of what you are building.

My first rifle was a Beck, I used TOW plans and was following them closely, lock inlet and all, carefully measured. To my horror I realized my Chambers lock was completely different from the one in the plans with a different sear position. I already had the lock in when I found I was going to have a 12" length of pull, I needed 13.5". fortunately I hadn't inletted the buttplate and had left about 2" of extra wood after I drew the pattern on the blank. If I had cut out my pattern completely my goose would been cooked and I would have made a kids rifle.

 

[Valkyrie]

One tiny thing at a time.

I lay in bed last night trying to figure this barrel channel issue. So I waxed up the barrel with paste wax and the same with the stock and I lined the barrel channel from the breach to the muzzle with a thin layer of blue plasticine clay. I seated the barrel nice and firm. When I pulled the barrel out I found that the barrel channel is cut unparallel to the stock if measured from the ramrod channel. Runout is about 1/16” starting from zero at about about 10” in front of the breach back to about 2” from the breach which is then cut the other way dropping away about 3/16” that I already filled in with epoxy. Seating the barrel level is not an option because the lock mortise is already located and as someone posted above, the barrel would be far too low to properly locate and align the touch hole liner.

the good news is that I have enough wood to clean it all up and will be able to deal with it and proceed cleanly.
Needless to say I am no expert at all but already know that if I ever do this again I’ll probably go with a stock blank that is just cut for the barrel channel. But I’m really interested in the above posts about building a rifle according to a drawing. Definitely something to look at in the future. Right now I’m conquering one obstacle at a time. So far, so good.

 

[TommyG]

You didn't mention if this is a swamped or straight barrel. If it is a swamped barrel there will be a gradual hump or high spot in the waist or center of the channel.

 

[Sidney Smith]

Definitely buy one of the books on gun building. You will get a lot more insight than you would from just a picture or of an image in your head.

I like Dixons book. Even though the illustrations are a little crude, and some have said there are better books out there, it still covers everything you're going to need to know to complete a muzzleloader. If you get stuck on one area, there will be a chapter that covers how to proceed.

 

[Valkyrie]

You didn't mention if this is a swamped or straight barrel. If it is a swamped barrel there will be a gradual hump or high spot in the waist or center of the channel.

Straight 7/8” barrel