side plate thickness

[hortonstn]

 i think i may have messed up i'm building a beck style rifle a weight gm bbl 40 cal with a large siler lock
when i got the lock inletted i noticed i didnt have much thickness around the ft of the lock, enough to hide  the lock
internals but it will be a small transition by the time i featheredge the forestock to the barrel itself. question is this normal ?
i've never built an a weight before i want it as slim as possible
thanks paul

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Paul, I'm not particularly bright, but I can't follow you at all.  Pictures would do wonders here.

[Long Ears]

So with the small barrel and the small lock inletted to the flat of the barrel there is not much thickness difference between the forearm and the lock panel?? Correct? Or am I way off? If I've got it that would be true I would think. I thin the forearm down to about 1/16" wider than the barrel and then gently roll the edge into the barrel so there is no flat. You may only have an 1/8" difference in the Lock panel and the forearm that is where these guys excel. I'll bow out and let Taylor tell you how to roll it into the forearm. They make it look like there is 2" difference. Bob

[Dave B]

So what your saying is that now that your lock is against the barrel the thickness of the lock panel is the same as the thickness of the fore arm. It just means your for arm needs to be slightly thinner. The originals tended to be very slim in the forestock.

[hortonstn]

thanks guys, some times i know what i want to say but can't get it out..
you are correct, thats  my delima, i think it will work fine just need to put a way my rasp
paul

[Acer Saccharum]

Swell the wood around the lock, and taper it down along the barrel.

Using a large lock with a small barrel may cause problems with the architecture. Most likely the mainspring inlet will break into the rr hole, which is not uncommon.

[rich pierce]

Looks like your mainspring is scraping the lockplate there buddy.   

To the original topic, it can be hard to keep the forearm rounded and get a good lock molding when the forearm is really thin.  Just go slowly and if you lightly outline the transition from the lock molding in front to the forearm with an incised line it will pop out and look more significant.

[Acer Saccharum]

I'm not sure how you messed up yet.

Did you shape the fore end without the lock being inlet yet?

And Rich, I appreciate your pointing out my spring scraping the lockplate. The mortice may fill up with iron filings if I don't fix that!

[hortonstn]

acer,
i havent messed up yet lock plate is inlet, just need to slow down
thanks for your help
paul

[Acer Saccharum]

Glad to hear it. 

[Roger Fisher]

I'm not sure how you messed up yet.

Did you shape the fore end without the lock being inlet yet?

And Rich, I appreciate your pointing out my spring scraping the lockplate. The mortice may fill up with iron filings if I don't fix that!

Frt of the tumbler also seems like.