Finally starting to make a little progress on my .40 build. After a mix up on the hardware and inletting on my stock my parts are finally here. I had to add some epoxy because the barrel inletting was very deep at the breech end.
The lock inletting required a little work, this rifle will be shot with a cap and a flintlock. The locks are large Silers and there are differences in the size of the lock plates and one doesn't fit as tight in the inlet in the stock. The bolster on the flintlock was ground on a angle, wider in the rear than the front. The stock had a similar taper in the lock area so I assume it was supposed to be that way. The problem was the percussion's bolster was ground straight from the front to the back. This wouldn't be a issue if the rifle was using only the flintlock or the cap lock. Since I'm using both I filed the percussion's bolster to the same dimensions of the cap lock's bolster. Once the locks were fitted I had to use a hand plane on the stock around the locks. Once that was finished I planed the plate side to match the lock side.
I didn't like the side plate that was in the hardware, it looked like a butter knife with a round lobe on top. So, I sat down with some heavy paper and started drawing, after several attempts I came up with something that appealed to me.
There is still a lot of work to do, the butt plate and trigger guard need finishing, the trigger has to be inletted, then drilled and tapped for the tang screw, the stock has to be cut for LOP and the butt plate fitted. The dovetail cutter should be here today to make the cuts for the barrel lugs, then the inletting and pins installed. The barrel is 42" and will most likely be cut to 38-39", then the nose cap and thimbles installed and finally the stock has to be finished.
After typing all this I'm just getting started. LOL
The lock inletting required a little work, this rifle will be shot with a cap and a flintlock. The locks are large Silers and there are differences in the size of the lock plates and one doesn't fit as tight in the inlet in the stock. The bolster on the flintlock was ground on a angle, wider in the rear than the front. The stock had a similar taper in the lock area so I assume it was supposed to be that way. The problem was the percussion's bolster was ground straight from the front to the back. This wouldn't be a issue if the rifle was using only the flintlock or the cap lock. Since I'm using both I filed the percussion's bolster to the same dimensions of the cap lock's bolster. Once the locks were fitted I had to use a hand plane on the stock around the locks. Once that was finished I planed the plate side to match the lock side.
I didn't like the side plate that was in the hardware, it looked like a butter knife with a round lobe on top. So, I sat down with some heavy paper and started drawing, after several attempts I came up with something that appealed to me.
There is still a lot of work to do, the butt plate and trigger guard need finishing, the trigger has to be inletted, then drilled and tapped for the tang screw, the stock has to be cut for LOP and the butt plate fitted. The dovetail cutter should be here today to make the cuts for the barrel lugs, then the inletting and pins installed. The barrel is 42" and will most likely be cut to 38-39", then the nose cap and thimbles installed and finally the stock has to be finished.
After typing all this I'm just getting started. LOL
