how tight

[dlocke]

Just curious, how tightly should a barrel fit in a barrel channel? Loose or snug or somewhere in between? By fit, I mean without lugs & pins or the tang screwed down. If I turn the rifle upside down, should the barrel drop out? I ask b/c I am currently tweaking my stock for barrel fit.
DJL

 

[flashpanner]

My understanding is that it should be close enough to lightly touch it without clamping onto it. Wood is a "living" entity, it will swell and shrink with humidity even if sealed. You will also find that when it comes to applying your finish, it will swell a bit and make even a tighter fit than you had before finishing. My advice? Close enough so that when it is inletted, there is a slight drag on it when you remove it by hand. You may have to do some slight scrapping after finish is applied. Wood will be thin around barrel sides, and you don't want to risk a split stock, you will learn a new vocabulary.
BTW, on my precut channel, it was looser than expected. It was cut for a swamped barrel. I haved about .010"-.012" total clearance before finishing.

 

[Zonie]

When you say your "tweaking my stock for barrel fit" it leads me to think you are working on a new, unfinished stock ??

If so, IMO, the barrel should fit loosely but without a visual gap. It should not be tight anywhere along its length.

The reason for this is that when you apply an oil or similar finish, the wood will absorb it and swell slightly. This will make the barrel channel smaller.

I have had cases where this swelling made installing or removing the barrel almost impossible. My "fix" for this was to go back and rescrape the channel so that the barrel could be easily installed and removed but there isn't a noticable gap anywhere.

I think this is especially important if you live in a humid area where a tight fitting barrel will put unnecessary stress into the stocks thin wood when the wood swells.

Maybe some of the other builders have some magic formula for this pre-finished condition like "2 pieces of paper clearance" or something that they could pass along to us??


zonie

 

[dlocke]

Yup Zonie, I'm working on a pre-carved stock blank. I'm in the process of finishing off the barrel channel prior to inletting the tang. I am shooting for a .002" gap along the length of the barrel. That is not much, but does leave a visible gap that will likely close up after finishing.
I had a tight area and have pretty much relieved it with a fine file. My test is to lay the barrel in the channel, make sure it is square, and run that .002" feeler gage down the length of the barrel. When it binds up, I marked the spot and then went down the barrel to where I could slip the gage back in, then came back the other way until the gage bound, so you know where the tigh area began and ended.
It seems that the muzzle end of my stock has a slight tweak to the left. I always keep the barrel in the stock so hopefully it will take a new set itself. If not, I might sponge the forestock with boiling water and strap the barrel down tight.
DJL

 

[Goldhunter]

dlocke, I've had this same question as I am at the same stage in my build. Are you inletting a swamped or straight barrel? Along with how tight it should fit, how much of the barrel should contact the bottom of the barrel channel (on a swamped barrel)? I would think you could drive yourself crazy trying to make it contact the entire length.

 

[dlocke]

I'm using a straight barrel, thank God. I think the key is to have it fit as well as possible, but not so tight that you have to pry more than a minimal amount to release the barrel from the stock. In a perfect world, I suppose the barrel would contact the bottom 3 flats entirely. In the real world, I'm not sure that ever happens. One can always bed the barrel if it is real bad. I've got mine to fit as good as it's gonna get. I've gone on to file a draft on the sides of the tang and the next project is to begin inletting that. In case you're wondering, no, I am not going to put a finial on the tang. I kind of like the look of a plain, flared tang. Also a lot easier to inlet. I'm thinking that the KISS principle is best for a first build. Besides, a nice clean rifle is as purty as a fancy one with all kinds of carvings.
DJL

 

[Goldhunter]

I've got my swamped so it drops in, it used to stick pretty good. I don't think I can get it touching on all flats, and I seem to be able to only get it to touch in three points along the bottom; at the muzzle, in about the middle, and at the breach. I hope this is ok/ good enough. Like you said, I can always bed it alittle if not. I am on to the tang today, hopefully.

 

[dlocke]

Were the side flats holding you up? I found that my problem was more in the stock as the very forend has a bit of a jig to the left. Just my luck, I guess.
What drives me crazy about these pre-carved stocks is that you have no knowns like you would have if you are using a planed, joined blank. Makes it hard to draw center lines too.
DJL

 

[Goldhunter]

Yes, it was the sides. It drops in with little resistance now. I just need to cut the breach fitting a bit more sqare to the back of the stock then I can start the tang.