Question of the day#3

[Mike W Terry]

I went to the gun range the other day and talked with a guy with a flint gun. He had a drilled hole in the barrel with no liner for his vent hole.At the time i did not think to ask him how well it shot. Is this a good way to go? He was packing up so i was not able to see how well it fired. Also in contacting DGW the lady there said she does not think they will be getting in any more silver wire inlay. Where can you get it and how hard is it to put in.How hard is it to keep it in the wood after you get it in? Thank you for your help.

 

[galamb]

It is not uncommon to NOT have a liner - however, it is generally accepted that it will fire faster with a proper liner.

That's where the arguments start - what design of liner is best?

I prefer White Lightning liners directly from Chambers. There is another white lightning out there that Jim states is not his design, so I buy from the source.

As to your silver inlay wire. Track sells sterling silver but it's expensive. Muzzleloader Builders Supply (MBS) sells both German silver and Brass inlay wire in (I think) three different gauges (thicknesses).

It's not wire like you think of, perfectly round, it's kinda tear drop shaped (sorta), narrower/sharp on one end.

Generally you cut a tiny channel into the wood (x-acto knife, piece of a hacksaw blade used as a chisel etc) in the pattern you want and then tap the wire in (hopefully not cutting your finger in the process).

Many will add a touch of crazy glue in key places to glue the wire in which can pop out/raise as the wood naturally expands and contracts.

Wire inlays were popular on Virginia rifles, not so much on other styles/schools although I have seen at least one J.P. Beck that had wire work.

 

[kaintuck]

A hole is all that is needed to get the fire to the charge, but IF a person is gonna shoot a lot, a liner is nice. Hanging over the fireplace and shooting only a doze times a year? Well, no need for a liner.....
Silver RIBBON will hold itself in....for over 200 yrs from what I have seen!

 

[LRB]

A simple drilled hole was the most common vent in common rifles, being used by common shooters of the 18th c., however, if you want faster, more certain ignition, an inside coned vent liner is superior, or an inside coned drilled hole. Either puts the main charge closer to the pan flash. In most cases with either method, there is little to no perceived delay when the trigger is pulled, but many will notice a difference in the simple drilled hole in comparison. The simple hole works fine for many, but not as well for all. I like the coned vent liner, but not all do.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Do searches (Google is your friend) for silver and gold supplies. I would just start with 'silver wire'. Many vendors will pop up. Jewelry makers use a lot of silver wire.

 

[54ball]

My experience...

After all the bugs are worked out such as pan depth, vent hole size and priming which all may require,

Drilled Vent
TPow to T Pow

Outside Cone
Pow tPow to TPow

Vent Liner
Pow to tPow

Hope that makes sense.

 

[kaintuck]

And all this time, I thought it was K pow.....

:haha:

 

[Mike W Terry]

Thank you all so very much for your input. I guess i will try a hole prior to a liner and see how things go. Mike T

 

[Elnathan]

I suspect that back in the day that straight touchholes were a bit bigger ( ~3/32) than those favored today (1/16 or a little less). I have a couple period references to plugging the touchhole prior to loading to keep the gun from priming itself, and a brief discussion with someone on another board who had measured a couple good-condition originals suggested that 3/32 was about average.