lock bolt placement

[Jim Kibler]

I see that a number of rifles have the front hole too low and that kicks the tail of the sideplate up rather awkwardly, At least to my taste. 

In this case, I don't believe it is the front bolt being low, but rather the sideplate pattern not having enough vertical distance between bolt holes.  The front bolt is relatively fixed by the barrel, ramrod hole and lock.  I discussed this in a previous post in this thread related to using standard patterns for various sized locks.

Jim

[Bernard]

I don't remove my barrel for cleaning but I do remove the lock so I don't see the issue with the notch or hole fro the lock bolt. My tapered and flared barrels have to come straight up to come out of the stock. That lock has to be washed and lubed after every season or shoot where the gun is fired.

[Dphariss]

I tend to make them as far back as I think is needed.

This is on a rifle styled after RCA 48. Except this is a heavy match rifle.
RCA 48 has the lock bolt in a similar location though not as far back I don't think.
Side plate is shop made from flat stock.
In this case I set the fence at the barrel breech as was the original. This is the Dale Johnson lock from Chambers.


Having the lock bolt back somewhat from the barrel breech should reduce the possibility of a crack running forward from the lock bolt hole.

One other thing.
If the lock plate is tight on the barrel, as it should be, its impossible to pull the barrel without backing off the lock screws anyway. So just remove the rear screw if it interferes with the breech plug.
Dan