is 50% enough for now?

[dlocke]

This is probably a stupid questions, but I have my lockplate inlet about 50% and the bolster mortise is cut out to the barrel. Can I assume that it is now safe to start moving the barrel back to it's final position and make sure it is well bedded? Right now I have the lockplate perfectly square to the top of the barrel, but I want to be sure the barrel is in place in case it shifts a tad when properly seated. The ventliner center position is lightly center punched in the barrel flat and the lock is nice & snug. Actually, fitting the lockplate has been an enjoyable (if somewhat tedious) task. I marked and cut the bolster mortise until the plate was flat on the stock, then held the plate in position with a c-clamp and scribed around it with an exacto knife. What I did not do was square the lock panel with the barrel. I should have done that. Anyway, the plate mortise is square, and that's what really maters.
DJL

 

[rich pierce]

I think most all of us get the barrel in and finalized before beginning to work on the lock inlet. I am not sure if you have a kit with the mortise pre-inlet or what, but everything starts with getting the barrel in and pinned.

 

[Birddog6]

I can't agree on that. On a Preinlet stock, if the lock inlet is already started, normally you have to put the lock where the inlet is.

That doesn't mean the barrel inlet is where you NEED it to be, to have the vent liner where you want it.

If you inlet the barrel first & then do the lock, the vent liner may be 1/4" back behind the breech face.

Normally on a Preinlet stock you have to move the barrel back some & square off the breech inlet to to get it to fit properly. This is the point where you make the adjustment to get the vent liner in the proper place.

And yes, 50% of the way inlet is OK if you have a good tight inlet & the lock is not flopping around.. But why stop there ? Go ahead & get it up to 90% so all you have to do is take it in a tad & get it flush to the barrel when it is time.

:thumbsup:

 

[rich pierce]

Not done a lot of kit work. But how in the world does one inlet a lock w/o a barrel in place? Wouldn't the wood break out? How would you know when it was inlet far enough? How would you know whether the lock was at the right depth vertically in relation to the side flat?

 

[Birddog6]

Rich, The lock inlets are usually inlet about 75% of the way into where they need to be. The barrel channel is usually inlet 95% of the way, with the exception of the end of the breech inlet being rounded & the tang inlet not done at all.. You

As long as you don't go past what they have inlet on the lock, you are OK as you won't be into the barrel flat.


Here is how I do them:

IMHO, "IF" it has a Preinlet lock , it will stay where they inlet it......... so........

1: Inlet the Lock 75-90% of the way
2: Remove breechplug & mark vent position. Inlet barrel to proper place in relation to the flash pan center.
3: Bend & shape tang & instal breechplug back on barrel & inlet the tang.
4: Install underlugs & pin the barrel in place. .
5: Finish inletting the lock to get a 100% fit at the pan/barrel, drill & tap the lock & inlet the sideplate in & bolt the lock in place. Everything should be for sure in place so now install vent liner or drum.
6: Now install the triggger assembly. Drill the tang to triggerplate hole & tap & install bolt.
7: Install Triggerguard.
8: Install Buttplate & set LOP. Then install Toeplate.
9: Install RR pipes, Entrypipe & Nosecap.
10: Epoxy Sights to top of barrel & take out for a test shoot. If sights are within range of adjustments, OK. If not, change to different sight height & test again.

There is probably 49 dif ways of doing this & some of it you can change around. But if you do the barrel first on a stock with a preinlet lock, one of three things is gonna happen:

1: The vent is gonna end up too fdeep towards & into the breechplug.

2: The vent could be too high or too low & or not centered in the barrel flat.

3: You are lucky as H and the vent is right where ya wanted it. (but unlikely)

Now on a stock blank, I agree, barrel is the first thing ya would want to do. But when you have a lock set in & you cannot move it, you take the barrel to the lock...... IMHO :grin: :grin:

 

[dlocke]

I was following the Birddog method :grin: However, my stock did not have the inlet for the lock, only the barrel channel whhich was about 95%. What I did was carefully measure and transfer lines to the lock and screwplate panels delineating the web and the exact center of the barrel (the rails are too high) after I made sure the barrel fit snug in the barrel channel. Then I squared the back of the barrel channel. As I had already breeched the barrel, I scribed the end of the breechplug on the side flat and center punched where I wanted my vent liner to go. Then I put my lockplate where I wanted it and began inletting. I have begun moving the barrel back and am halfway there as far as the center mark aligning with the center of the pan. Now I need to tap the barrel back with a hammer & dowel with inletting black until everything lines up and there is no gap in back of the barrel. Then I will reinstall the breechplug and bend & inlet the tang. Then, of course, pin the barrel. After that I can finish off the lockplate and internals and proceed to the drillpress.
DJL

 

[dlocke]

Hey Birddog, I gotta ask. . . .when you advised me to inlet the lock 95% of the way brfore moving the barrel back, were you under the impression that my stock was pre-inlet for the lock? In any event, your method works just as well for a non-inlet stock and I like it. That being said, I have several years of experience smithing centerfire firearms and have lots of precision measuring devices and I know how to use them. Might not work for everyone.
Rich, you are right about splitting out. I fastened the barrel into the channel with C-clamps and then put the whole assy in the vise. Even then, though, I did get a split in the inner barel channel. It did not come out to the inside. I wedged it open and got some epoxy in there, and then clamped it down to cure.
DJL

 

[Birddog6]

Dlocke: You are doing it correct & OK. If the lock is Not inlet, you do the barrel First. Keep on truckin' :thumbsup:

Rich: This is a precarve from Tip Curtis. The lock Plate is almost inletted, except for the very pointed end & the depth is about 90% of the way but not into the barrel channel. You can see where I darkened it with a lead pencil.

Holding the lock up to the inlet & sitting the barrel on the barrel inlet, as you can see the barrel is not as far back as I want it. But I want the lock IN the inlet & stable before I move the barrel to be sure I get it where it needs to go, be it back, up or down......

Here is where I want it to go & this shows how much wood must be removed to get the breech back where I want it.

Here is one inletted with the breech back where I want it & the vent liner where I want it.

At least, this is how I do them. I am sure there are allot of variations for doing the same job.

:thumbsup:

 

[dlocke]

Yep, everything is going slick as can be. Just to be clear. . .my stock was NOT pre-inlet for the lock. Tis now, though.
DJL

 

[Birddog6]

Dlock: Yes, have bought like that. Seems like I have one here from Pecatonica like that someplace. Sometimes I order them with no inlets except the barrel inlet & RR hole.

Really doesn't matter how ya do it, as long as ya enjoy it & end up with what ya want !! :winking: :thumbsup:

 

[No Powder]

Birddog
Great pictures.

 

[Birddog6]

Dlocke: Well, it got kind of confusing. This is what you said in your original post on 1/6/07.

" Because the lockplate area on the stock is precut, I would like to move the entire barrel rearward about 1/8" to put the lock exactly where I want it. I was just wondering about any of you all who have built from a similar stock blank have moved the barrel back from where it would naturally stop once the rounded edged are squared off. What I am looking for is a general idea of how far y'all moved the barrel back from that point?"

I took that statement as you have a preinlet lock panel & I responded as such.

Then you say it is not a preinlet lock, so I guess you were referring to the lock Panel was preshaped ? not preinlet ? :grin: And if so then I apologize for misreading your post & not answering appropriately.

But either way, it appears you are getting it all to work & that is all that really matters ! :thumbsup:

 

[dlocke]

Yeah, that's what I meant. . . that the lockplate panel was preshaped. I should have pointed out that the lockplate was not pre-inlet. My issue was that I wanted to have enough panel in front of the lock to make it look appropriate and couldn't do that if the barrel flushed up against the stock where it currently was. Had it been a rough blank with just the barrel channel & ramrod hole done, it would have been better to do the barrel and then the lock, b/c I would be able to shape the panel to fit the lock.
DJL

 

[rich pierce]

I get it now. Thanks for the posts and pix. Looks really good, Birddog!