Touch hole liner

[chawbeef]

I recently installed a White Lightning liner from TOTW and the outer hole only measures .042 of an inch. Should I open it up a bit more??? I have yet to fire the rifle...........Chawbeef

 

[necchi]

Well, the well known White Lighting liner is made to function as is,
I'd give it a chance before messin with it.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[Dane]

Most common to open to 1/16th inch.

 

[Col. Batguano]

Probably, but only open it up a little bit at a time, maybe only 1 bit size at a time. Go with the wire drill bit sizes rather than imperial, as you may find out that it works just fine and reliably when you get to a size like .055". The bigger you make the hole, the more gas is going to blow out of there, and the more powder you'll need to achieve the same velocities.

 

[chawbeef]

Thanks. When I go to the range I will take my drill and number bits and see if I need to open it up or not..................Chawbeef

 

[Vaino]

Don't think TOW's White Lightnin' liner is made by Chambers. I buy the White Lightnings direct from Chambers and always open the TH to .067 dia which is a #51 drill. Perhaps a slightly smaller dia. might work, but seeing I build spec LRs, I don't want the buyer calling me up complaining of erratic ignition. Besides, although I don't use them, the .067 dia accepts a pipe cleaner......Fred

 

[Col. Batguano]

Be careful when you're doing it. It's easier to take metal away than it is to add it. Holding a hand drill and opening it up that way your bit may be a bit susceptible to drill bit "walking" too. Much better to do it in a drill press and with a drill press vice so you can control the side where the bit is hitting the hole heavier. The good news is that flint locks are not all that finicky as to touch hole location, so if it's off a wee bit, it really won't matter.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Well, the well known White Lighting liner is made to function as is,
I'd give it a chance before messin with it.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I had to open my Chamber White Lightning liner to 1/16" to work for me.

 

[Zonie]

IMO, small touch holes like .042 are sized for small powder loads like a .32 or .36 caliber bore uses.

Larger size holes do let out more of the powder gas but in bore sizes .40 or .45 with their larger powder loads, a 1/16" vent can work without leaking too much.

The .50's on up large powder loads don't mind having vent's larger than 1/16".

Because the vent liner maker has no idea what caliber the liner will be used with, they tend to size it small for the small caliber bores figuring, any good gunmaker can enlarge it if it is needed.

Just my opinion and worth every cent it cost you. :grin:

 

[Col. Batguano]

A smaller hole is more prone to get fouled too, so picking your vent hole before every shot will likely be more necessary the smaller it is.

 

[Billnpatti]

I recently installed a White Lightning liner from TOTW and the outer hole only measures .042 of an inch. Should I open it up a bit more??? I have yet to fire the rifle...........Chawbeef

One day a few years ago, I stopped at Jim chambers booth at Friendship and Jim was there. I engaged him in conversation about his rifle kits. Eventually, the conversation got around to his White Lightnin' touch hole liners. According to him, he makes the holes rather small to suit the bench shooters but he recommended that the average shooter would likely need to open the hole a bit so that he will get the best ignition for his particular rifle. While he didn't say just how much to open up the hole, I have found that 1/16 inch is about ideal.

 

[chawbeef]

Thanks all. Great information from everyone. :hatsoff: ...............Chawbeef

 

[ZUG]

Don't think TOW's White Lightnin' liner is made by Chambers. I buy the White Lightnings direct from Chambers and always open the TH to .067 dia which is a #51 drill. Perhaps a slightly smaller dia. might work, but seeing I build spec LRs, I don't want the buyer calling me up complaining of erratic ignition. Besides, although I don't use them, the .067 dia accepts a pipe cleaner......Fred

100% correct --"Don't think TOW's White Lightnin' liner is made by Chambers".

 

[MSW]

i would try it first and see if it's working consistently. if it is, of course, don't mess with it, but if not, i'd put it in a drill press and open the hole by the smallest increment possible.

just one guy's opinion - free and well worth the price :wink:

 

[Zonie]

Since we're talking about Chambers White Lightning vent liners and some people might be thinking about installing one of these on a gun with a regular vent liner, beware. They won't fit without some major work.

Normal vent liners sold by folks like Track of the Wolf, Dixie Gunworks and Muzzleloader Builder's Supply use a standard, fine pitch thread.
These include a 1/4-28, 5/16-24 and 3/8-24.

Chambers White Lightning liners use an extra fine pitch thread with 32 threads per inch on all sizes.

The existing fine pitch holes cannot simply be rethreaded with the finer 32 tpi tap without ruining the threads for both the fine pitch and the 32 tpi threads.

This means, if you want to change to a WL liner you will have to drill out the existing thread with the proper tap drill for the next larger 32 tpi size.

While going from a 1/4-28 hole to a 5/16-32 isn't that big of a change, going from a 5/16-24 to a 3/8-32 may make the vent liner larger than the barrel flat, leaving some of the outside of the liner exposed.

I'm not saying, "don't do it". I'm just warning folks about the possible pitfalls.

 

[chawbeef]

.

Normal vent liners sold by folks like Track of the Wolf, Dixie Gunworks and Muzzleloader Builder's Supply use a standard, fine pitch thread.
These include a 1/4-28, 5/16-24 and 3/8-24.

My WL liner from TOTW is 1/4 x 32tpi..........Chawbeef

 

[Zonie]

That's the point I was trying to make.

The Chambers White Lightning liners use a 1/4-32 UNEF, 5/16-32 UNEF and 3/8-32 UNEF thread.

It is impossible to rethread a 1/4-28 UNF to a 1/4-32 UNEF, a 5/16-24 UNF to a 5/16-32 UNEF or a 3/8-24 UNF to a 3/8-32 UNEF thread without really frinkling up the hole so it won't work with either thread.