I bought an Isaac Haines Langcaster type kit from Sitting Fox, and have just scratched the surface of getting it together. What do you know, there are were no directions with this thing. The kit came with the lock area basically pre inletted. I have installed the breach plug, shaped the tang, and completed inletting the lock area. Here's my first hang up. I assume now I need to determine where my vent hole should be drilled, and finish inletting the barrel and tang according to that location. How far in front of the plug should I place the vent and what size should the hole be? I have searched this and come up with several answers so I hope I can get some good advice from you guys. Thanks!
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Started my rifle build, here come the questions.
- Thread starter BrianJ
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The vent location will depend on whether you are using a vent liner or just drilling a vent hold thru the barrel wall.
I guess if I were planning on just drilling a vent hole I would still locate the center of the vent so that I could install a vent liner later on if I changed my mind.
That said, the 1/4 inch threaded vent liner would be my choice so the center of it should be a little over half the diameter in front of the breech face. About 5/32 (.156) would do.
This location both clears the face of the breech plug for a 1/4-28 or 1/4-32 thread but it keeps it close enough to the breech plug face that very light powder loads can be used without fear of the loaded ball covering the vent hole.
Because you are building a pre-carve, be advised that they do not always position the lock and barrel so that the center of the pan will be 5/32 ahead of the breech plug.
Some mismatch between the center of the vent and the center of the pan won't hurt a thing but a few new builders have posted that the mismatch can be 1/8 inch or more. This is usually trying to place the center of the vent at or under the face of the breech plug.
If this is happening with your gun you will need to move the barrel aft to get the face of the breech plug behind the vents center.
I guess if I were planning on just drilling a vent hole I would still locate the center of the vent so that I could install a vent liner later on if I changed my mind.
That said, the 1/4 inch threaded vent liner would be my choice so the center of it should be a little over half the diameter in front of the breech face. About 5/32 (.156) would do.
This location both clears the face of the breech plug for a 1/4-28 or 1/4-32 thread but it keeps it close enough to the breech plug face that very light powder loads can be used without fear of the loaded ball covering the vent hole.
Because you are building a pre-carve, be advised that they do not always position the lock and barrel so that the center of the pan will be 5/32 ahead of the breech plug.
Some mismatch between the center of the vent and the center of the pan won't hurt a thing but a few new builders have posted that the mismatch can be 1/8 inch or more. This is usually trying to place the center of the vent at or under the face of the breech plug.
If this is happening with your gun you will need to move the barrel aft to get the face of the breech plug behind the vents center.
Wait until you get it all assembled and drill the vent as one of the last operations. That way you will get it in the right location in relation to the center of the pan.
Getting the breech of the barrel in the correct location for the vent to center on the pan is another issue.
Gotta move the barrel back,so's things line up right, sometimes.
The first thing to do is find the location of the face of the breech plug...which begs the question, did you properly fit the breech, or just screw it in?
I suggest a good book on building. There are a coupla DVDs that might give you some insight too.
http://smartflix.com/store/video/3771/Building-MuzzleLoaders-with-James-Turpin
http://smartflix.com/store/video/214/Building-the-Jim-Chambers-Kit-Rifles
That said, the DVDs leave out a lot of the details you will need to complete this kit.
God bless
Getting the breech of the barrel in the correct location for the vent to center on the pan is another issue.
Gotta move the barrel back,so's things line up right, sometimes.
The first thing to do is find the location of the face of the breech plug...which begs the question, did you properly fit the breech, or just screw it in?
I suggest a good book on building. There are a coupla DVDs that might give you some insight too.
http://smartflix.com/store/video/3771/Building-MuzzleLoaders-with-James-Turpin
http://smartflix.com/store/video/214/Building-the-Jim-Chambers-Kit-Rifles
That said, the DVDs leave out a lot of the details you will need to complete this kit.
God bless
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Thanks Zonie and J.D. The barrel channel on this kit is not complete, so I can move the barrel a little to make sure the vent is centered on the pan. Also I am just drilling a hole, no liner. I did have to take just a touch off the face of the breech plug to get it to line up and bottom out, so I think it is fitted properly. I used a marker to color the face of the plug and a feeler gauge on the rear to make sure it was making contact in both locations. I am not drilling the hole yet, I just want the barrel set in the right location, which is why I ask how far in front of the plug will the hole need to be. Thanks again.
paulvallandigham
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Start with the hole placed 1/8" ahead of the plug to the back side of the hole. This gives space for crud to collect before your TH becomes blocked, if you expect to have to shoot several shots before cleaning the barrel.
TH can be 1/16"( .0625"). Some are drilled a bit smaller. If you plan to shoot 3Fg powder in the barrel, start with the 1/16"TH. It should perform flawlessly for you. Center the hole .030" above the top edge of the pan. :thumbsup:
You may have to remove metal from the front of the plug( shorten the plug) and from the rear of the barrel, to make these measurements fit your LOCK, but the manufacturers of both plugs and barrels leave extra metal so that these parts can accommodate a variety of Flintlocks. As long as you have three complete threads on the plug, the plug/barrel will take any pressure you can create in the barrel. With today's modern fine threads being the norm, you are most unlikely to end of reducing the number of threads on the plug, by shortening it, to less than 6 full threads.
[For Example: a common plug size is 5/8 x 18 pitch, meaning that there are 18 threads on the shaft per inch. Most such plugs come with the plug about 3/4" long, or with 12 threads visible. If you had to reduce the length of the plug to 1/2" to accommodate a small lock, you still would have 6 threads visible on that shortened plug- more than enough for any pressure concerns.]
When you are working with a pre-carved stock, with the stock already inletted for a lock, the position of the lock inlet, and its size, pretty well dictate what size lock you can use in that STOCK.
The lock used has a certain length, so that it will control where on the barrel you can position the TH, to center it above your flash pan. If the plug is too long or too short, the lock still dictates where the hole will be drilled.
Since most plugs are made longer than needed for most locks, you can file the face of the plug to shorten it, and then file the rear of the barrel so that the new plug length butts against the back of the bore. Its sounds more complicated than it is. Just get the order in which you do your work set in the correct order, and you avoid future problems, with things like barrel lugs positions, sight positions, Trigger and Trigger Guard positions, decisions on Length of Pull of the stock, and where to locate the butt plate, etc. :thumbsup:
TH can be 1/16"( .0625"). Some are drilled a bit smaller. If you plan to shoot 3Fg powder in the barrel, start with the 1/16"TH. It should perform flawlessly for you. Center the hole .030" above the top edge of the pan. :thumbsup:
You may have to remove metal from the front of the plug( shorten the plug) and from the rear of the barrel, to make these measurements fit your LOCK, but the manufacturers of both plugs and barrels leave extra metal so that these parts can accommodate a variety of Flintlocks. As long as you have three complete threads on the plug, the plug/barrel will take any pressure you can create in the barrel. With today's modern fine threads being the norm, you are most unlikely to end of reducing the number of threads on the plug, by shortening it, to less than 6 full threads.
[For Example: a common plug size is 5/8 x 18 pitch, meaning that there are 18 threads on the shaft per inch. Most such plugs come with the plug about 3/4" long, or with 12 threads visible. If you had to reduce the length of the plug to 1/2" to accommodate a small lock, you still would have 6 threads visible on that shortened plug- more than enough for any pressure concerns.]
When you are working with a pre-carved stock, with the stock already inletted for a lock, the position of the lock inlet, and its size, pretty well dictate what size lock you can use in that STOCK.
The lock used has a certain length, so that it will control where on the barrel you can position the TH, to center it above your flash pan. If the plug is too long or too short, the lock still dictates where the hole will be drilled.
Since most plugs are made longer than needed for most locks, you can file the face of the plug to shorten it, and then file the rear of the barrel so that the new plug length butts against the back of the bore. Its sounds more complicated than it is. Just get the order in which you do your work set in the correct order, and you avoid future problems, with things like barrel lugs positions, sight positions, Trigger and Trigger Guard positions, decisions on Length of Pull of the stock, and where to locate the butt plate, etc. :thumbsup:
If you have not inletted the tang yet, I would set the barrel back some for a vent liner & if you don't want to use it, OK. However if you need it later, the vent position will be positioned properly for the vent liner & not be going into the breechplug.
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