I'm have one hell of a time getting the muzzle cap installed on the Isaac Haines gun I'm building. I'm at the point where the cap fits on the wood but I can't get smooth transition between the wood and brass. I'm worried to take any more wood off, I only have about 1/8 wood left on the stock under the cap. I could take it down to 1/16 but I don't know if that enough wood left to attach the cap. Any suggestions?
Help putting on a muzzle cap
- Thread starter wizard71
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Sorry, but I'm having trouble visualizing the problem.
Are we talking about the sides where it meets the barrel, or the bottom area?
As for how much wood should be in the area, I will give my ideas about how the cap should fit.
The front face of the cap should be about 1/8 to 1/4 inch behind the face of the muzzle.
The sides of the cap should extend to the middle of the barrels side flats.
Using these ideas, locate the cap on the barrel. If the cap is too narrow to fit the barrel, use a non metalic hammer and tap it on. (sooner or later it is going to have to fit or you won't be able to put the barrel in the stock).
Yes, this tapping will bend the cap open but that usually doesn't cause a problem.
If the cap fits too loosely on the side flats of the barrel, remove the cap and place it on one side on your work bench. Use a non-metallic hammer to tap the sides of the cap in the front area to reduce the width.
With the front of the cap on the barrel, move the rear up or down until the top edges of the cap (where it meets the side flats of the barrel) are running parallel with the center of the flats (or bore).
This is how the cap should fit on the finished gun, so measure the distance from the inside surfaces of the cap to the outside of the barrel.
This is how thick the wood should be. In other words, all of the area which is air during this "fitting" should be wood when your finished and the cap and barrel are installed on the stock.
Clear as mud, I know but without seeing exactly what you are dealing with, it's hard to be more descriptive.
Are we talking about the sides where it meets the barrel, or the bottom area?
As for how much wood should be in the area, I will give my ideas about how the cap should fit.
The front face of the cap should be about 1/8 to 1/4 inch behind the face of the muzzle.
The sides of the cap should extend to the middle of the barrels side flats.
Using these ideas, locate the cap on the barrel. If the cap is too narrow to fit the barrel, use a non metalic hammer and tap it on. (sooner or later it is going to have to fit or you won't be able to put the barrel in the stock).
Yes, this tapping will bend the cap open but that usually doesn't cause a problem.
If the cap fits too loosely on the side flats of the barrel, remove the cap and place it on one side on your work bench. Use a non-metallic hammer to tap the sides of the cap in the front area to reduce the width.
With the front of the cap on the barrel, move the rear up or down until the top edges of the cap (where it meets the side flats of the barrel) are running parallel with the center of the flats (or bore).
This is how the cap should fit on the finished gun, so measure the distance from the inside surfaces of the cap to the outside of the barrel.
This is how thick the wood should be. In other words, all of the area which is air during this "fitting" should be wood when your finished and the cap and barrel are installed on the stock.
Clear as mud, I know but without seeing exactly what you are dealing with, it's hard to be more descriptive.
Original longrifles had very slender forends -- the upper edges, along the side flats of the barrel, were almost like knife blades. A common tendency (I'll stop short of calling it a mistake) of new builders is to want the wood in this area to be a little thicker. Even knowing it should be fairly slender, they're uneasy about removing that last 1/16" or so of wood. Most commercial nosecaps, though, are made to fit rifles that follow traditional styling, meaning their upper edges just about touch the barrel. You're right about the amount of wood that this leaves beneath them -- there isn't much, and it's extremely fragile, particularly if you're using higher-grade curly maple. You have three options: spread the entire nosecap just a hair (not just the rear portion, but the half-octagon area that fits around the muzzle), which will allow you to leave a tiny bit more wood but will also ruin the tight fit of the cap to the barrel; grit your teeth, make sure your tools are sharp, and, using a good metal file to finish, very gently remove the last of the wood necessary to make the cap fit as it should; or make your own nosecap of sheet brass, which is relatively easy to do but sometimes not so easy to get just right. This would allow you to provide for a little extra wood beneath it, while still having it mate up to the end of the barrel.
A few thoughts on this.
One suggestion I will make here is to file down tht last lil bit to make the cap fit with the barrel in the stock. That end is VERY fragile & I have seen a many of them broken off.
Also I use inletting black to fit my nosecaps..... usually the culprit keeping it from fitting is NOT what I thought it was & I was looking right past the problem...
Remember if it is a cast cap it is usually very thick & you can file/sand/grind that thickness way down to make it flow to the wood it is intended to meet up against.
I also usually Miceo-Bed the nosecap to the stock. It give it a super strong fit & fills any void under it & if done properly you cannot see it at all. Then I drill & countersink a rivit or screw in it as to look like the originals.
When you work down the wood brass fit, do as much of it as you can with files. On rounded edges wrap a piece of sandpaper around a 3-4" piece of round file or piece of RR cutoff. but use the rod as to keep the paper stiff. Otherwise you will dish out the wood just past the metal cap.
:thumbsup:
One suggestion I will make here is to file down tht last lil bit to make the cap fit with the barrel in the stock. That end is VERY fragile & I have seen a many of them broken off.
Also I use inletting black to fit my nosecaps..... usually the culprit keeping it from fitting is NOT what I thought it was & I was looking right past the problem...
Remember if it is a cast cap it is usually very thick & you can file/sand/grind that thickness way down to make it flow to the wood it is intended to meet up against.
I also usually Miceo-Bed the nosecap to the stock. It give it a super strong fit & fills any void under it & if done properly you cannot see it at all. Then I drill & countersink a rivit or screw in it as to look like the originals.
When you work down the wood brass fit, do as much of it as you can with files. On rounded edges wrap a piece of sandpaper around a 3-4" piece of round file or piece of RR cutoff. but use the rod as to keep the paper stiff. Otherwise you will dish out the wood just past the metal cap.
:thumbsup:
Mike Brooks
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I throw those cast muzzle caps in the garbage. Use a sheet brass one next time. When you finally do get this one fi prperly , epoxy it in place and then pin it.
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