tenon pins

[mike garner]

i have a question. i am in no way a gun builder. i have a jaeger that was assembled in the white for me by James frost of Ohio, the gun was put together perfectly. i dissembled it and stained the wood and added cold blue to the metal, that was 2 years ago, the gun is great. it has tiny tenon pin holes. initially how do you get them lined up so you know where to drill the wood? i speculate precise measurements are taken maybe with a duplicate piece of wood. i am just curious and would like to know.

 

[Vaino]

The pins that go through the bbl lugs can be drilled a few different ways....here's my way.

I make a very accurate layout on the wood at each of the 4 bbl lug locations. clamp the bbl/stock ass'y in a very accurate vise w/ the top bbl flat against the permanent vise jaw. Of course the forends have been taken down to 1/8" per side to lessen the thickness of wood that has to be drilled through.

I have a 2' X 4-1/2', 3/4" thick sheet of reinforced plywood bolted to the drill press table which enables all 4 pin holes to be drilled in one setup.

1/16 dia music wire is used for all the pins in my builds and a standard 1/16 drill is used for all the holes which are drilled through the stock and bbl lugs in one swoop. Same goes for drilling the 3 RR pipe pinholes in a separate setup.

Having a properly sharpened 1/16 drill and a correct spindle speed ensure that the drilled exit holes come out in the correct location on the opposite side.

Seeing the webs of my builds are 5/32" at the muzzle and close to 1/16" at the breech, the layouts are made w/ precise measuring tools and correct drilling procedures are used.....Fred

 

[mike garner]

thanks Fred, that helps me to understand a little better.

 

[Swamp Rat]

Jump to the 4min mark on this video. Mr. B does a fine job of showing the process of building. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z_p6338JKw&index=8&list=PLFa1weHumbdNqVLlhgf6wZnIug7XXhqQE

 

[mike garner]

great video, thank you!

 

[frogwalking]

I am confused. The only way a builder can know where to drill the 1/16 inch holes in the tennons, is to drill them in the stock first. So why are you having to re-drill the holes in the stock? A major part of building a gun in-the-white is drilling and installing the keys or pins. Before you begin drilling, I bet you have filled the existing holes in the stock with sanding dust and finish. Look for them inside the barrel channel. You should be able to find the holes already there and clean the out. If they indeed are not there, pack the whole gun up and send it back to the builder for him to drill the holes. He is not finished yet.

 

[Black Hand]

As an addendum - when your find the holes, use your fingers (NOT a drill) to turn the 1/16" bit when clearing the finish from the holes. You may need to located the holes with a large needle so the bit will register with the pre-existing holes.

 

[necchi]

He doesn't have a problem,, there is no issue with the gun.
He was just asking how it was done by the builder, a curiosity question.

 

[Gustavo Hoefs]

Hi Fred does the plywood under the drill press slide side to side ?

 

[Vaino]

Non-adjustable. It's got a hole that's aligned w/ the spindle for through drilling.

When pinning the 46" lg bbls, the assembly has to be swapped end to end...which isn't that big a deal.

This plywood "table" is never removed....Fred