Wedges--Insight

[FishDFly]

The topic of using a claw hammer reminded me of my mentor and his belief on wedges.

When he would put long arms up for a period of time, he would tap the wedge in slightly, just enough to keep it from falling out of the stock.

His thought was that if a wedge was really tight when driven in, over time the pressure exerted by it on the stock, would cause the stock to bend. Then, after the stock bended, you would end up with a loose fitting wedge.

I just tap mine in as he taught me, does not hurt any thing that I can see. When it's time to shoot, I tap the wedge in all the way.

Any real experiences with his thoughts?

 

[mooman76]

I've never had a problem over the years. Not saying it isn't a good idea. My wedges aren't super tight. Don't come out easy but I can get them out without tools.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Any real experiences with his thoughts?

I know that some of the older books on rifle building mention that instead of a tight round hole for the barrel pins that pin the stock to the barrel the hole should be a bit larger than the pin, or that the hole should be a very tiny slot that is paralel to the barrel, or otherwise it is thought that any swelling of the stock over time due to humidity may cause lengthwise cracks.

With our controlled interior environments inside most of our homes, not sure if this is true any more.

LD

 

[Grenadier1758]

My wedges are slotted. I have a pin in the stock that goes through the slot in the wedge. The pin prevents the wedge from falling out. I put the pin under the escutcheons on my Hawken and on stocks without escutcheons, the pin is in the stock.

Where you have a pinned stock, the hole in the underlug on the barrel should be elongated for the changes in the stock due to humidity or temperature.

 

[Larry (Omaha)]

Any real experiences with his thoughts?

Very interesting thought, but I can't understand how a stock could bend if it is against the barrel? If there is a gap under the barrel, I would agree with your mentor. My 54 cal (Larry, the builder in mid 70s) has three wedges in it's stock. My SIL still shoots it today as it is too heavy for me. The wedges are still there and are not even crossed pinned. The barrel is a 44" long, Golden Age, 1"parallel by Douglas. I say make em fit and drive them home and forget.
Flintlocklar

 

[FishDFly]

"Very interesting thought, but I can't understand how a stock could bend if it is against the barrel?"

To me if the stock was very tight against the barrel when the wedge (s) were put in, over time the wood could bend/warp as the stock moisture changed. If you apply constant pressure to wood, eventually it is going to that shape. I see that in the woods where a tree falls on another tree, the tree underneath will bend permanently given enough time.

Loyalist Dave brings up some interesting building techniques from the past.

"With our controlled interior environments inside most of our homes, not sure if this is true any more."

That makes a lot of sense.

Hopefully Dave P. will share his insight.

 

[hanshi]

I only have one rifle with a wedge. Never an issue at all. Most of mine are pinned with the lug holes slotted. The stock on a ML basically merely "hangs" from the barrel, offering a way to hold and fire it. Tightness of a wedge can be easily adjusted. I like them ALL the way in.

 

[Rudyard]

There are no' Wedges' they don't 'wedge' there called KEYS but they don't turn either in the LOOPS not lugs & whether keys or pins they need to be elongated so if the barrel is heated or below freezing they can allow movement . .Biggest offender is this area is the stout pin that holds the sling swivel it being stout & if fired till the barrel heats as it will in a musket doing repeated volleys it will bend the barrel downwards since unlike the thin pin it cant as readily bend . I once used ' Blue nails'( meant for knocking into concrete ) in a cheap Africa trade musket restock making no allowance for expansion . simply because I had some of these nails handy .On boiling it out the heat was sufficient to snap all three of the ' blue nails' actually chopped the centres out that touched they being brittle . The sling pin plain steel couldn't snap. So bent the barrel down wards .If you ever noticed the cross shaped things on old brick walls ?. They are the end washers on long iron rods which were heated by buckets of coals till they expanded enough to tighten up nuts till on cooling they pulled the walls in by the power of expansion & contraction . The same principal applies to gun barrels . If you prefer ' Wedges & Lugs' then that's your choice. Colts had' wedges' they at least wedged .
Rudyard

 

[FishDFly]

Seems some call them wedges and some call them keys, at least we all know where they go and what they are used for..

 

[Tobie]

My Hatfield has two "wedges" and I carry a piece of a bamboo chopstick in my bag. If it needs tapping to get it started- I put the wood against the wedge and tap the wood with my belt knife.

 

[Billy Boy]

I know that some of the older books on rifle building mention that instead of a tight round hole for the barrel pins that pin the stock to the barrel the hole should be a bit larger than the pin, or that the hole should be a very tiny slot that is paralel to the barrel, or otherwise it is thought that any swelling of the stock over time due to humidity may cause lengthwise cracks.

With our controlled interior environments inside most of our homes, not sure if this is true any more.

LD

I always thought that the pin holes should be slotted so that as the barrel heats up and ‘grows’, your point of impact won’t change because of undue pressure do to a tight pin pulling on the system.

 

[tnlonghunter]

I've never had an issue removing the keys/wedges on my TN rifle, but then I only have had reason to remove it 2-3 times in the last 20 years. When I have, a slight tap with a wooden dowel has been sufficient to move it and pull from the other side.