How do I attempt to install this?

[mountainman]

I never tried this yet, how would I start by inletting one of these?

[Mike Brooks]

I have only done one, it was a miserable job. Never again.

[bob in the woods]

I have only done one. I bent the sides out so they didn't interfere with the inlet of the bottom part , and then just went slowly , using transfer colour to inlet the base. Then , just bend in the sides and inlet them . I filed a decent chamfer on the edges and that helped.
Patience is your friend when installing one of these 

[oldtravler61]

 .   Best advice I can give is practice with a scrap piece. Like Mike said their a pain...  Oldtravler

[bowkill]

Seen one done by Mike Miller and he made it look easy..lol I'm with brooks OUT ON THAT. Unless most of it is done on a kit.

[borderdogs]

The video of Mike Miller building a pistol shows that but I would approach it the way Bob in the Woods said. I have never done one but I will worry about it if I get the desire to build a pistol with a butt cap like that.
Good luck,
Rob

[Daryl]

mountainman - I don't know how to do it other than Bob's input, but if you do it, and do a good job of it, it will be FANTASTIC!

[Tim Ault]

Wow as a rookie my solution would be buy a second one . Chop them pointy things off inlet the bottom part lay them pointy things on it lay it out inlet some more and use the second one you bought as the finished product . But that entire process would be a high pucker factor

[Long John]

When you take apart originals you will learn that the wood to metal fit that is tight is ONLY at the edges of the butt cap.  In wood on the inside of the butt cap is cut very roughly.

I annealed the butt cap and then very gently spread the spurs out a little so that they were not parallel.  Then I laid the butt cap on the blank and drew the outline of the spurs onto the stock.  I then roughed out the end of the butt stock so it was roughly the shape of the interior of the butt cap.  I then bent the spurs back to parallel and starting at the end of the but started inletting the butt cap along the center-line of the spurs.  I started with a very narrow notch at the end that was just enough to allow the end of the spur to slide up the stock a bit - maybe 1/2 an inch. I widened the notches until I had a nice fit on each side.  then I widened and extended my notch up the center-line of the butt stock.  Slowly my notch became a curving groove up each side of the butt stock.  Bit by bit I just kept on extending and widening the inlet until the butt cap was all the way on.

On original guns the ends of the but cap are actually formed with a spur that digs into the wood just like the tail-end of a trigger plate or trigger guard.  Usually on originals the butt cap is held on with a screw that goes into a tab that extends up from the hollow of the butt cap from the inlet for the trigger guard.  I don't see that tab in your photo.

Those are a challenge to let in!

JMC

[Mike Brooks]

here's the only one I ever did.

[Stoner creek]

here's the only one I ever did.

Never mind the butt cap, that side plate inlet is the job!!

[smart dog]

Hi Mountainman,
I was hesitant to respond because the answer to your question is long.  First, I urge you to thin the bases of the spurs a bit but don't wipe away the little point at the end of the spurs.  Next, anneal the spurs by heating to bright red and quenching in water.  Then bend the spurs away from the stock as far as they are thin in width.  Start rounding the stock butt until you can start fitting the cap. I cannot describe all the work to fit the cap but get the base fitted as best you can and then push the spurs in and mark their outlines on the stock.  Inlet them but make sure the little points burrow into the wood anchoring the top of the spurs.  These butt caps are anchored by a screw going through the end of the base.  However, is there an end cap in your set of parts?  These pictures may help.

dave
   

[mountainman]

Thanks you all kindly for your responses, and sharing your artistic work, those are very beautiful handguns Daryl,  Mike and Smartdog, some of you were asking if I have more parts for the bottom of the cap, I do not have it, and I'm not sure what it is, is it like a big washer for the screw? Is it something I can make? Or do I buy a missing part? I can't remember where I picked it up, and I know I had it for a while already. The price on it was $30.

[bob in the woods]

The examples shown have a cap over the main screw. Mine didn't have this, and the large screw fastening the butt to the stock is visible .  This was common on many military type pistols [ dragoons ]  I think you have something similar

[Bob Gerard]

When I was building my French Dragoon kit (MBS), I happened upon this video which helped me see how one man approached the installation of this type of butt cap:

https://youtu.be/hEw_eKg7kjs?t=1089

I also spoke with Ryan at Muzzleloader Builders Supply and he explained that you first spread the side tangs apart and inlet the bottom of the butt cap first, then when it fits take it off and reset the tangs and gradually slide the tangs forward. You remove enough wood to gradually creep the tangs (or "spurs") into position. At the very tip there is a small "bayonette" which gets inserted into the wood to keep the tangs in place.
Your butt cap looks like it has a large hole at the bottom; not sure what that would do. Most have a screw or a cap retaining pin like Smart Dog showed.

Here is how mine turned out:

[mountainman]

The examples shown have a cap over the main screw. Mine didn't have this, and the large screw fastening the butt to the stock is visible .  This was common on many military type pistols [ dragoons ]  I think you have something similar

That was my idea of fastening with a screw on the bottom, but apparently I still need a brass spacing or a glorified washer, unless it takes a very large screw.

[mountainman]

When I was building my French Dragoon kit (MBS), I happened upon this video which helped me see how one man approached the installation of this type of butt cap:

https://youtu.be/hEw_eKg7kjs?t=1089

I also spoke with Ryan at Muzzleloader Builders Supply and he explained that you first spread the side tangs apart and inlet the bottom of the butt cap first, then when it fits take it off and reset the tangs and gradually slide the tangs forward. You remove enough wood to gradually creep the tangs (or "spurs") into position. At the very tip there is a small "bayonette" which gets inserted into the wood to keep the tangs in place.
Your butt cap looks like it has a large hole at the bottom; not sure what that would do. Most have a screw or a cap retaining pin like Smart Dog showed.

Here is how mine turned out:

Very nice Bob! Thanks for that link, that helps a lot.

[Bob Gerard]

Your sure welcome. Hope your build comes out well !

[mountainman]

[mountainman]

[mountainman]

[mountainman]

Slowly getting there, I work on it every now and then, yesterday I didn't do anything at all to it. Too much other stuff on the go.

[Ric Carter]

Cut the bottom of the stock flat, and fit to that. Most old ones were done that way.

[Bob Gerard]

Looks like you’re doing it!