Cursed buttplate

[wbradbury]

Working on inletting my first buttplate on my first flintlock build. All was going fine until I somehow let the front of the buttplate (the top part that covers the stock) get too low and now I can't get it back in line with the profile of the stock. I know where I erred at the beginning laying out the buttplate profile and it won't happen again! I am still working on it and almost turned it into a barn gun sans buttplate!

[rich pierce]

You're not the first.  There is a very fine Fainot original with the front return of the buttplate digging down into the comb.

[Mark Elliott]

From a trigger pull point of view,  you are probably better off trying to get the butt piece to work rather than abandoning it all together.   Just take a break and look at the situation again.   I have lost 1/8" of pull and drop many times inletting a butt piece and letting the chisel and rasp get away from me.   

[Clark Badgett]

Why not just glue a plug of the same wood where you inlet the heel and re-inlet it to where it should be. Wouldn't be the first rifle corrected in this manner.

[wbradbury]

Why not just glue a plug of the same wood where you inlet the heel and re-inlet it to where it should be. Wouldn't be the first rifle corrected in this manner.

It's actually just a tiny amount that it needs to come up so I'm still shaving down the other spots to get it adjusted. It's just slow going when you soot it, fit it, scrape it...soot, fit, scrape...

[Boompa]

   I did the same thing on one of my builds and was able fix it by dropping the comb by about 1/4".  This also change the angle of the butt slightly. This may not work on a pre-carve as there may not be enough wood to work with.

[retired fella]

Go slow and think it out.  On my last build I spent 3 days getting it right.

[bama]

Without a picture it is hard to recommend a fix but you may be able to bring the toe of the butt plate in toward the triggers just enough to bring the heel back in line with the comb. Then very carefully remove a little wood at the corner of the heel to correct the error. This is hard to explain without pictures .

[Pete G.]

Its not the end of the world. You may can lower the heel just a small amount and make a big difference in the outcome.

[pushboater]

I'm working on my first build in about 5 years and I just screwed up big time inletting my buttplate, so don't think that it's a first timer thing! This is about my 10th rifle and my mistake is a lot worse than that. My buttplate has a thumbnail extension on the top that is inlet into the comb and I failed to keep my center lines lined up properly as I was inletting it. The top extension ended up about 1/16th of an inch to the right of the centerline of the comb. Not good! Very noticeable! If I inlet the right side of the plate more in order to move the thumbnail over to the centerline of the comb I'll have a 1/16 inch gap on the right side of the thumbnail. The fix will either be to glue a matching piece of wood to the right side of the thumbnail inlet and re-inlet the thumbnail, or rework my design by adding some kind of inlay to cover or fill in the gap! My point here is that you'll learn a lot more from your mistakes and the creative process of figuring out a fix, then if everything had gone perfect and you were never required to put on your thinking cap and get creative! If done properly no one will ever know you screwed up except you, and you'll get a lot of satisfaction knowing you can always fix things if necessary.  Just have fun and take it as it comes. It's not the end of the world, and nor will it be your last mistake! Welcome to the world of Longrifle building!

[David R. Pennington]

I find that I often get so immersed in the process that I fail to back up and look at the whole picture until it is too late. I have been there, feel your pain. I have a friend who says the sign of an accomplished craftsman is not one who never makes a mistake, but one who can correct them.

[Chris Treichel]

Why not bend the metal and glue some wood underneath it?

[WKevinD]

You have not made a mistake, you have created a challenge. Consider all the "solutions" offered, think them thru and proceed.

[wbradbury]

Well, after a couple more hours of scraping and cursing, I got it where it will work. I'll post some pics soon. Thanks, fellas!

[mark esterly]

don't feel bad.  my mistakes are so bad that only a restocking will fix them.  it's like that old transmission commercial.  "why we fixed this transmission 18 times......19 times

[Tim Crosby]

Well, after a couple more hours of scraping and cursing, I got it where it will work. I'll post some pics soon. Thanks, fellas!

  Where are you? TC

[EC121]

I screwed up inletting triggers one time and had to glue in a popsicle stick and re-inlet them.  Only needed a sliver but it was easier to fit the stick and have a do over than try to get a sliver of wood to stick while inletting. You licked it and that's what counts.

[mikeyfirelock]

Ha !  you guys make me feel better.   I just finished a 1/2 stock late style .32, patternedd after a gun my father owned.  I overshot the butt plate return by about 1/4 in.  I ended up making a decorative pointed extension out of some german silver sheet I had laying around and soldered it onto the butt plate return.   Actually turned out looking halfway decent ( this is not one of my better efforts.) 
Where there is a will there is a way.   Just step back and look it over, and you'll come up with a solution.
mikey

[webradbury]

Well, after a couple more hours of scraping and cursing, I got it where it will work. I'll post some pics soon. Thanks, fellas!

  Where are you? TC

Washington, NC...in the east.

[Bill Ladd]

Washington, NC...in the east.

Little Washington!!  I lived there when i was a kid.  That's where I first started messing with this whole muzzleloader thing!!

[webradbury]

Washington, NC...in the east.

Little Washington!!  I lived there when i was a kid.  That's where I first started messing with this whole muzzleloader thing!!

Small world!