TOTW Jaeger kit progress

I finally drilled, tapped and installed the dreaded tang screw and all the barrel pins and front sling screw. Boy I was afraid of those procedures but it only took me three hours and only cost one drill bit( broke it off in the stock drilling a barrel pin hole). My stock developed a hairline fracture along the last 1/3 of the barrel/ramrod channel so I used wood glue and C-clamps to repair it. My barrel pins are VERY tight. Should I grind 'em down a bit or waller out the pin holes a smidgen? I believe I split the stock while removing one of the pins. My advice to anyone considering building a kit of this type is, Do It! I may have made mistakes and it does have blemishes(which I think I can conceal during the finishing phase), but there's nothing like having the satisfaction of building it with my own hands(O.K. I didn't forge the barrel from old barrel hoops or cut down the maple tree for the stock but it's as close as I'll get to gunbuilding). Thanks again for the patient advice from this list.

 

[Zonie]

J.James: Glad your having fun!
You will find that no one notices the little blemishes after the fun is finished. Even if you ever plan to sell it, most buyers know it is basically hand built and will accept little (to them) things which seem to stand out like a sore thumb to you (the builder).

I would not enlarge the barrel pin holes. By the time the gun is totally finished, you will have had those pins in and out a half a dozen times or more and they will loosen up.
By the way, I don't know what diameter the pins you used are, but I would suggest that the knock out pin be a little smaller so that it does not gouge out the holes when you use it.
I use 5/64 diameter barrel pins and a 1/16 diameter knock out pin.
As the thimble pins are not usually removed, I use 1/16 diameter stock for them.
Speaking of these pins and the stock I use to make them, I prefer to use the precision ground "music wire" available at hobby shops or some Hardware stores. Not only does it make excellent pins, but you can make tools out of it because it is easily hardenable with nothing but a propane torch and a can of oil to quench it in.

 

[Birddog6]

J James: A couple of things I will suggest on the Jaeger, having built several of them myself:

If the wood is soft or cracks easily I would consider a underlug at the front sling swivel screw to reinforce & support the swivel mount. I have done them several ways, some with a single ear like a std. tennon & some with double ears & both were dovetailed into the barrel like the barrel pin tennons. This is all consealed by the wood as a barrel tennon would be & the front sling swivel screw goes thru the tennon as it passes thru the wood.

As for barrel pins I use finishing nails & cut them off a lil shy of one side & leave the heads so I can grab it with needlenose pliars & pull them out & reverse them & work on the other side. Constantly punching the pins in & out of the rifle will eventually make a problem, and also you want the barrel pins barely snug (not tight) in the stock anyway as not to put stress on the stock or the barrel. The tennon holes should be elongated parallel with the stock, so the barrel can go slightly fore & aft but not up & down, should conditions in the wood change from moisture or barrel heat..

Do most of your sanding with the trim on the rifle & especially the buttplate. If not you will round the edges off & then have gaps in the wood/metal fits, regardless of how careful you are.

If it is a flintlock, the flashpan to barrel fit is important & will take some devoted time & patience. I like to get mine so a .001 feeler gauge will not go between the pan & barrel with the lock in the rifle & me just holding the lock in by hand. If you have to tighten the lock screws to close a gap, the fit is not correct & need more attention.

Good Luck

Custom Flintlocks & Custom Knives

 

Thanks guys. Yes birddog, I have the underlug tennon for the front sling and I will elongate the barrel pin holes but what should I use for that chore, a very small round file? Man, I love that Jaeger on your website! I have a small gap between the 90 degree bend in the buttplate and the stock. The top of the asymetrical buttplate is pre-inlet into the stock so what would be a good method to fill the gap? The gap in question is about the thickness of a penny and maybe half an inch in length(I can see daylight through to the other side which has an equal gap size). I've ponderd useing wood putty or a sliver of curly maple scrap. Any suggestions from you wise gunbuilders would be appreciated. Sorry I can't post a photograph.

 

[Birddog6]

J James: I am allot of things but wise is not one of them..... but anyway, to close the gap I suggest either forging the metal in a lil or inletting the buttplate a lil deeper. I have done both with success. Anytime ya glue in a piece of wood it is hard to cover it unless you are extremely good are fitting matching grained slivers or can work a carving into it or accent line or something. Also you then run into the problem of the glue not accepting the stain & it will be lighter colored than the rest of the wood, etc. If you do glue a piece in try to find a piece to match the grain if at all possible. Any filler will most likely be obvious.

Yes, I have a very small metal file I have use to elongate the pin holes. Usually I use a slotted underlug thus it is easier to open the hole up.