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First and Last Barrel Channel Finished.....Pic Heavy

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64Springer

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I never thought I'd get this barrel channel finished. 36 actual work hours more or less. The only tools used were a 6mm gouge chisel, a 1/4" mortise chisel and a 3/4" scraper made from 1018 tubing.

I'll never do another one.
 

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And.....More pics.

Time to step away from it and catch my breath.

Many thanks to those who offered their advice and sources for tools and books.
 

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Ramrod channel witness hole. Looks to be a tad under an 1/8" web. Was shooting for .150, but I'll take it.
 

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After going through 40 gallons of mineral spirits to clean off the inletting black, I thought I'd list the tools used.

Anyone contemplating carving out a stock from a slab of wood doesn't have to spend a ton of money buying expensive tools and gadgets. If you have a home workshop, a lot of this stuff you already have.

TOTW barrel inletting black, a small brush and a raw hide mallet.

Hard white sharpening stone. And a fine stone with radiused edges for the curved gouge chisel. The leather strop and compound found on Amazon. It works really well.

1/2" mortise chisel, old Buck Bros., for stabbing in the barrel profile. It was put away after that task. 1/4" mortise chisel for scraping down the sides of the barrel flats. It's a Jorgensen from Lowe's and cut down to make a palm chisel. All the barrel cutting glory goes to a chisel I bought on Amazon. #7-6mm gouge. This came with four gouge chisels, white /orange roll, in a set for 52 bucks. I thought there's no way a 13 dollar chisel will stand up to this abuse. But if kept sharp, DAYUM!

A square for keeping the top barrel flat and side of the stock, you guessed it, square.

Two scrapers made from bits of tubing. the 3/4" OD did 99% of the work. the 5/8" OD was needed at the muzzle because the barrel is .760 dia.

A depth measuring tool and a width measuring tool. For barrel channel depth and web thickness.

Last, but not least, a stainless steel brush. Scraping down the sides of the barrel flats leaves little bits of raised wood whiskers that a foxtail won't remove. This brush gets those pecky fibers gone in a jiffy. So you can get a better idea of what the inletting black is telling you.

I hope this helps those who may want to take on this challenge.
 

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Last edited:
That modified 1/4" palm chisel I bought at Lowe's is worth its weight in gold.

I need to see if Jorgensen has a complete line of chisels.
 

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Never do another one? Well that's a disappointing thing to hear. The second barrel that I inlet took about half as much time as the first. It gets easier every time you do it.
 
Never do another one? Well that's a disappointing thing to hear. The second barrel that I inlet took about half as much time as the first. It gets easier every time you do it.
If I did another one, it would be after building a jig and router device to hog out most of the material.

And your videos were a great help. Need to go back and look at a few more. Ramrod pipe inletting, drilling for pins, etc.
 
That's the way to do it. Once you get all that extra wood out of the way it does not take very long.
 
the tool to use to hog out the material for a barrel channel is a plane. a cheap amazon rabbit plane with the sole and iron re shaped.
 

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I think mine took twice as long as yours! 36 hours doesn't sound too bad.

It looks great. You should build more. As bill said, the second will go way faster.
 
the tool to use to hog out the material for a barrel channel is a plane. a cheap amazon rabbit plane with the sole and iron re shaped.
I bought a plane once a long time ago. It didn't cut. Just dug into the wood. No shavings. Got frustrated and put it away.

That thing you have going there looks like a great idea. Having a hard time seeing your set up. Did you attach side rails to keep the plane running on the centerline. That almost looks easier than a jig/router set up. Less chance of a high speed catastrophe too.
 
I bought a plane once a long time ago. It didn't cut. Just dug into the wood. No shavings. Got frustrated and put it away.

That thing you have going there looks like a great idea. Having a hard time seeing your set up. Did you attach side rails to keep the plane running on the centerline. That almost looks easier than a jig/router set up. Less chance of a high speed catastrophe too.
planes need to be sharp and properly adjusted. you start with the iron retracted enough that it does not cut at all and then advance it till it is cutting nice shavings. a good video about setting up hand planes was put out on YouTube by rex krueger. I lay out the barrel and use a router plane to cut the bottom flat to depth. then this plane wastes away the material on the sides. still have to spend a little time with inletting black and chisels but most of the channel is cut rather quickly.
 
Building a rifle/pistol is a humbling experience. If you get too full of yourself you may run into problems. You went at it pretty hard and the result is very good for a first attempt and as many have said they do get easier as you learn what “not” to do. Take a breather then start on the next step with a clear idea of the end result, steady progress - that’s what I tell myself.
 
I admire the craftsmanship that a lot of folks that post on here posses. I certainly know I am incapable of putting a rifle together. I can turn wrenches and work on modern arms but I do not have what it takes to build a muzzleloader.
 
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