My Kibler SMR Build Log

[wiscoaster]

Build Log #23

Ramming the Rod
- or -
Rodding the Rammer

I forgot to take my iPad to the basement, then just decided to let it go, thinking this was such a trivial task there'd be no visual interest.

But I was wrong.

I had to do something to give you guys at least one little disaster to hoot about, and so I bent the nail. (And not intentionally):

OK, no biggie. Plenty of small nails around here. I just substituted one of mine. 'Cept ... mine must have been made of harder steel, because it was a bear to file and peen.

The tenon also needed considerable reduction, no small surprise (and not a defect!!) seeing as how it's been laying around in the basement, soaking up moisture and swelling for some time.

But get the ram rod done, I did, probably using up more than a few precious minutes of my alloted four hours build time:

... and it's nice and straight, goes smoothly all the way through the pipes and into stock, and all that desirable stuff. When I get around to it, I'm going to screw in the rammer tip I plan to use, put it down the barrel, and mark the "empty" length on the rod, so I can fabricate a nice little visual and tactile band there for a quickie unloaded reference.

 

[wiscoaster]

Build Log Update

Toe Plate Metal

I have this beautiful steel bar stock that's perfect, except it's too thick. At nominal 1/8 inch it measures by cheap vernier caliper at 2.9 mm. The SMR butt plate thickness, at the edge, as near as I can measure it, is 1.8 mm.

So, let's just see once what's possible wrt grinding down this bar stock. Using a hand held belt sander gets the metal hot enough to start getting heat-blued (as well as smoking the wood it's mounted on).

After a while I measure it to see how we're doing:

It's already down to 2.0 mm at its thinnest part: wow, in the ball park!! But that brings up the next problem:

... how to make it of even thickness along its entire length. A challenge for a hand held tool. Let's think outside the box. Sanding blocks are used to evenly distribute sanding pressure along a surface so as to make it stay even and flat. So:

... how about a reverse sanding block, with the surface to be levelled on the block itself? I know this piece of wood is straight, so the bar is mounted on it, and Mr. Gorilla and his glue are employed to hold the center down, with a couple filed-flat screws at the outer edges.

Will this work? I don't know. I'm too damned tired right now. Maybe we'll find out tomorrow.

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

I would have choose heat and beat

 

[IanH]

I could have draw-filed a big enough piece to do the plate to 1/16" in under five minutes.

 

[wiscoaster]

I could have draw-filed a big enough piece to do the plate to 1/16" in under five minutes.

You're welcome to come up to Wisconsin. You bring the ribs; I'll supply the craft beer.

 

[IanH]

It would have been good practice for filing the barrel. I hope you don't decide to sand IT with your Dremel. hint.

I quit even paying attention to the "what did you do today" thread because there were two different people there complaining about how long it took to sand the milling marks out of their barrels. Really? That's like taking a bath and scrubbing your whole body with a Q-tip. How can anyone own a muzzleloader and not own at least one good FILE?

 

[tgfrench]

Could have just gotten a piece of heavy sheet metal from box hardware store.

 

[wiscoaster]

Could have just gotten a piece of heavy sheet metal from box hardware store.

Sheet metal? That would have been even harder. At least for me. No way I could cut that down so it was perfectly straight, like bar stock is. Thanks, but no thanks. I did consider it, though.

 

[wiscoaster]

It would have been good practice for filing the barrel. ....

Actually, I did start by draw filing, and you're right, it was good practice, but it went too slow. Even with my new file. That belt sander really went pretty fast. It just was hard to get it to sand evenly over the entire length.

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

I think you missed the post where I looked in every store in town for 1/16 inch steel bar stock 3/4 inch wide. It's not available. They all carry from the same vendor: Hillman. Sheet metal? That would have been even harder. No way I could cut that down so it was perfect, like bar stock is. Thanks, but no thanks. I did consider it, though.

That's what a hacksaw and file are for. I have been using the same sheet of steel for 30 years.
.

 

[wiscoaster]

Sorry, edited post while you were quoting.

 

[brushyspoons]

Could have just gotten a piece of heavy sheet metal from box hardware store.

16 ga sheet metal from Lowe's or Ace is what I used to make the toe plate on my first rifle.

That's what a hacksaw and file are for. I have been using the same sheet of steel for 30 years.
.

And those are the tools I used to make it. I cut it out a little wider than the toe of my buttstock, inlet it and screwed it on, then filed it flush with the wood on the sides.

 

[Tenring]

ALL THIS FOR A TOE PLATE, Some Times I Wonder About This Forum.

 

[wiscoaster]

ALL THIS FOR A TOE PLATE, Some Times I Wonder About This Forum.

Nothing wrong with the forum. Don't blame the forum. Just blame me.

IF what you're saying is the forum should censor me from posting this thread, then it should not, because it doesn't violate forum rules. BUT, I've agreed to stop, if the majority of the members wish me to stop, and the poll ends tomorrow.

So don't blame the forum. If you haven't voted, then feel free to blame yourself.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I had the same adventure making a peep sight at looked good and worked well, I didn't chronical my failures, too embarrassing.

Then there was my attempt to make a patch box release for a southern banana patch box, again my failures were an embarrassment but I finally got it right. The failures are in the background.

Us beginners learn a lot from failures.

 

[wiscoaster]

Build Log Update

Toeplate Metal

I marked the bar with Sharpie:

... did some vigorous sanding against a surface I know to be flat:

... to produce shiny spots that are "high" in relation to the thinnest part. These high spots I can now selectively spot file.

Making progress:

... because shiny spots are getting bigger.

At this point:

... the black is getting pretty small and starting to show some scratches from sanding.

So, I pull out the calipers and find the high spots to already be down to 2.2 mm. Not much left to do. The target is 2.0 mm or less.

But all this before breakfast, and I'm hungry, so it's time for a break.

 

[wiscoaster]

Breakfast

As you guys can tell, I like to try something new and different, and I've been thinking about trying this:

Bacon and eggs, sunny-side-up, broiled in the oven.

Worked great!! Yum!!

 

[CuNosecap]

Terrific. Did you watch Jim Kibler's video on frying eggs? I think he fries them!

Just kidding Pal. Keep up the hard work. Loving this thread.

 

[wiscoaster]

...Did you watch Jim Kibler's video on frying eggs? I think he fries them!

oh oh ... I did something non-Kibler

 

[wiscoaster]

Build Log Update

Toe Plate Metal

I've got the bar down to 2.1 mm at both ends:

There's still a bit of a dip in the center, a result of the belt sander, but it's an irregular dip: 1.8 mm on one edge and 1.9 mm on the other. I think I'll let it go, because I think I can still get two toe plates cut out of this bar and still avoid that center dip. And keeping in mind, too, that this is going to be the inside surface of the toe plate. I think I'll go with it. It'll get thinned out a little more when I deal with the mill marks on the flip side.

Lesson learned from this exercise: this is a great way to learn and practice draw filing. I highly recommend learning and practicing on a steel bar for anyone who's never done it before. You don't need to mount it the way I did. That was for sanding. Just clamp it to a flat surface. You really get some experience holding and stroking the file on a flat properly, learn how it feels when you stroke it, and learn how it "talks" to you by what you see as the result of your strokes.