butt plate tang / return question?

[old ugly]

good morning. i have a question re butt plate attachment.
i have a TOW fowler style butt plate, iron, the TOW plate does not have the lug on the tang that secures the front of the return to the stock.
i don't really want to use the MIG to weld one on, but it may be the only way. I don't want a visible screw in the return.
Would this sort of thing have been attached by,
a mortised through the hardware and then riveted over to hold it ? this will be visible.
or
would it have been soldered?
or
maybe by mortise and then solder ?

what have you done?

thanks
ou
tom

 

[2 shots]

solder on a lug and pin

 

[Col. Batguano]

I would suggest silver solder rather than low-temp, (if you're going to go that route) because it's a potential higher stress area.

 

[old ugly]

this is what i did after considerable contemplation. i figured in the old days if something like this needed to be added it would have been riveted.
i made the lug with a square tenon and filed the mortise into the return, fitted it then riveted it in place then filed it smooth.
thanks
ou
tom

 

[PathfinderNC]

Well done!!!

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
That is a good way to do it. This is something I do all the time because so many modern fowler butt plates are cast incorrectly without a lug for the return. All of these butt plates were treated in the same way.

The only difference is rather than a square post, I drill a hole and create a round threaded post on the lug. I screw it in place and the silver solder it, and peen over the outside. Here is an example of doing this for a pistol trigger guard:

dave

 

[old ugly]

Hi,
That is a good way to do it. This is something I do all the time because so many modern fowler butt plates are cast incorrectly without a lug for the return. All of these butt plates were treated in the same way.

dave

wow!! I made a good choice, that doesn't always happen. awsum.
I really appreciate the help you provide to us on the forum.
thanks Dave

 

[fishmusic]

Excellent solution. Take a look at how Bill Raby did this. YouTube 4 Bore Rifle Build - Part 36. His butt plate did, of course, have a tang but he didn't pin the tang.

 

[old ugly]

i have seen that one before and that method, but had decided on the pin method. i think a lot of gun parts were pinned instead of screws, i am think that was because screws were probably harder to acquire or make but that is just a guess.

thanks
ou
tom

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
For British style butt plates, the convention was to use two screws, one in the heel and one in the toe, and then either a lug and pin or a hook and screw inlet in the mortice to anchor the tang. That way there was no screw showing on the tang to interfere with engraving and disrupt the smooth surface of the tang. In the British trade, I don't think there was any concern for the cost or supply of screws.



dave

 

[old ugly]

Hi,
For British style butt plates, the convention was to use two screws, one in the heel and one in the toe, and then either a lug and pin or a hook and screw inlet in the mortice to anchor the tang. That way there was no screw showing on the tang to interfere with engraving and disrupt the smooth surface of the tang. In the British trade, I don't think there was any concern for the cost or supply of screws.
dave

the unsightly screws were the issue. i guess the same reason for other hardware to be pinned or locked into a hidden retainers. now a days it just seems that a screw is easy and good enough to hold something on, but it is not pleasing to the eye.

thanks
ou
tom

 

[Scota@4570]

An invisible alternative is to put a screw in the inlet under the lug. The lug is then undercut forming a wedge that hooks under the screw head.