Muzzle caps madness

[Jerry V Lape]

I just finished a week of making and discarding muzzlecaps for a Reedy like rifle. Made the wrap easily by shaping it around an oak copy of the rifles front end as cut down to accept the brass.  Reedy soldered the end piece of the cap to the outside of the wrap and there began the frustration.  I marked and sawed  out the barrel's dimensions on a piece of brass  for the end and soldered it centered to the best of my ability to the wrap.  that combination didn't work because barrel, brass and wood were all moving pieces and end with the cap not fitting the barrel - cutout was off in rotation.  Proved I am insane by repeating the process three times and got the end piece into acceptable position on the 4th try.  I know there has to be an easier way?  Should I have  soldered the blank end piece on first  and inlet the barrel down into the cap while on the stock?   

[Stophel]

Yeah, put the cap together, leaving the end "blank", and after getting it fitted (onto the stock, without the barrel in place), then cut out the octagon and file it to match the barrel inlet in the wood.     Easy peasy.

[flehto]

The forend is first shaped so that there's a widening  of the forend starting 6" back from the muzzle. ..... this just exaggerates the swamp of the bbl  {optional} . A rectangular piece of 1/8" thick brass has the partial octagon filed in  and then the outside contour is filed when the front plate is fitted onto the bbl so that the contour is .03-.04 inside the forend shape. I use either .03 or .04 thick annealed brass for the Mcap body. The front plate fits into the Mcap body.

The end of the forend is sawed back so it's at least 3/16" behind the muzzle,  filed smooth and the front plate is located on the bbl  octagon  and the outside contour is penciled on the end of the forend.  This helps in shaping the forend for inletting the Mcap body which I form on a block that's got the forend contour.

The front plate is then hi temp silver soldered to the body from the inside, held together w/ baling wire...the solder line is nearly invisible. The closed end of the Mcap is then disk sanded to be perpendicular to the body and the open end likewise...I use calipers to ensure that the front and back end  of the Mcap are parallel.

The wood for the Mcap inlet is roughed in according to the penciled outline and also  a  line  is penciled in for the back of the Mcap.   and then the Mcap is gradually fitted w/ more wood removal. Doesn't take that long although my instructions do......Fred

[Mauser06]

I just went through this for the first time....


I believe we both ran into the same issues....we we're over thinking the process. 


Stophel nailed exactly how I got mine to work.   I felt pretty silly when the lightbulb finally went off.   Like you said, I tried and tried over and over and couldn't even get close. Cut out paper outlines of the barrel and it still didnt help lol...




Solder the flat piece on the end of the wrap, removed the barrel,  slide the cap on and use the barrel channel as your guide.  Cut/file to the barrel channel.  IF your barrel channel isn't a real snug fit, don't go clear down to it.    The bottom of my barrel channel has a really small gap....now my cap does...and after 2 weeks (of working here n there) that maybe 1/16" gap doesn't bother me in the slightest lol.

[Jerry V Lape]

In the past I have used commercial muzzlecaps already close to final size for the barrel.  Never crossed my mind to use the inlet as the guide for the end piece.  As I said madness to continue doing the same thing expecting a different result.  Next rifle will be much quicker.  Thanks for the enlightenment. 

[TommyG]

I blue or sharpie the end of the cap, insert on the end & scribe the flats using the channel as my guide.  I then use my jewelers saw to cut about a 32nd outside that scribe line.  Re-install the cap, use a small swiss file to bring it flush with the octagon barrel channel inlet.  Got to go slow on all sides evenly and sneak up on the final profile.