TVM stake tenon

[Davyboy]

Greetings All,

I have a question about the TVM rifle kits.  They mention their barrels are drilled for their stake tenons.  I'm looking to build my own long rifle, since I have not had much luck finding left-handed, percussion long rifles for sale or it will take almost a year to get one built.  I've been researching guns, gun kits, etc. but I can't find anything on stake tenons and how they attach to the bottom of the barrel.  If any of you experienced builders out there could shed some light on this, i would be grateful. 

Thanks,

Dave

[smallpatch]

Not sure what you're asking.  A standard tenon will be dovetailed on to the barrel.  There are also staples which are drilled in and staked into place.

[Huntschool]

Also called barrel staples......  that's what they look like is a staple.  Builder locates position of tenon/staple and with a punch marks for the feet of the staple.  Then drills a shallow hole in the barrel, places the footed staple into the holes and with a "staking tool" taps the barrel to close on the foot of the staple.  Its kind like an elephant foot shaped footing.  The marking tool drill bit and "staking tool" can be bought from various vendors.

The only draw back is that on some barrels the builder must be extremely cautious to not drill to deep for the feet of the staple.  You would not use any of these on the forward connections on a thin fowler barrel

[Mike Brooks]

If you're building your own gun  you shouldn't have to worry about TVM.

[Davyboy]

Thanks for the information. Their website said the barrel would already be drilled for the tenons.  Honestly, I think I would prefer a shallow dovetail mounting but I guess we’ll see how it turns out.

[Dave B]

I have never used them but they do make a blade that has the extensions on either end of the blade section that are punched down with a special tool to stake the tenon or tab in place.  Not complicated and strong. I have used the staples on several projects and they have worked really well. Track of the Wolf sells a special double point center punch to get your holes perfect and a slotted stake punch to seat the legs of the staple or tab in place. Not HC exactly but very functional.

[Huntschool]

They are available, as stated above, as solid tenons (picture a staple with the center area solid) to be used with pins....

I think they are easier to work with then dove tailed tenons...... but that is just me....

[alacran]

I have used them. They are easy to use but you need a thick enough barrel wall to accommodate them.  They are pricey in my opinion.
the only time I use them is on Hawkens. Lots of barrel wall and the staples are perfect for the barrel wedges. TVM does a neat job on the stake holes. You can use a little epoxy to hold them while You use a a small punch to stake them in.

[flehto]

On my first build and the next 3,  I used staples formed from nails and filed a groove around each leg and peened the bbl steel into the grooves. Used a drill stop to ensure the depth.....started w/ an  angled point  drill and finished w/ a flat bottom drill to get maximum useable depth.  A little filing of the bbl and the result was a very neat job...still have the rifle and the staples are intact. Keys are used w/ the staples.

Stopped using staples and keys after 4 builds when I started to use pins and dovetailed bbl lugs.....buyers didn't want to pay for the extra hrs  of installing staples , keys and escutcheons.....Fred

[L. Akers]

I use 4b finish nails to make staples.  I use a triangular file to make a notch on the outside of each leg of the staple and use a center punch to peen metal onto the notch.  I have never had one come out or loosen.  On one occasion a customer wanted the barrel of the rifle I had made for him shortened which meant I had to move a staple.  I planned to cut the staple off and dress it down with a file but as an experiment I tried to remove the staple.  I could not get it out.  I use staples with pins and wedges--they have a built-in "slot" to allow for wood movement.

[bama]

This method of making barrel lugs is my least favorite of all the methods I have used. I have seen a few originals that used something along the lines of a staple but not quite what is used today. Most that I have seen are a solid plate with a tapered foot on each end. A rectangular trench is cut in the bottom of the barrel and at each end of the trench a lip is upset to allow room for the feet of the lug to be set into the trench and then the lip is punched back down over the feet to hold the lug in place. This method was mostly used when wedges were used. When pins were used I mostly see a dovetailed lug. The lugs on most original guns I have seen that used pins were very small half moon styled lugs with the half moon just slightly larger than the diameter of the retaining pin. We today make our lugs much larger than most of the originals used. I think this is due to the fear of missing the lug when we drill the hole. One of my goals in building is to make my lugs smaller and to drill more accurately. Both easier said than done.