Tip on drilling out vent holes or other holes in barrels.

Zonie and others have mentioned that when drilling a vent hole larger, one needs to allow the drill bit to cut and try to keep it from pulling itself into the hole. That is VERY good advice so the drill bit doesn't scar or drill into the opposite side of the barrel.

However, here is a tip I don't believe I have read on this forum when drilling out vent holes or other holes in barrels. Try using a piece of a hardwood ramrod or dowel that is as close to bore size as possible and slide it down the bore before drilling out the hole. You can also use a full length ramrod that you are going to cut short later to fit your gun. That way, when the drill bit cuts through the metal, it hits the wood and it is easy to feel it whether using a drill press or a hand drill. This pretty much ensures the drill bit won't cut into the opposite side of the barrel and slows down a "run away" drill bit so you can stop it in time.

I came up with this when drilling or drilling out gas ports in VERY expensive target barrels and I can't tell you how much of the "worry" it takes away from your mind when drilling out holes in a barrel.

Gus

Good drill presses have a stop adjustment on them.

Agreed, but not everyone uses them and sometimes people don't adjust them carefully.

Gus

Not to mention they can slip.

Great advice Gus.

If you didn't adjust the stop correctly on that job you would have to be off about 3/8". It takes practice to get that bad. There is nothing wrong with your idea but there are other ways to achieve the same result. Another is to put a sleeve on the bit.

jerry huddleston said:

If you didn't adjust the stop correctly on that job you would have to be off about 3/8". It takes practice to get that bad. There is nothing wrong with your idea but there are other ways to achieve the same result. Another is to put a sleeve on the bit.

Click to expand...

Jerry,

Perhaps I was too succinct in my last post, so allow me to expand it a bit.

Sure, IF one has a really NICE drill press or small Table Top End Mill or Floor Model End Mill and sets the depth stop correctly, then there would not be a problem. However, many if not most people don't own one these.

Depth stops on cheaper drill presses have a tendency to come loose if not adjusted carefully and some can fall off. Also, many people have to resort to a hand drill to do this job with no depth stop.

Screw on sleeves often cost more than a scrap piece of wood dowel or even the long end of a ramrod one is going to cut short anyway. If you already have either, then you don't have to make a sleeve. Besides, if one is going to drill with more than one bit to open the vent hole a little at a time, then the sleeve has to be drilled out for each size of drill bit.

Sure there are more than one way to skin this cat, but this tip is meant as a very simple way to get the job done.

Gus

For what it's worth, when I describe modifications to muzzleloaders in the other sub-forums here, I try to keep it simple and done with commonly owned hand tools the average guy will have around the house.

IMO, darn few people have a drill press in their garage. Almost everyone has a hand held electric drill.

I think the idea of using a dowel down the barrel is a good one if the gun has a traditional side vent running directly into the barrel.

It won't do much good for the factory made guns that have a "patent" or "chambered" breech though as the dowel won't come anywhere close to the inside of the touch hole.

Thank you Sir, I like the way you do it. Have used similar things in barrels and other things.

Zonie said:

For what it's worth, when I describe modifications to muzzleloaders in the other sub-forums here, I try to keep it simple and done with commonly owned hand tools the average guy will have around the house.

IMO, darn few people have a drill press in their garage. Almost everyone has a hand held electric drill.

I think the idea of using a dowel down the barrel is a good one if the gun has a traditional side vent running directly into the barrel.

Click to expand...

Thank you. Original barrels made of softer Iron were easier to drill, but when I look at bow drills and spade bits or even some of the period hand drills, it must have been a job to drill a vent hole in the period.

Zonie said:

It won't do much good for the factory made guns that have a "patent" or "chambered" breech though as the dowel won't come anywhere close to the inside of the touch hole.

Click to expand...

This is an excellent "caveat" I should have thought of mentioning. Thank you for adding this.

Gus

Well..... :idunno: some won't like this but here goes.....

Personally.... I feel if one were drilling allot of holes, such as porting a barrel, your idea would work well, as it takes the danger of over drilling & you can drill allot of holes faster with little worry. That being said, I don't thing this applies to muzzleloader barrels. Very well could apply in othe jobs tho.

However, i feel that if you are drillin a vent liner hole or a vent hole & you drill into the other side of the barrel........ You need someone to do your work For you, whether it is using a drill press or a hand drill. :idunno: Vent liners, vent holes, breaching a barrel, etc. is serious & there is no room for error IMHO and one should be watching what the H you are doing, & not have to use a plug of wood to keep you from over drilling. :slap: But there again.... Just one persons opinion....

Keith Lisle

redacted.

I've never owned a drill press. I've never built a gun with a patten breach. I use a dowel as stated above, go slow with a drill motor set on the slowest just barely cutting.

Keith,

Personally, I would never drill a hole for a vent liner with a hand held drill. Way too easy for the hole to go off center that would lead to all sorts of problems for tapping it and getting the face of the liner as flush with the barrel surface as possible. IMO, that's a job for a good drill press or better still, an end mill.

Yes, drilling a vent hole larger is serious business, no doubt about it. IMO, that is one more reason to put a dowel in the bore when doing it because since we are all human, we all make mistakes at times.

Gus

I pre-check the depth at the muzzle end then just put some masking tape on the drill bit where I want to stop. Then I pay attention to what I am doing.
Is this where we say "duh?".

Rifleman1776 said:

I pre-check the depth at the muzzle end then just put some masking tape on the drill bit where I want to stop. Then I pay attention to what I am doing.
Is this where we say "duh?".

Click to expand...

I am very glad for you that you have never made a mistake that way or had something go wrong.

Gus

The way this thread is going, it reminded me of a funny event that happened back in high school wood shop. When cross cutting on the radial arm saw we knew a trick that when the saw didn't quite make it all the way to the end of a large board we were cutting, we could lift the board and the saw due to the curve of the blade, would finish the cut. Someone was cutting a long dado joint and it didn't quite make it so he lifted the board to finish the cut. Of coarse it ended up cutting all the way through his board. :youcrazy: It took him awhile to figure out where he went wrong! :rotf:

jerry huddleston said:

... you would have to be off about 3/8". It takes practice to get that bad.

Click to expand...

that one made me laugh, Jerry!

/mike

Of all the holes drilled in making a MLer, the only ones that require safeguards are the tapped holes in the bbl for mounting an under rib for a Hawken rifle. My drill press has a locking spindle stop which is used for these holes.

As was said....if one can't "feel" when breaking out through the bottom of a hole, then a lot more drilling practice is needed.....Fred

I do use the stop adjustment on my my press, however this is quick, cheap and certainly a fail safe solution over fiddling with the stop on a press. Thanks for sharing Gus :thumbsup:

Artificer.
I have made hundreds of mistakes. That's how I learned what I know. The biggest mistake was not listening to others that knew more than me when I was young. It was a shock to discover that somebody knew more than me. Now I know.