trigger plate question

[magyar]

Afternoon all,

I am working on my TOW kit and have decided to stop and get some feedback on an inletting concern. In order to get the trigger to connect with sear it looks like I am going to have to inlet the plate down about a quarter of an inch. It just seems a bit deep. I am worried that once this is done, the resulting wrist, once filing and sanding the wood down during finishing is done, it will be too thin in diameter. Is this a concern? The wrist is currently the rough cut size from TOW and must be taken down some in finishing obviously, but I dont want to do anything that will weaken that area too much unnecessarily. Any thoughts on this? Advice? Thanks in advance.

[Jim Kibler]

Shape your gun and then make your trigger to fit.  You can add a piece to the top of your trigger by welding or brazing if necessary.

[davebozell]

Seems just about everything on my TOW kit had to be inletted that much.  Mine seemed a little fat on the bottom anyway.  Before you inlet your trigger plate, check for the end of the ramrod hole and where your trigger guard will be located.  It's easier to not have to do that twice.  Don't ask me how I know....

[Acer Saccharum]

First ask yourself if the stock has too much wood on it. Look for the profile YOU want within the pre-carve. I say this because most pre-carved stocks have SOME extra wood. Some stocks have a LOT of extra wood.

So, if your stock had extra wood, it would make sense that the trigger plate would need to go in deeper.

But to Jim's point about making/modifying a trigger to suit: don't let the factory supplied trigger determine the stock profile.

[B.Habermehl]

Since you know where the triggerplate in going to be located make sure your centerline is correct. Then go abit foerward into the area that will be covered with the front finail of the trigger guard and drill a 1/8" dia hole intersecting the ram rod hole. Insert the ram rod and measure the web thicknes of the bottom of your stock using this witness hole. Now you know where you are. The finished thickness of the bottom web on the lower forestock should be about 1/8" or so maybe a bit less. Often I will have some of the ramrod channel break through in the bottom of the mortice of the front triggerguard finial. This will also let you know better where the finished bottom line of your stock will be, and probably help you with your trigger/plate issues. BJH

[snowdragon]

I agree with Acer. You shouldn't start inletting the trigger plate until the bottom profile is in its final shape. I've never built from a pre-carve, but I assume there is extra wood there for custom shaping. I suggest you study finished rifles, or some detailed photos of certain styles, to get the wrist/lock area shaped as you want. When you are satisfied with the shape, then start on inletting the trigger plate.


I can't think of a style where the trigger plate wouldn't be flush with the wood, so I would inlet it flush and go from there. If you find you have gone too far, you can glue in wood or add shims to get it back to flush. Now, if you find it's too low for proper sear engagement, you can add metal to the trigger blade by either silver soldering or soft soldering, depending on the mechanical joint used.  Good luck. Bill

[Bernard]

BJH is on the right track. The lower forestock should be as slim as possible and this is controlled by the thickness of the web between the barrel channel, the size of the ramrod hole and about 1/8th inch (finished) below the ramrod hole. With this dimension established file the lower forestock down to that dimension +1/16th then inlet your trigger plate 1/16th deep and adjust the trigger blade the meet the sear by filing it down or solder some material on to it to build it up. The forestock should taper about 1/16th from the trigger guard to the rear ramrod entry hole.

[wet willy]

Your post seems to imply you have a trigger & trigger plate pinned as a unit. Some trigger are separate and pined to the stock, with a separate trigger plate. Either way, Kibler and Acer are correct that you should first shape the stock to the profile you want.

I have two stocks from ToTW (I would guess they subcontract the profiling , barrel channel, RR hole, etc to someone), and both had lots of excess wood, especially around the wrist area. If the lock is already inlet, you can see about where the top of the trigger plate is after fitting it. Too much is easy to grind off, adding more is harder.

I'd look at images of the firearm you a recreating to get a sense of the dimensions, especially in the wrist area, as most originals are much thinner than I would have thought! Find an image of the firearm you want to recreate, print it, and scale the dimensions, knowing that most rifle locks are about 5" long. This is not an exact way, but should get you close.