OK I thought I might post some lessons I learned that may seem so basic to the experts, that they don't get much mention. I asked for some advice on inletting in another post as I was having difficulty inletting the entry thimble. I was afraid to remove the black that was rubbing off on one of the borders. Yet that was about the only thing that was transfering and the tail of the entry pipe had not yet settled into the stock.
I find it pays to really stop and think about what the black is really telling you.
--Jerry V. Lape
Excellent! This was what I needed. Duh! I guess it's not a matter simply removing all the black each time you go through an iteration of transfering-scraping-blackening.
What I learned was that I needed to pay attention to which side was sticking up too much. The left side of the tail was sticking up while the right side was sunk in nicely. So following Jerry's advice I began removing the black from that vertical surface of the inlet on the right side. Gradually the tail shifted towards the right and the piece settled in.
So ... DON'T just remove all the black when inletting. You have to picture what direction the piece needs to move in and remove only that black that will help it move in the right direction. Eventually you may have to come back and remove the black that you skipped before - but do so only when you think it is necessary.
