OK, what do I do now?

[eddillon]

Drilled 5/16" ramrod hole in my 1760 Belgian pistol build.  Thought that I had everything perfect.  The hole intersects the hole for the front lock bolt half way.  Can't skinny down the bolt or the ramrod to 5/32".

[Ed Wenger]

Plug both holes half way (so the plug doesn't go through the ram rod hole), then re-drill?  Also, some of those ram rods we're really tapered, 5/32" might be a tad thin, but with a combo of slimed down bolt and tapered ram rod, think that would work?


       Ed

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Make a scraping tool as described by Dan Pharis a couple of years ago.  It's a piece of drill rod that'll go into the hole with a hump and a hook forged on the end.  You simply scrape wood out of the rod hole in the direction you want the hole to go.  Works slick!  Thanks Dan!!

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

Fake the front lock bolt... use the threaded end to thread into the lock late so that it looks like a front bolt.but make a hook out of th3/8" that is on the insde of the plate....put a screw or a staple in the lock mortise for the hook to catch under.  Then just use the bolt head as a wood screw into the side plate..............

[eddillon]

Thanks for these suggestions.  I have tried peening over the end of a piece of drill rod and then grinding off half of the circumference of the peened over edge.  Have been scraping but I think that it will take a month of Sundays to scrape enough out.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I had the same issue in a maple longrifle stock with a 14" deep rod hole.  So I made Dan's tool, and a half hour later the hole was fixed.  A pistol stock would be a piece of cookie.  The scraper pulls and pushes out shavings, not dust.  You need a tow worm on a rod to remove the chips in the bottom of the hole.

[eddillon]

Is there a link to Dan's scraper design?

[Habu]

Try this:
http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=258.0

[eddillon]

Problem solved.  I did it a little bit differently than the Dan P. method.  Took a 3' cold rolled 1/4" rod, peened over the end, filed it sharp, filed off 1/2 of the peened circumference, ground off the back side and bent the rod a tad about 1 1/2" from the end.  About 30 strokes and the job was done.  No need to skinny the bolt or make the rod less than 1/4" at lock bolt depth.  I can sleep tonight. 

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

Problem solved.  I did it a little bit differently than the Dan P. method.  Took a 3' cold rolled 1/4" rod, peened over the end, filed it sharp, filed off 1/2 of the peened circumference, ground off the back side and bent the rod a tad about 1 1/2" from the end.  About 30 strokes and the job was done.  No need to skinny the bolt or make the rod less than 1/4" at lock bolt depth.  I can sleep tonight. 

A picture is worth 1000 words... Ed, show us a picture of the tool please.

[mjm46@bellsouth.net]

I really like the ramrod hole scraper idea.

But in the past I have filed a front screw to about half thickness (doesn't seem to matter it's still plenty strong for a front screw) in the area of the ramrod. Works well but you have to remember to remove the ramrod BEFORE you remove the front screw. 

[Eric Krewson]

I wasp wasted my front bolt on my last build, may go back and use the scraper idea so I can use a full sized bolt.

[KLMoors]

Wow, great tool Mr. Phariss! Kind of like a modified crochet hook. Very cool.

[eddillon]

For Dr. Tim.  Here are a couple of photos of the tool I made.  A picture worth a thousand words so two must be two thousand.  .250 cold rolled, peened over end, back side ground and a sight bend about 1 1/2" from the end.  About 20-30 pulls and the job was done.  

[eddillon]

   Had a little problem connecting to photobucket.

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

well High-five to the forehead!!  that is simple and clever!!  Thanks Ed!!

[eddillon]

I am left handed.  I shoot and play golf right handed.  Left handed people approach things a little differently.  I was told by a Porsche mechanic that there was no way to change a valve spring on an old Porsche without removing the engine.  Did the job by myself in 15 minutes after about 30 minutes of mulling over options in my head.  I wasn't about to pay $1500 to get it done!

[Don Tripp]

I wasp wasted my front bolt on my last build, may go back and use the scraper idea so I can use a full sized bolt.

I'm glad that I'm not the only one who has ever done this. That looks exactly like the front lock bolt of my small Isaac Haines kit rifle. I got my kit from Golden Age Arms in 94 and both of the bolts were 10-32. It might not have been so bad if it had been 8-32.

[eddillon]

That is the specific reason that I use 8-32s only.

[Daryl]

I am left handed.  I shoot and play golf right handed.  Left handed people approach things a little differently.  I was told by a Porsche mechanic that there was no way to change a valve spring on an old Porsche without removing the engine.  Did the job by myself in 15 minutes after about 30 minutes of mulling over options in my head.  I wasn't about to pay $1500 to get it done!

ALL of us were born right handed, but some of us, overcame the handicap.
Why not just hollow out the bearing side of the bolt?

[eddillon]

I think the best solution is to be perfect.   If that fails, scrape the hole on the side you want.  If that fails, file a scoop out of the bolt.  If that fails, wasp waist the bolt and skinny up the ramrod.