BARREL INLETING HELP!

[pipascus]

I'm trying to inlet the octagon/swamped barrel into the stock (J. Chambers MS Virginia)[yes: breechplug is removed]. I keep scraping and checking and scraping and checking, but it just doesn't seem to go all the way in. It'll often fall to one side. :cursing:

Anyone: How can you tell whe the barrel is into the stock at the right point? Do I measure from the top of each vertical flat to where the wood begins to overlap it? Anyone have a measurement? I'm afraid of taking too much off etc.

Thank ye!

El Casador.

 

[gmww]

Are you using any inletting black to see what is touching? It has sure helped me with my smaller projects. :hatsoff:

 

[pipascus]

I'm using some shoe polish, but it is only touching at tiny points. By now there is nor color transferring but it still won't go in.

 

[pipascus]

I think I'll walk over to the store and get some lipstick (to use as a sub for lamp black!)

 

[pipascus]

The barrel seems to be fitting now. This is my first try so forgive any senseless questions.

 

[pipascus]

I feel as if I am speaking with myself... :youcrazy:

 

[gmww]

Nah man were just watching to see when you blow.

:rotf:

Sometimes it's just good to walk away for a bit and think it out. :hatsoff:

 

[Zonie]

If it's not going into the stock, it must be hitting somewhere.

Most of the pre cut channels I've worked with are slightly undersize. In fact, I've had many which would not accept the barrel at all when I first got them.
Remember, do NOT force the barrel into the wood. Doing so may split the thin forend. Then you really will have a problem.

IMO, the fit of the wood to the sides of the barrel flats should provide about .005 clearance. That's a little more than one piece of printer paper is thick.

When you use the lipstick, or whatever remember to also look hard at the interface between the barrel and the wood. If it looks tight, it is tight but if it looks like it should clear, stay away from working that area even if the transfer material has rubbed there a little.
On the side flats, it is often better to look at how the transfer material got rubbed off of the metal than where it is left on the wood.
This is because no matter how careful you are, your going to bump the barrel into the wood somewhere.
When the barrel will freely slide down into the channel, then start working on the lower flats.
These lower flats aren't subjected to the accedental bumping that the side flats are, so where the transfer medium is left on the wood does indicate a high point that needs to be removed.

I haven't built a Chambers gun but the sides of the forend on the Pecatonica River guns should extend slightly above the center of the barrel flats when the barrel is fully inleted.

Zonie

 

[pipascus]

I used shoe polish, oil, and even some base from the makeup section at the dollar store to mark where I should take off wood: it was practically useless. In the end I've eyeballed it for the most part. The gap around the breechplug tang is, at one point, enough to fit a thickness of 4 sheets of copy paper (OUCH!!!). I am trying to keep the rest acceptable. This is my very first rifle and I guess I screwed up a bit allready. The hardest part has been getting that barrel to sit in the stock correctly. I have literally been working on it non-stop, except for a couple of breaks, since yesterday!!! [I've been reading the C.S. Lewis Sci-fi trilogy books Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength. I am on Perelandra, and MAN it is good: gives me the CREEPS!!!)Anyway, I think the rest will go well though. This is to be a shooter and a woods gun. I'm pretty rough on my gear, so it'll be all dinged up in no-time! Maybe I'll use some wood putty or bondo to cover up any gaps. :shocked2:

I'll tell you, anyone thinking finished rifles are overpriced needs to try this!

El Casador

 

[wszumera]

Hey,
You are doing something that most can not do or will not do. Live and learn. Acraglass is your friend.

Clutch

 

[Birddog6]

Call TOW or MBS and order some Inletting Black and also a book called The Gunsmiths of Grenville County.(I suggest the spiral bound on as it will lay flat on a workbench) Both are worth their weight in gold when building a rifle........ And you are gonna need them both ALL the way thru building the rifle. :thumbsup:
While ya have them on the phone, you may as well get some MicroBed or Acruglas as you will need it also. :hmm:

 

[oldarmy]

You will get it done and it will look fine.
Those big gaps will close up some when you finish the wood. Also before you put in alot of acuglass, try swelling the wood with some water.
It always seems to help around inlays, might help a little around the tang.
I found lipstick works better for me then inletting black. The black just made a mess, but I could have been using way too much of it.

 

Stupid question deleted. Yes there are some!

 

[TANSTAAFL]

I (along with more than a few others) use Magic Markers, black for maple, red for walnut.

 

Back away from the project. Take a deep breath. Stay away from that sugary soda. Take some more deep breaths. This is supposed to be fun and relaxing. Just because Jim Chambers, says it can be built in 40 Hours, doesn't mean you can. For a first timer it's probably gonna be like 200 hours, and that's work time, and doesn't account for breaks, and think time, for when ya gotta figure something out , and ask questions. As Birddog said get the book "The Gunsmith of Grenville County" before ya go much further. Remember RELAX, ENJOY, HAVE FUN, AND SLOW DOWN SOME. Bill

 

[John Taylor]

This is what I use, inletting black . Take your time, this is fun I think.

 

[pipascus]

Thanks fellas!
I am, believe it or not, enjoying it. I am seeing it as a learning opportunity and it is very interesting. I have the video from Jim Chambers and whenever I have a doubt I pop it in and watch the appropriate section. I have the Gunsmith of Grenville County in storage but couldn't find it last time I went. But you are right about needing it so I'm going back and tearing through all the boxes until I find it.
I am taking pictures as I go, so will post some soon (have to get a photobucket account).
Thank you all for your help and support! I am glad to be heading down the path of muzzleloading!
El Casador :hatsoff:

 

[aragorn]

It seemed to take me weeks to inlet the barrel on my Chambers York, my first build - evening sessions of several hours each where I didn't seem to be getting anywhere. I was probably being over-cautious in the scraping, but I had no idea what to expect. So you'll be fine - stick with it.

Inletting black from TOW was a saviour for me, though messy. Once I'd got the whole barrel close to a fit, I worked progressively from the breech area to the muzzle area. Eventually I got a snap fit. Be wary taking the barrel out - if you extract it from the breech end you can easily bend the fore end of the stock. Once you have got the barrel inletted, keep it in as much as possible - pinned or clamped. That will protect the fore end of your stock as you work and also prevent the wood from warping over the weeks and months it takes you to finish it (40 hours for a beginner, no way ...)

Regarding gaps, two thoughts. Changes in humidity before the stock is sealed can be a significant factor. My perfectly inlet breech made in the summer sprung a small gap in the winter. On the other hand, the finish will swell the wood somewhat, and you can add another layer of finish to tighten things further if you think your inlet is too loose.

I would say think of Acraglas etc as a last resort. When I finished my rifle that annoying slight gap at the breech was still there, hardly visible, but I solved it by gluing two shaped slivers of wood down each side, a few paper sheet's thickness - just to reassure me that the barrel was making full contact with the stock at that point. Acraglas is probably best kept in reserve for really major inletting problems, not small gaps.

 

[DrTimboone]

:thumbsup: Be patient and keep at it. I actually have found that using a small decorative oil lamp my wife has works great to put soot on the metal and is much easier to clean than inletting black! The inletting black gets all over the gun and me!! I look like PigPen when I use the commercial stuff. :nono: :rotf:

 

[cfranks]

This was a timely set of posts for me, as I am also in the process of inletting the barrel on my first gun (GPR). Suffering from some of the same problems described. When I place the barrel into the stock, it fits, but just doesn't rest in there right - it sort of rocks towards one side when I grip the front of the stock and barrel in my hand. The back end is tight and firm. I'm ordering the book and the acraglas, and taking a chill pill in the meanwhile. Thanks to Casador for posting this question and to all who took the time to answer!!