Shaping around tang and barrel

[Scota4570]

I do a lot of head scratching on this.  Leaving it looks ugly.  Any examples of how to deal with it?  This rifle repersents an 1850s Leman. 

[J. Talbert]

Those little pockets can disappear with a large barrel and the right lock combination as the angle of those wood panels along the tang match the angles of the barrel.
In the case of the gun shown I would first minimize those pockets by bringing those panels down as far as the lock and side plate shapes will allow.  Next I would dish out those little corners to blend them into the surfaces along the tang.
Picture to follow when get to the shop.

Jeff

Ooo, looks like that spot got neglected in the final sanding phase, but I think you can get the idea.

[Not English]

Scot, I'm not sure you need to worry about it yet. Your lock panels look a little thick, but it's hard to tell by the pictures. When you have everything down to a final fit and are ready to start carving or finishing is the time to take care of it. I use a very sharp flat chisel to carve out the fit. You're going to want a nice curve from the shoulder down to the lock panel. You can also the chisel to put a very gradual bevel from the tang down to the shoulder. You're going to want to do this with the heel of the chisel down so you can easily control the depth. Do this either by hand power or use a very light mallet to drive the chisel depending on you're comfort level.

[alacran]

You have plenty of wood, way more than what you want. Actually you can take the wood down quite a bit. Yhis is an area that is always hard to see well even on the RCA books. Any way this is how I treat the area. This is a 13/16th barrel.

As you can see the wood can follow the barrel flats. As you get closer to the lock panel you have to deviate from the angle of the barrel.

[flintlock hunter]

That's a beautiful piece of maple alacran, and a equally nice finish on it.

[smart dog]

Hi,
Here is how I handled it on several different guns.







dave

[Mike Brooks]

Buy any of the KRA discs. and look at how the originals were done.