Pre-drilled drum and nipple

[Gopokes]

Hello!

New to the forum and excited to learn from the pros! I need to order a new powder drum for a semi-custom percussion rifle that a now deceased friend made for me years ago. The threads appear to be 5/16 - 24. I need a new nipple as well. Track of the Wolf sells pre-drilled drum and nipple assemblies but warns that they may not index (I assume this means 'lne up') with the hammer. Lacking all basic skills with tools, I'm leary of ordering anything that requires me to drill and tap. Pathetic. Anyway, have any of you had luck with these pre-drilled assemblies? I suppose I could take the non-drilled drum to a gunsmith, so that's always an option. Thanks for your help!

 

[hawkeye2]

Hit or miss with a pre-drilled assembly. Indexing one would probably require shimming it using something like a washer. Basically drilling a piece of steel or brass to fit over the drum threads and then sanding it to the required thickness so the nipple aligns with the hammer.

 

[necchi]

Anyway, have any of you had luck with these pre-drilled assemblies?

It's a roll of the Dice, it will or it won't. Shimming is not the best idea, but it is done. Proper shim thickness could be as little as 0.010-0.030,, way thinner than any "washer" that you can buy.
Your only option is to try one, if it doesn't work take the loss,, then get the un-drilled drum with the "Drum drilling tool ,alignment jig," to bring along with you to a gunsmith. And/or,, Find a local gunsmith and have a conversation with him, tell him your going to try a drilled drum and if that fails you'll need his help. Ask if he'll need the tool, he may have one,, refer him the the Track of the Wolf website for the drum and tool, as it's simple to navigate and has what you need. (most gunsmiths use supply houses that cater to modern guns) and you can get an estimate of the cost of his service
First;
You will need to determine the proper size drum for your rifle, 7/16 or 1/2". Take just the lock to a hardware store with bins of bolts, use the shoulder section of a 7/16 and/or 1/2" bolt to see which fit's into the drum location of the lock.
Good Luck Friend,,

 

[mooman76]

With shipping cost on a light item and drums aren't that expensive I'd get one of each, try the predrilled and if it doesn't work, use the other.

 

[Gopokes]

Thank you so much for the helpful replies and suggestions. When you refer to the drum size are you referring to the size of the threads or the size of the drum itself?

 

[Grenadier1758]

Thread size.

 

[50cal.cliff]

Drilling your own is not as intimidating as it my sound! What you have to figure out is the hammer strike on the nipple. As the hammer falls it is an arc. However as it contacts the nipple that arc lines up to striking the top of the of the nipple, Squarely striking the nipple with cap! It strikes squarely to give the best ignition of the cap!!

Take an old nipple and measure the height from the bottom of the nipple to the top of the nipple, (excluding threads in other words)!! Find a piece of tubing the same size as the top of the top of the nipple. Cut it too that length, of the nipple minus the threads which will be threaded into the drum! Draw a center line on that piece of tube with a sharpie!

Find the center point of the nipple! Screw the new nipple into the drum to a tight fit! If is not tight the nipple will not index when you put the drum in permanently. Take the piece of tubing and put it under the hammer, as if the rifle had been fired! Draw a line thru the hammer and the drum to determine where to drill and tap. Remove the drum, and drill at the angle you just determined, and tap it!! I am going to try and include a handmade drawing so maybe this explanation makes more sense!

I am going to include a couple of images I pulled off of the net!

This first one is of a rifle at full ****.

The second pic is of a rifle hammer at the firing position! Ironically I would guess this drum is slightly off of index!!It appears to be slightly to far forward!

Now I will try to show you in a hand drawn image!! OK so don't laugh at the horrible hand drawn image! However it is good enough to get the point across. I hope this sheds some light on the process.

 

[50cal.cliff]

If that is still too intimidating by all means consult a gunsmith to do the procedure. If you decide to use a predrilled that amount you need to get the nipple to properly index can be shimmed using brass automotive shim material! You can buy it most automotive supply places and it comes in sheets or rolls. I would try to shim with only one thickness if possible. You will need to keep an eye the washer underneath the nipple, as the pressure might cause it too blow out. Or the corrosiveness of BP may start to deteriorate the brass! That is why a washer is not the best idea!! Sorry I forgot to include this in my post!

 

[Gopokes]

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question so thoroughly - I sincerely appreciate it. I completely get the concept of wanting the hammer strike to be square. So when I took the lock to the hardware store, the bolt that screwed into the hole for the drum was 5/16 24. Not 7/16 or 1/2 - is this an oddball size or did I goof up something?

 

[Gopokes]

The drawing was awesome btw!

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

Do you mean the diameter of the drum where it fits on top of the lock plate ? If so, just use a drill bit, shank end, and lay it in the half moon curve on the top of the lock plate. That can give you the measurement you need.
Thats only if I understand you question correctly…

 

[Grenadier1758]

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question so thoroughly - I sincerely appreciate it. I completely get the concept of wanting the hammer strike to be square. So when I took the lock to the hardware store, the bolt that screwed into the hole for the drum was 5/16 24. Not 7/16 or 1/2 - is this an oddball size or did I goof up something?

Let's us take a trip to the Track of the Wolf's catalog for some more information. The link follows:
Powder Drums, - Track of the Wolf

Track's instructions are to get the drum that is not drilled for the nipple so that you can locate the nipple for a perfect strike of the hammer on the cap.

As you can see there are several dimensions shown. One is the outside diameter of the drum. That outside diameter of the drum is the diameter of the cut out in the lock plate for the drum. Track has drums of 7/16, 1/2 and 9/16 in diameter.

The threads of the drum will be of a smaller diameter to provide a shoulder on the drum for location of the threads inside the barrel to stop at the barrel flat. The drum threads will have a diameter, most likely 5/16" for the drum to thread into the barrel. the pitch of 24 threads per inch is used to provide a finer thread for the drum to engage in the barrel. It is not an odd ball size.

The lock plate should not have any threads for the drum to fasten on to. Did you bring the drum to the hardware store or the barrel?

To do the machine work to thread the new drum for the 1/4-28 nipple, you will need a Number 3 drill. The nipple threads should be tapped with a 1/4-28 plug tap to start cutting the threads and finished with a 1/4-28 bottom tap. The drum being a cylinder, you need the different taps to get the threads you need in the drum. Track shows a plug tap as their recommended tap. Of course you need the proper lubricants for cutting threads and the correct tap handles, not to mention a drill press to drill the hole.

This isn't a difficult task, but can be daunting to someone who hasn't worked in a tool shop or has a limited set of tools.

You can use the drum that is already threaded for the nipple. You may have to file the shoulder of the drum to get the nipple to align with the hammer and even then the hammer may have to be bent to center the hammer over the nipple. I prefer the filing approach to the use of shims.

 

[necchi]

When you refer to the drum size are you referring to the size of the threads or the size of the drum itself?

This is the best answer;

As you can see there are several dimensions shown. One is the outside diameter of the drum. That outside diameter of the drum is the diameter of the cut out in the lock plate for the drum. Track has drums of 7/16, 1/2 and 9/16 in diameter.

 

[ZUG]

Take it to a gunsmith - as you yourself have said " Lacking all basic skills with tools, I'm leary of ordering anything that requires me to drill and tap. Pathetic. " This statement alone tells me your attempt at doing this work will not end well. It's your gun, your time and your money. I STRONGLY suggest that you take it to a professional