For beginners: Installing barrel lugs.

[Robbo]

Thank you. An excellent tutorial.

 

[mikemeteor]

Yes indeed, Mike.
Your tutorial should be mandatory viewing before anyone posts a question here !
I know I've been thru it a dozen times or more now.

As noted, I was just trying to add a few more photos... the more photos I see the better... might be just me, but that's how my melon works...

 

[Birddog6]

I wouldn't think of building a rifle without a vice. Mainly because I am allergic to drill bits & chisel tips in my legs ..... :grin:

Yes, it can be done, but it is a heck of a lot harder.

My suggestion is get the tools first, then the parts. That way you can do it correctly and safely and also not make a screwup ya cannot repair or hide. :redface:

I already had the vice, but the drillpress is the first thing I bought. $ 129. at Lowes for a Delta benchtop. And there is no telling how many Thousands of holes I have drilled with it & have never regretted the purchase. You can get one cheaper at Harbor Freight & it will get ya by, but saving a bit & getting one from Lowes would be much better. (IMHO)

 

[necchi]

Yes indeed, Mike.
Your tutorial should be mandatory viewing before anyone posts a question here !...

Amen to that! I e-mailed this thread to myself, lest the link be lost several pages back.
Excelant photo tutorial from all :bow:

 

[Dirigo]

Thanks to all who posted here, I just received my TVM Early Virginia kit and was laying awake nights worrying about how I was going to hit the barrel lugs. The drill press-and-fence method looks like the ticket. I also like the hack-saw blade clamp. My barrel has shallow pilot holes drilled in it to accept the lugs. I assume these are soldered in.

 

[Birddog6]

Don't assume Anything. :shake: Those holes in the barrel are probably for staples and are to be staked in with a staking tool. :hmm:

I suggest you buy "The Gunsmith's of Grenville County" and read it well before you do Anything. Otherwise you may end up like several hire did & get the horse ahead of the buggy & sometimes that can cause you some grief.

:wink:

 

[Vaino]

Good advice! I've got a self standing drill press w/ a 3/4"x2'x4-1/2' reinforced sheet of plywood bolted to the table and do all the lugs w/ one setup. The stock and bbl are clamped in a vise w/ a parallel towards the muzzle end and clamps at each lug and a 1/16" drill is used. The whole shebang is slid on the table until all the holes are drilled. Same goes for the RR pipes. One of these days I'll have to make that fixture for drilling the tang bolt...Fred

 

[Eric Krewson]

I made a spike drilling fixture for my drill press table but lately I just sharpen a piece of dowel and clamp it vertically in my cross slide vise. I check to make sure it is perfectly vertical with a small level.

This works as well as a drilling spike plus I can easily adjust the drill bit to the spike by cranking my vise jaws one way or the other.

 

[steved]

In the spirit of trying to make my first build without using power tools I used an egg beater drill and eye-balled it using markings measured out on the stock. Needless to say I filled in an errant hole or two with "toothpicks" made from scraps and my first rifle, "Ginger", sports a freckle or two. :redface:

 

[Dirigo]

Thanks. I have 'Recreating the American Longrifle' and 'The Art of Building the Pennsylvania Longrifle' and will be reading both before I start. After the holidays I'll see if I can get a couple pics of the barrel lugs to better explain what I'm talking about.