touch hole liners

[paulvallandigham]

Sorry. Not yet. I just bought my first digital camera, and am hoping to learn how to use it, and load pictures into my computer. I know this stuff is easy for younger people, but hell, I learned to type on a manual typewriter, in summer school, back in 1962! I got a hand-me-down computer from a friend back in the last 90s, so I am still trying to catch up with all this electronic stuff. My bad, as they say. :redface: :idunno: :thumbsup:

 

[Vaino]

When I install a "White Lightning" liner the resultant TH land is .03-.04 long and the .067 dia. TH hole is given a slight ctsk, just enough to break the sharp corner. I never "pick" at the TH and the ignition is extremely fast and reliable. The parabolic cone allows the powder to easily reach the TH every time and w/ the short land, the charge is as close to the prime as is possible. The shallow 32 TPI threads allow a larger parabolic cone for each size. Why fight it?....Fred

 

[tg]

It makes one wonder how the folks used to even get the originals to fire.

 

[CoyoteJoe]

When I install a "White Lightning" liner the resultant TH land is .03-.04 long and the .067 dia. TH hole is given a slight ctsk, just enough to break the sharp corner. I never "pick" at the TH and the ignition is extremely fast and reliable. The parabolic cone allows the powder to easily reach the TH every time and w/ the short land, the charge is as close to the prime as is possible. The shallow 32 TPI threads allow a larger parabolic cone for each size. Why fight it?....Fred

I "fight it" because I ruined a good rifle by installing one of those White Lightning liners. I had a Blue Ridge flint with the original liner coned inside and out. It was fast and sure fire without picking the vent or any bother at all. There was NEVER a flash-in-the-pan. But failing to heed the old maxim "if it ain't broke don't fix it", I decided to see what all this "white Lightnin" hoopla was all about. I installed one, having to go to the 5/16x32 thread, and imediatly got about 25% flashes. I enlarged the touch hole and beveled the outside as much as I dared. That helped but it just has never been as reliable as before. To get rid of that abortion I would now have to retap to 3/8" which is wider than the barrel flat so I'm stuck with it. I really feel guilty about having done that to a good rifle.
You can believe all the advertising hype if you like but in my experience there is no magic in the WL liner, those factory installed by T/C and Lyman work as well as any once they have been enlarged a hair.

 

[Mike Brooks]

WL liners have always worked great for me, probably built around 200 guns with them installed. Haven't heard from any unhappy customers yet.

 

[Maven]

ebiggs, Thanks for the info. Not having a drill press, I used a suitably shaped grinding stone in a Dremel motor tool as well as the countersink in an elec. drill to improve the cone on the chanber side and create one on the pan side of my Dixie vent liners. However, it will be several weeks before I can test one in the rifle.

 

[paulvallandigham]

The problem you are having, I suspect, is where the WL liner butts against that narrow flash channel. It has nothing to do with the shape of the cone, or inside vs outside coning. Enlarge the flash channel in that gun one Numbered drill size, and I think you will have cured the problem. :hmm: :thumbsup:

 

[ebiggs1]

Please let me know how it worked.

 

[Leatherbark]

That area in his .54 Blue Ridge where the liner screwed in is a large area that is behind the communication hole. It is at least the same size all the way over to the other side of the barrel as the thread size of the liner.

One thing you have to make sure of is whether the White Lightning liner protruded past the end of the communication hole thus blocking it somewhat (I might be mistaken that may have been what you described).

But one thing about putting a White Lighting liner in a patent breech type gun is that even though you can clean out the communication hole from the barrel end, you cannot clean out the parabolic end of that liner unless you flush it out somehow? I wonder if there could be crud stuck in one of those areas at times.

 

[Maven]

Will do!

 

[msuspartan]

I have a pistol that hang fires about 30-40% of the time. What is a good hole size for the barrel hole? Mine is about a smidge less than 5/64. Should the hole have a cone too?
Everything else works well including spark.

 

[Zonie]

You didn't mention the kind of pistol you have and that might be of some help.

The Pedersoli Queen Anne for instance has a rather small, long hole that connects the breech to the outside of the touch hole.

That lengthy hole seriously hurts the pistols reliability, even when it is enlarged a bit.

 

[msuspartan]

I have an Interconinental Arms Flint .45 cal Kentuckian.

 

[Larry Pletcher]

I agree with Zonie. A good flint gun will ignite reliably with a vent smaller than you have. I consider 5/64" a pretty large vent hole. Many good shooters swear by 1/16". There are at least 5 numbered bit sizes between 1/16 and 5/64:

1/16"---0.0625
52------0.064 ---personally I like a #52 or #51.
51------0.067
50------0.070
49------0.073
48------0.076
5/64"---0.078

If you are having trouble igniting with nearly 5/64", look deeper for the real trouble. Just for fun try running a pipe cleaner through the vent between shots - just to rule out fouling. There are other things to try but I like to start with a clean vent.

Regards,
Pletch

 

[CoyoteJoe]

The difference Mike, is that I had a direct before and after comparison. I coned the original Pedersoli liner as in "ebiggs" photos and it worked great, the white lightnin liner was clearly inferior. Your customers receive the gun with a white lightnin installed and they have no basis for comparison. Neither you nor your customers have any way of knowing they wouldn't be just as happy with a stainless steel set screw.

 

[Vaino]

I formerly made the TH liners from SS set screws and they worked fine except after multiple shots, the inside cone became plugged once in awhile. The "White Lightning" liner because of a larger parabolic cone doesn't get plugged at all. I have compared and found the "WL" TH liner to yield excellent ignition speed and consistency and that's the reason I install them on all my LRs. Why should the customer be cursed w/ something inferior?....Fred