Newbie questions - inletting a swamped barrel

[Woodchips]

I am building my first flintlock long rifle - an Issac Haines with a 38" Rice swamped barrel. I would like some guidance on desired fits and good workmanship. The stock is a red maple blank from Dunlap Woodcrafts.

• The fit to the stock is not perfect. I've got a few small areas that I know I need to patch, but there a lot of areas with a 0.003/0.006" clearance to the barrel (regions marked with blue tape). I have also read in one of my books that there can be some wood swelling with the application of finish. What fit is considered good workmanship?

Thank you

 

[sdilts]

Not seeing any pictures.

 

[Woodchips]

Sorry about that. I'm a new member and did not realize that I haven't done enough posts to have image posting privileges

 

[Phil Coffins]

For a first build a .003” to .006” gap in the barrel inlet would be fine to my eye. The finish will not swell the wood as much as the finish build up will. As far as fit I try to make the parts look like the tree grew around them, but to often you can tell it didn’t.

 

[wiscoaster]

After finishing you might need to do some minor re-inletting, but don't let the finish question affect what you do now.

 

[Woodchips]

Thanks for your replies. I'll re-post the images when I get privileges.

Can experienced builders consistently get their fits under 0.003"

 

[Eric Krewson]

I have never made a gun that didn't have glue and shims in the inletting gaps, I have done enough that I can make them disappear, even to a trained eye.

 

[billraby]

I have never made a gun that didn't have glue and shims in the inletting gaps, I have done enough that I can make them disappear, even to a trained eye.

By the time I finish the gun I forgot where I had to fill in the gaps. Nobody seems to notice them. That means they don't exist anymore.

 

[Woodchips]

Thank you Phil, wiscoaster, Eric & billraby. That make me feel a bit better. What is your judgment of what gap size is OK and what should b corrected?

 

[SDSmlf]

Thank you Phil, wiscoaster, Eric & billraby. That make me feel a bit better. What is your judgment of what gap size is OK and what should b corrected?

If you can see a gap and it bothers you, correct it. Be sure and save your wood chips from inletting.

 

[Eric Krewson]

If you make a big mistake, perhaps in your lock inletting, don't stack up shims, glue in one oversized piece of matching wood with the grain orientated the same as the molding and inlet the lock into this larger piece. You can find an ingenious way to clamp this patch into place tightly and have an invisible glue line. On my largest patch I actually blackened the patch with soot and kept fitting it until it was perfect.

I guess people are tired of seeing these pictures I have posted them so any times.

Bad pre-carve lock inlet, patched to re-inlet.

Done so you can't see the patch, a little of the glue line shows at the tail of the lock, I can cover that up with dark leather dye and make it look like a wood grain but haven't gotten around to it.

This is an L&R lock swap on a TC, the lock was smaller than the mortise so I stacked up shims to fill the gap at the tail, they are VERY visible.

 

[Eric Krewson]

A single shim is OK for filling a minor gap, make it wedge shaped and tap it in lightly with some glue in the offending area.

I stain the area that has been shimmed darker to hide the shims.

Same rifle finished.

 

[Woodchips]

Erik -

Thank you for the pictures and comments. I've used a similar technique, except using soft pencil lead to fit dovetails and tenons.