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A lil embarrassed to admit but I'm struggling to inlet a Kibler Colonial kit

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Joined
Aug 18, 2021
Messages
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Location
Truxton NY
I am working on a Kibler Colonial kit and through a mix of inexperience, ignorance and impatience I am struggling to get the tang and barrel inlet and to sit properly in the stock. From unboxing, the barrel would not fit down into its channel and the tang would only lay into its inlet if no attempt was made to get the barrel in its channel. I think the root cause besides my ignorance is that the stock seems to be warped down and to the left as you look down the muzzle. My attempts to make it all fit using the wood chisel on the tang inlet and a gentle filing of the sides of the barrel channel have not been great and I'm worried it's becoming a real mess. My question is if this warping is normal in a Kibler kit and what are my options for addressing this difficulty?


IMG_0082.jpg

Barrel and stock with the tang setting in its inlet.
 
I should also mention that when I attempt to bring the stock and barrel together it takes a good deal steady force to get the barrel in its channel and in the process it lifts the tang up and part of the way out of its inlet.
 
The wood is thin, pull it into place, I heat such warps with a heat gun before I try to move the wood, it should be OK when the wood cools.

My method is to heat the barrel to about 190 (just a guess), keep the heat gun moving as you heat the stock, get everything in place and hold the barrel to the stock with zip ties while it cools.

You shouldn't have to do any barrel inletting, it the barrel fit is tight draw file the barrel first before you remove any wood from the channel.

I put together a SMR kit that someone else started. The barrel fit was very very tight, After I draw filed the barrel it fit in place easily. The previous owner had cracked the stock trying to pull the tight barrel out the wrong way.

A call to Jim Kibler would probably be you best first move to see what he says, send him your picture.
 
This is interesting and valuable. I've never done a ML kit, but I have bought and finished several stocks for non-ML guns. If one of those had come warped -- even a little -- it would have gone back.

But I can see how this appears to be something of an unavoidable problem with ML stocks (and I presume mostly, if not entirely, for full-length stocks). The "length/beam ratio" on a non-laminated stock just invites warping -- though this does make me wonder how long the wood has been allowed to cure and stabilize before the stock was processed from the blank. Still, an important thing to keep in mind in doing a kit like this, I think.
 
In my opinion a stock shouldn't be that warped period. Jim's kits should be a better quality than that. I had an Early York for Chambers that look like that and sent it back. By the way Jim and Barbie were great to work with also. Give Jim a call before you do anything! If you force that to much the stock will crack because it is so thin at the muzzle end.
 
It is nothing that the manufacturer did wrong. It was probably perfectly straight when it left the premises. When a stock is shipped from one part of the country to another, the humidity is different, and natural stresses are relieved in the wood during and after shipping, causing it to wander. The stock is cut thin enough you should be able to gently maneuver the barrel into place. Once more wood is taken off, it will be pretty flexible, and more care must be taken.
 
This is interesting and valuable. I've never done a ML kit, but I have bought and finished several stocks for non-ML guns. If one of those had come warped -- even a little -- it would have gone back.

But I can see how this appears to be something of an unavoidable problem with ML stocks (and I presume mostly, if not entirely, for full-length stocks). The "length/beam ratio" on a non-laminated stock just invites warping -- though this does make me wonder how long the wood has been allowed to cure and stabilize before the stock was processed from the blank. Still, an important thing to keep in mind in doing a kit like this, I think.
Do not wonder just be assured when Jim ships it comes exactly like it came of his wonderful machines (EXACT) and packed like Fedex could only dream of trying to destroy .As far as curing Jim does not start until it meets his standard and like any artist (check out is engraving /stock work ) I rate him up way up on knowing when and how
 
Of all the Kits I have seen and people I know that got kits from Kibler I have never seen one like this.
I just wonder if the Postal Service didn't let it sit out in the weather.

Farm Boy
Is that a .58 smooth bore?
 
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warm that puppy up before you try getting the barrel seated. i am working on a Tennessee classic and left it in the shop overnight. shop got to 30 over night. had to bring it inside and warm it up before i could get the barrel to release. wood and metal dimensions change differently. the wood contracted more than the barrel. it wouldn't release when i tried the proper method and surprisingly i was smart enough not to try a crowbar!
those long thin forestocks have very little strength so even though they are easy to move they are also easy to break. their basic function is only to support the Ramrod thimbles.
don't panic, call and talk to Kibler.
 
Of all the Kits I have seen and people I know that got kits from Kibler I have never seen one like this.
I just wonder if the Postal Service didn't let it sit out in the weather.

Farm Boy
Is that a .58 smooth bore?
Impossible I bet it was taken out and left out of shipping crate (non moving)and never happen/Ed
 
Call Jim Kibler.

Here are some points of personal experience with Jim's kits. Sometimes the inletting is very tight. Given a choice between that and gaps, I'll take tight. When I encounter It, I fix it. The barrel channel may have had the grain raise a bit since it was cut. The warp is irrelevant. I sand the channel with an octagon block to just knock off the high spots. Use fine sandpaper, say 180 grit. You can feel where it is tight when trying to install the barrel. Do those spots. It will only take a tiny amount of sanding. You can also use a scraper to take down rough spots.

His SMR tangs can be to tight for my taste. I warm the tang to a straw color and assemble the rifle. That will melt the lignen in the wood and make the fit perfect. The best English shotgun makers did this. Remington uses the technique to make the cheezie 1960 checkering. Do not burn your stock. A little careful scraper work can accomplish the same goal.

Jims kits are the highest quality, ever made. You can not expect them to fall together every time. The tiny amount of troubleshooting required is nothing compared to all other kits.

Call Jim KIbler.............
 
In my opinion a stock shouldn't be that warped period. Jim's kits should be a better quality than that. I had an Early York for Chambers that look like that and sent it back. By the way Jim and Barbie were great to work with also. Give Jim a call before you do anything! If you force that to much the stock will crack because it is so thin at the muzzle end.
With all respect to your opinion............ One does not want a warped stock, but wood has its' own characteristics and if it decides to warp, it will. (JMO)
Larry
 
Wood, being the natural product that it is, can warp due to the grain structure inherent to different species. The wood can be straightened as described in earlier posts.
 
I don't know what your time frame for finishing the kit is but I would turn the barrel end for end and put it in the channel. I would start at the lock area and fasten the barrel down firmly. The rubber tubing they give you at physical therapy places is great and can be found online. working toward the muzzle pull the wood up to the barrel wrapping as you go. If you reach a point where you feel the stock might break stop and leave it. Leave the barrel in the stock all the time you don't need to separate them to work on the gun, reinstall when you are done for the evening. As the wood gains or looses moisture to adjust to the humidity of your work area you may find it will straighten some, possibly completely. I had a stock with the same problem years ago and did as I described. When I got back to it it was nearly perfect but I can't remember how long I left it that way.
 
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