Stock-Patches Around Breech

[DHouse]

Good Day All, I could not find this information on the forum or my literature, my apologies if it has already been posted. I accidentally overcarved my rifle stock(a kit) in the breech plug area due to a lack of knowledge of drafts and learned the hard way. That was months ago. I had a baby and am back at it now. I glued in repair-patches(small slivers of wood), and am back at square one: inletting the tang and breech plug. The inletting process is now going much smoother and am enjoying the labor. However, my number one priority is safety.

What are the most critical contact point(s) in the breech plug and breech-tang area where metal meets wood? I realized yesterday I will have small air pockets along part of the tang edges and am now considering gluing in even more slivers/patches of wood; or starting all over with a fresh new stock, sadly. I'm only a rookie to longrifle's but it seems unsafe to have a bunch of glued-in patches around the breech plug area. Yet I've heard that the wood will swell, and that antique longrifle's had more play and gaps than one might think. One good thing is I will have great solid contact with the back of the muzzle-tube and the stock. Curios your thoughts.

Thank You,
-D

[rich pierce]

Structurally, the rear bearing surfaces of the barrel breech and tang lug are what matters. The rest is not as structurally critical, but cosmetic.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I agree with Rich.  The barrel must be supported at the breech face against solid wood.  Otherwise the pins or barrel slides will be required to absorb the recoil of the barrel moving back until it bottoms against something.  The sides of the inlet/tang are only crucial for aesthetics.

[Daryl]

I prefer heavy kickers to have solid bedding, meaning something like Acra-Glass, Devcon Epoxy or JB Weld for bedding material.
Solid wood (hard sugar maple) is good, but if one of the softer varieties like black walnut, is compressible over time. Movement there creates cracks.

[Not English]

Daryl's got the right idea. I don't bed my barrels, but have no problems using the stuff to fill gaps. My "go to" is 5 min or 2 ton epoxy. I mix in a dry pigment that approximates the final color hopefully. My preferred method is to coat any part of the barrel that will come into contact with the epoxy with a mold release of some kind. I use vaseline rubbed on the surfaces as a release agent. if you have a problem with a release a little heat helps the release.

[Daryl]

Something that works as a release agent with many epoxies (including Devcon 50/50 and JB Weld) is ordinary axle grease. It is easy on, easy off.

[DHouse]

Rich, that is a relief to hear. It is not too late to have nice contact with both of those surfaces.

D.Taylor that makes sense the barrel pins would take the brunt. Wasn’t thinking that far ahead on this my first build, I’m glad you said that.

Daryl my stock is black walnut and does not appear very dense. It wants to splinter/rip-out easily. I am now seriously thinking I should use a bedding material. I’m mighty curious what, if any, material was used historically as bedding. My priority though is safety so I will want to probably use one of the ones you mentioned. Also thank you for the axle grease idea that is smart I will keep that in mind.

Not English thank you for the tip, I just ordered some 2-ton epoxy. I’m glad you mentioned coloring the epoxy I will have to dig around for some pigment I can use for black walnut.

Thank you all, this is a great help. I think I will keep going with what I have and see how nicely the wood-to-metal contact is at the breech/breech-lug once I get the barrel/tang seated all the way, as I still have some inletting to do. Very slow going as I struggle to avoid splintering the walnut while also avoiding carving against the grain.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Sharp chisels - I mean really sharp - will go a long way to making nice inlets.  And patience!!

[Sandhills]

Sharpen, sharpen some more. I like to make my own chisels out of drill rod and harden super hard. They hold a edge really well and you can make shapes to fit your work.

[Not English]

D,
I use brown poster paint powder, but any dry pigment will do. If you have any sawdust from the stock, that will work as well.

[DHouse]

Thank you for the suggestions gentleman. I've been good about keeping my chisel sharp based on your replies. I can already sense the need to make a chisel-sharpening jig, as doing it by hand feels slightly inconsistent but is working for now. Thanks again ya'll, this has all been very helpful and encouraging. -D

[elkhorne]

Daryl,
When you bed the breech lug and back of the barrel, how much epoxy, JB Weld or Acra-Glass do you use? Enough to see it squeeze a little out the top or less. Also, do you stain the area you will apply the bedding material with a similar stain before you bed? Finally, if anyone uses Acura-Glass, does heat help release it as well as it does epoxy? Sorry for all the questions but I have a Chambers Haines rifle I did mostly in a class but we went so fast that I have a gap of about 0.015” to 0.020 between the barrel breech and the wood. I have wrestled with the gap for a year trying to figure a fix. Seems with tang bolt out, it moves back almost touching but put the tang bolt in and I get the gap back. Also I hear some members saying to have a slight relief at the back of the breechplug tang to keep recoil from chipping out a piece when it is fired with heavy loads. Do you do this and if so, how much gap do you need at the back of the tang? Thanks and hope these questions help DHouse, myself and others.
elkhorne

[Craig Wilcox]

Gary, AccraGlass is epoxy with a bit of fiber tossed in, so yes, it will soften a bit with heat.  Mo' bettah to use good mold release wax, and make sure ANY holes or crevasses are filled well on the wood side, and with clay on the metal bits.  It makes an incredibly accurate mirror image of your parts, so unless you want a reverse image of the barrel makers data - on the bottom flat of the barrel - fill those letters and numbers with a good paste wax, level with the metal surface.
Others can tell you about staining better than I.
Good luck - and tell me the ratio of Tannic Acid powder to hot water!

[Not English]

Elkhorn, I do not agree with those who say to leave a gap. If you have bedded the breach appropriately, it should not be a problem. I would not worry too much about how much bedding compound you use. As long as the barrel is appropriately covered with some sort of mold release, you won't have a problem. You may have to do some carving to get the barrel out, but you will end up with a really solid breach/stock fit. Whatever you use for bedding, plan on it not taking a "stain". You need to anticipate the "end" color and add pigment.