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#32 drill bit

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In our area all of the traditional hardware stores carry number or letter drill bits. Not so the big box stores.
 
I went to home depot and I couldn't find them. I guess they are marked different and I don't know.
 
I went to home depot and I couldn't find them. I guess they are marked different and I don't know.

Home Depot and Lowe's usually don't have them unless you buy the whole set.

Try older hardware stores, especially country hardware stores and sometimes ACE Hardware stores will sell them to you individually.

Gus
 
In hardware stores you typically wont see them hanging up with the standard wood/metal bits. Look for where the Taps and Dies are sold individually. Numbered or Lettered drill bits will be close by.
 
I couldn't find one at Brownell web sight. I am beginning to wonder if the two Dowell pins are really needed to pin that part of the stock on this Kentucky rifle kit.
 
Dad.........Long rifles w/full length forearms need at least three barrel pins to be functional. One between the entrance r/r thimble and breach , and two between the entrance thimble and muzzle. If you have a micrometer , measure any wire between 1/16 th " about .068 " , to about .070". The hole's in the barrel lugs should be elongated and sloppy anyway so the barrel can work when fired,and to allow for expansion and contraction from temp. changes. Muzzleloaders are not precision instruments by today's standards. By !8th century standards , today's m/l's are more precisely made ,than the old masters could imagine because we have better tooling. One simple but effective source of spring wire barrel lug pins ,are those small marker flags farmers , and other folks that use marker flags. They can be found most anywhere from hardware stores to Lowes , farm stores , etc.. .......Since a 1/16" drill bit measures .068" , and the flag wire is .070" , cut an ample 2" long section of of .070 wire and chuck it into your hand electric drill motor , and reduce the wire size to !/16 " using emory cloth and running the wire between thumb and for finger. Only 1/2 the pc. of pin wire needs reduced to fit the 1.16" hole in the stock wood. Hope this dissertation helps...................oldwood
 
If you are going to do much hobby gunsmithing and you own a drill press of sorts, consider getting the whole set of numbered #60 thru #1 drills. They cover the sizes between .04 and .228, which are going to be the great majority of the drills you will need for the work. Buy a good brand such as Chicago Latrobe or equivalent, the cheap imports usually won't cut to size, and go away faster than you can pull them out of the index.
 
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Dad.........Long rifles w/full length forearms need at least three barrel pins to be functional. One between the entrance r/r thimble and breach , and two between the entrance thimble and muzzle. If you have a micrometer , measure any wire between 1/16 th " about .068 " , to about .070". The hole's in the barrel lugs should be elongated and sloppy anyway so the barrel can work when fired,and to allow for expansion and contraction from temp. changes. Muzzleloaders are not precision instruments by today's standards. By !8th century standards , today's m/l's are more precisely made ,than the old masters could imagine because we have better tooling. One simple but effective source of spring wire barrel lug pins ,are those small marker flags farmers , and other folks that use marker flags. They can be found most anywhere from hardware stores to Lowes , farm stores , etc.. .......Since a 1/16" drill bit measures .068" , and the flag wire is .070" , cut an ample 2" long section of of .070 wire and chuck it into your hand electric drill motor , and reduce the wire size to !/16 " using emory cloth and running the wire between thumb and for finger. Only 1/2 the pc. of pin wire needs reduced to fit the 1.16" hole in the stock wood. Hope this dissertation helps...................oldwood
I use copper washed mild steel welding rod for pins. The size I use is .095, it’s copper plated so it doesn't rust. Get your caliper out and pick a drill close to it and proceed (with the lug slotted for clearance). It helps to tape the stock on the off side to reduce chance of splinters and when you tap the pin thru it helps to chamfer the front end.
 
You can find them in one of those single tap and die sets at Lowe’s or Homepepot.
 

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