capbox kit

[shovelhead]

I recently got a sandcast cap box kit. The surface is curved a little to match that of the stock. I am trying to figure out how to drill a hole through the tabs and the lug on the lid as the curvature prevents a drill from coming in from the side. Is there some other way of doing this job?

 

[Zonie]

Welcome to the forum.

Without seeing exactly what your dealing with, about all I can do is to give some thoughts which may not have much to do with your problem.

Think of sand cast parts as the 'rough stock' that something is going to be made from.

That said, not only will a number of surfaces need to be sanded and polished but they may need to be filed to fit together properly.

If the lugs are rounded or tapered and that is causing the concern about starting a drill bit to drill thru them then the surface should be filed flat so the drill won't 'walk' away from the location it needs to be.
This shouldn't be a problem if the filed flat will be hidden after the cap box is installed into the stock. No one will ever know about it except you.

Before drilling the thru hole for the lid's pin make sure it is fitting the way it should.
Any material that keeps it from fitting properly should be filed off.

A good vise may be needed to hold the parts before drilling them and it will probably be difficult to get them held without using some wood shims between the jaws of the vise and the cap box so get creative. Make some wood shims so that the parts are held securely in place.

If you can post some pictures of your parts and the problem you are having maybe my answers will be more directly aimed at the problem.

 

[shovelhead]

Thanks for the help. I guess I should have gone into more detail. I have one capbox on an existing rifle that doesn't have any tabs on the inside or inner surface, instead there are two shallow slots. The tongue on the lid has two prongs on the sides of the tongue that settle into or rest in the slots on the inside surface of the frame. The spring is flat and is screwed into the frame and the end of the screw is visible in looking at the cap box after installation. The flat spring holds the lid in place. The front end of the lid is angled so when it is opened the flat spring bears against the angled surface and keeps the lid open.
In looking at original rifles only the Leman has what looks like a screw end in the frame to which the spring is attached. This looks like a dark dot so I assume a steel screw was used. What I was wondering was whether some rifles had an S shaped spring screwed to the bottom of the cut in the stock. On the lid situation, if it is PC to screw the spring to the frame then there isn't much of a problem forgetting the drilling and just file slots in the inner tabs- like in the store bought rifle I have.
In any event, there is a lot of information on patchboxes for flintlocks- probably because that is the more commonly built style, but...I haven't found much on cap boxes. Just wondering if one method is the more PC.
Thanks.

 

[BLAHMAN]

Original capboxes that I have and have seen utilize a very small screww, like a 4-40 or a 5-40 that hold the spring into place. A boss was used and that is what holds the screw and spring in place. The boss was indigineous to the casting

 

[shovelhead]

Yeah, I have a 4-40 which looks about the same diameter as what I see in photos of old Leman rifles so I guess I'll go with that.