Slowly destroying a TOTW kit

For cryin' out loud!! Don't laugh but I'm breaking the record for messing up a first time gun building project. This time I've drilled an extra touch hole in the side of my barrel about an inch or so forward ( I swear, it looked just like the location mark I made ) and now I need to plug it safely. It is a 5/32 hole and I ran a 3-32 tap almost all the way through it and plan to get a machine screw or something to screw into it and file it flat. Was I right not to thread completely through so that the bolt or screw will tighten up nicely? Is there a better idea about what exactly to plug it with like a bigger size or a certain type of screw/bolt? Most importantly is this a safe fix? The lockplate covers about half the hole. This has most certainly been a learning experience. Thanks in advance for any advice or shared experiences.

 

I learned early on that I have everything it takes to:
build a boat
make a self bow
make arrows
make fishing lures
build a rifle
make a dog house
etc.
except for one thing.
SKILL.
Ain't got none. :redface:

 

[TwoShadows]

Sounds like a safe enough fix to me. Yes, I put underlugs on 2 different flats of a rifle a couple of guns ago....got lucky, as the mistakes were covered by wood when finished. People who tell you they don't make mistakes most likely tell other lies too....or dont do anything at all! P S If you are going to Manskers tomorrow, better bring your mud shoes....looks kinda damp out there right now...we are heading out in a few minutes to set up the tavern...and expect to have plenty of coffee and hot food for the brave souls thay sally forth despite inclement weather.

 

[Birddog6]

Most likely you will have a burr on the inside of the barrel where the drill went thru. May consider taking the breechplug out & removing the burr with a small round file as it will be catching & tearing the jag when swabbing or cleaning. Do the same thing on the vent when you drill & tap it.

 

[musketman]

I learned early on that I have everything it takes to: make arrows.

Would that make you an aerosmith?

Ha, Dream-On...

I crack me up...
Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Haaaaaaaaaaaaa Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa... :haha: :haha: :haha: :haha: :haha:

 

[jtmattison]

MM,
Have you been puttin' black powder in your pipe?
You're nuts

Huntin

 

[2thdoc]

I ain't no expert, but I believe if it was me, I'd either send it off and have it cut off and new breechplug threads tapped or buy a new barrel.

 

[Stumpkiller]

J James,

My condolences. I know how you must feel. Lord knows I have done enough similar. Measure twice - cut once. Didn't the English M/L occasionally have platinum pressure-relief-plugs in the breeches?

Let me relate two stories to cheer you up. I was routing a cable from the GPS antenna on my boat throuth to the NAV station. In the rear berth I needed to drill into a 1/2" plywood panel. In the otherside of that panel, 6 INCHES off from where I measured the edge to be, was a 30 gallon water tank. Let me tell you that lying on your back and drilling a hole in a cramped area on a boat and having water jet out into your face while holeing a drill plugged into the shore power is a religous experience. If anyone ever notices I will tell them that the 1/2" expanding rubber plug on the back side of that tank is an inspection port.

Here's a gun related one that Maxiball will love.

While in college I was house-sitting while my parents were away on vacation. I came home to find the front door ajar. In my car was my .357 Colt Trooper - I was shooting PPC with the local sheriffs at the time and just happened to have it with me. I loaded up and cautiously entered the house. As I passed between the parlor (this was an old house) and the dining room, the wall phone in the dining room that was two feet from my head rang! I learned a valuable lesson about carrying a gun with the hammer cocked that day. Actually several: muzzleblast feels pretty fierce up against your leg, a .357 is very loud inside the house, linoleum can be patched convincingly with a piece removed from a closet corner and some Elmer's Glue, the sheet metal of a furnace is not bullet proof (even when hiding under a pine floor) but can be patched with roofing tar and a piece of scrap sheet metal (luckily nobody notices an extra access plate on the top of a furnace).

 

[Zonie]

I'm glad to hear you aren't letting little errors get to you.
These things happen to everyone sooner or later. The important thing is you have a well thought out plan to fix it.
IMO the idea of plugging the hole with a set screw is a safe way to deal with the problem.
As for the depth of the hole, your logic makes sense but I would suggest that you also use some LocTite on the threads when you install the screw. This will do two things.
First, it will keep the screw from backing out and second, it will seal off the gaps at the screws major and minor diameter.
It may brown or blue a little differently than the barrel, but in that location, no one but you will ever notice it.

As for the burr inside the barrel, a few passes with some 600 or 1200 grit silicone carbide paper wrapped around a cleaning brush will knock them off.

Drilling thru the wall of the barrel explains why the Bastard Gun I currently am building has a $200 Swamped barrel which is 5 inches shorter than it should be.
The difference between my barrel and yours is mine was 5 inches behind the muzzle where it would snag patches even if I plugged it. That's why I cut it off.
On the plus side, the B Gun will make one hell of a nice Canoe gun!

Keep on building! Your not doing half as bad as you think.

 

oopps!

Re-breach,,re-lug, shortin the stock! or,, another barrel.(period),,,

No fix, no way,unless some experts here wanna tell how they have passed on missed drilled barrels to others!??? Any takers?? Got insurance? You could keep it as is till yer dead, then pass it on to the grand kids and hope they never use a "max" load.

What cal is it? Can you use parts of the barrel for something else?
(knock on wood)

I don't know about ALL this stuff but,,as much as it sucks,, I'd not plugg a hole and use it!,,theirs "smiths" all about that can re-do a barrel breech and lugs,,but pluggin a hole?,,no way. They all brag on how good it is to have a really nice gunn,and a good barrel,,(oh, but this one has been plugged!) yea right,,oop's
re breech.

 

[gordy]

I would agree with zonie!There is no reason that a hole of this size ,plugged propperly,would create any more weakness or danger,than the cleanout screw in the bolsters on many percussion guns.Remember the breech plug is also a screw and We don't worry about the threads holding the preasure,and it has much more surface for the preasure to work against.Plug it and keep on building!Anyone who hasn't made a few mistakes,hasn't attempted to do much and/or is a real dull person.The biggest difference between an amature and a professional,is the pros have learned to repair their mistakes. Good Luck! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[Birddog6]

J James: IMHO, I would buy another barrel. I never take a chance on one & if I would make an error such as this, I would get another barrel.

1: I would send it to WCY and have him rebreech it for you. He is good, reliable, & very reasonable. Wahkon Bay Outfitters is the place & his name is William Young. William is a superb machinist in all aspects of muzzleloading.

2: If the barrel will not fit the inlet after the rebreech, save it for the next project & buy a blank & have someone inlet it & precarve it for you so you don't waste the barrel.

3: I always do my vent last. I build the entire rifle in the white & have it all together, THEN I mark the vent, punch it with a centerpunch, then disassemble the rifle for finishing & right before I brown the barrel, I put the vent in. It is already centerpunched so I know for sure where the hole goes.

4: Everyone makes mistakes. Accept it & go on & chalk it up to one you won't do again. I measure countless times on things as such & barrel pins & tang holes & lock bolts. Over & Over & Over, and if I leave it for a few days, when I come back I do it over & over & over again.......

5: Keep a pluggin at it & you will get it. Take your time & don't get in a hurry. Sometimes it takes me 3-4 months to build one & one time it took me 18 months. When I get to a place I cannot make my mind up on, the rifle sits til I am Sure of what to do. I have had rifles on the bench with carvings drawn on them for months because I am not sure.... they may sit for 2 mo & then erase it & do something else. When it hits me right, then I do it and go on. Debated on a rifle on time for 2 mo on just whether to take 2" off the barrel. One morning it hit me the barrel was fine as it was & on I went with it.

 

[Liver eatin’ Johnson]

Hang in there JJ - this is the place for answers! :winking:

 

[breech]

Man I did the same thing with a TOTW vincent rifle kit 2 yrs ago spent a long time decided wether to buy jedidia stars kit or TOTW kit and settled on TOTW because it had the longer barrel.When I drilled my hole I wasnt wearing my glasses.Did the same thing you did and ended having the barrel cut off just in front of the incorrect hole and rethreaded for the breech plug.Think it set me back 45.00 but after completion the gun was very nice and nobody would ever knowed.

 

Misery loves company. I realize that gun building is not my talent but I likes it anyway.

 

I believe your plug will hold and would be safe. There are many guns out there that have plugs to include shotguns. I will point out though that most of these were kept for private use. In the end its what do you feel comfortable with?
I would also take a good look at re breaching the barrel. Will it still fit you barrel channel, if its a standard octagon it should, O to R or swamped can be a different story.

If it were I ,I would plug it ,strap it to a 2X6, double load it fuse it and see what happens. If the plug holds a double amount of powder and lead it will hold up to normal use up to that point. I however would never sell it unless I replace the barrel .
Mistakes happen that for sure , that

 

[kentucky bucky]

Measure twice ...cut once is a rule that I break every time my mind wanders. Many times it is in Siberia. Learning is painful and not learning is even worse! I have suffered many self inflicted and totally avoidable mini catastrophies, last night to be exact. :curse:

 

A couple of good anecdotes...

While i was inletting my barrel channel on my first real gun, i was really leaning into the chisel, more so than i realized. My mentor, instead of telling me "Oy, yer leanin' on that there chunk of walnut awful hard and yer gawna break the thing", sneaked up on me with a piece of ramrod in his hand. On the next downstroke, I suddenly heard "KRRR-RACK!" right in my ear.

Nearly lost bladder control. Quit leaning on my stocks after that.

He also, when we were drilling the pin holes, warned me that the drill should only pass through metal one time. "Wood, metal, wood," he said. "If yuh git wood, metal, air, metal, wood, then yuh drilt tru da barrel. Porting might work ok fer modern guns, but not up agin the wood."

Apparently, he had seen it happen before. They welded the holes, but the gun just never functioned right after that. I think that you have the right idea with the machine screw, but I also agree that for safety sake, I might have it cut and rethreaded....better safe than sorry when black powder--or an explosive--is invloved.

Stumbler

 

Yes, I used a spare 10-32 lock bolt and carefully tapped the misplaced hole and filled it in and filed it flush. That was a while back and she shoots great. The lock plate covers most of it so I don't worry about blowin' the plug out and killing anyone. I also glas-bedded the barrel and I couldn't get it to release for weeks but Lo and behold It came right out for me the other night! I used the Acra gard bedding stuff to strengthen the fore stock which had a crack up it's middle which I caused while pounding the barrel pins in at an early stage of the build. The bedding also took up some space I created by some half ass inletting on my part. I get in a hurry, always have. I just don't have the patience and skills to make gun building worthwhile. Don't get me wrong, I love my Jaeger and she looks and shoots great and I'm proud to have made it but I'll leave gunbuilding to gunbuilders from now on (except for maybe a .62 pistol someday).

 

[rootnuke]

There's something about 1/8" Maple and big hammers that just don't mix.
Don't beat yourself up. It really sucks when your hammering away thinking your making progress and you hear out of no where crac&!kk!, ::