Stock lay out... Did I do this right?

[razor62]

They say that the time to ask questions is BEFORE you act. Someday I'll get it right.
I'm in the process of building my first flintlock not to mention a non typical one and the fact that it's from a blank.
I decided to breech an unchoked, unchambered 16 ga shotgun barrel blank as I didn't want to spend too much on my first attempt. Today I cut the forend and lock panels down to near final thickness while leaving the butt section square for cast off to be done at a later date. This leads to my question...
Rather than grind / file a flat on the lock side of the round barrel I opted to angle the lock panels to follow the somewhat exaggerated flare of the breech of the barrel. Now that it's cut I can foresee that the width of the stock at the breech will be quite wide. If I measure straight across from one lock panel to the other at the very rear of the barrel I'm at 2".  I left some room for slimming it down some maybe 1/4" of wiggle room  but I'm concerned that it may not look proper. Not having any hands on experience with original guns I'm left wondering If I should have approached this differently. Below is a sketch of what I'm referring to.

[whetrock]

Pardon me for not answering your question, but I’m confused about how you will work out the contact area between the lock bolster and the side of the barrel.  Have you already done that, or is that still in the planning stages?  Have you already inlet the barrel with the full size of the original shotgun breech as is?

Even on round barrels, it was common to file a “short flat” just long enough for the bolster to mate up well. It must mate completely if it is to keep powder out of the lock mechanism.


Here are two photos of round fowler barrels. Short flats were filed on some surfaces, but not all the way around. And the one on the right doesn’t have a flat on the left side of the breech.


I supposed a fellow could also solder on some material, so as to build up material for a flat. But I have no experience with that.

[razor62]

Thanks for your reply. your photos are very helpful.  Yes, the barrel has been inlet. I did not file a flat. I was planning on angling the lock to match the angle of the breech area of the barrel. This way the bolster will snug up along it's length. In retrospect I suppose I should have filed but I decided to leave as much metal at the breech as possible for strength considerations. 

[JDK]

It's not too late to file the flat as when you excavate your lock mortise you will be exposing the area where the bolster meets anyway.  You don't have to remove much metal as the flat does not have to be parallel to the bore.

Your lock panel angle will be determined by the angle of the barrel profile.  With or without filing a flat, the locks bolster resting on the barrel side will determine the angle the lock will be.  The only other way to change the angle that I am aware of is to file an angle on the lock bolster and frizzen....but then that kicks the nose of the lock in....not good.

You can do whatever you want with the off side but it would be desirable to have it the same angle as the lock side and has nothing to do whatsoever on whether or not you file a small flat for the lock bolster.

The thickness of your lock panel will be determined by the locks bolster.  The thickness of the off panel does not have to be the same and sometimes isn't when viewed from above.

Enjoy, J.D.

[razor62]

Thank you JDK. This is very encouraging. I'll continue on course and tackle the issue once I inlet my lock to the point where the bolster makes contact with the barrel. Makes perfect sense once I wrap my head around it. 

[Pete G.]

File the flat on the barrel before you inlet the lock, otherwise you will create a whole new set of problems with wierd angles to deal with.

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

As Pete G said....  Mating the flat bolster against the round surface of the barrel will set you up for issues you don't want to have to deal with..... The bolster needs to end up tight against the barrel and form a seal the prevents powder from getting into the lock mechanism.... if you try to do it with the barrel round it is perhaps possible but I would say unlikely that you will get the best fit.

[razor62]

Thanks folks. Looks like I'll be filing that barrel flat this weekend. Appreciate all of the input. I'm glad I asked!