How do you guys handle a stopped inlet

[Jim Filipski]

Hi Folks,
 I have been building for 40 years and have made 20 + flintlock builds most from scratch & a number of restoration projects..so this stuff is not new to me. However now in my supposed golden years, I have a number of builds I need to complete in my shop. I was never one for machine tools or anything electric ...do everything by hand except a few drill press on center holes and Band saw on the stock blank! After a 10 years hiatus I'm back in my shop and maybe it is old age or what ever... but would like to know what other builders do when they reach an impasse in inletting ... no marks on the inlet but it is not going down anymore ...This is a fancy rear ramrod  entry pipe!
I feel it is the sides of the inlet getting too tight & pinching the part...I usually scrape the sides of the inlet and hope I do not go too far and ruin the tight inletting! Is this what most folks do?
Thanks
Jim

[smylee grouch]

I had that happen to me once and the tab on the pipe was hitting the barrel and it took awhile for me to figure it out

[TommyG]

I feel it is the sides of the inlet getting too tight & pinching the part...I usually scrape the sides of the inlet and hope I do not go too far and ruin the tight inletting!

That's pretty much my SOP.  As I approach the final stages of an inlet, I don't touch the sides unless I start losing transfer color on the base of the inlet.  Then I will do some scraping on the high spots of the sides, or maybe like Smylee mentioned, there is something else holding you up.

[J. Talbert]

You called it a fancy entry pipe.  Is it a wide skirt that wraps around the stock.  If so, I’m guessing that the outside edges are making contact and preventing the piece from sitting down deeper.

Jeff

[flinchrocket]

I use a candle to blacken the parts,so I simply look on the part I’m inletting to see where the black is rubbed off.

[archer829]

I've also had the pipe tab hit the barrel and impede progress without it being obvious.  Drove me crazy for a while until I figured it out....

[rich pierce]

Unless cast, an entry thimble is often flexy and so I use a small concave piece of wood atop it and give that a light mallet tap when looking for color transfer. This protects it from bending or deforming but allows for good transfer.

[geb324]

I second that check the tab hitting the barrel more often thats the issue.

[Jim Filipski]

Ok, had a Duhh moment today!
From inletting i had a long nose developing above the entry hole in the stock and I just didn't have enough inletting black up inside the junction of the 2 piece rear pipe!
Stuck my black brush in there and sure enough it was the only place I got a print! Easy fix.  Then I remembered in the past with a pipe like this I used to cut the nose out early on because on fancy pipes i use .062" brass
to put a good amount of sculpting on them ( for European style builds) so I'm not worried about the strength of the wood at the entry.
Thanks all,  for getting my brain working again
Jim

[Dan Fruth]

Just a note on transfer color...I use burnt umber dry pigment mixed with oil. It cleans off easy and wont make a big buildup. Cut the bristles short and dab the color on, so it is not too heavy....

[Jim Filipski]

I use black pigment mixed with oil......All still messy...but I'm used to it

[Nazgul]

I ran into the tab on a ramrod pipe hitting the barrel on a Kibler Colonial kit I built. It lacked just a hair of fitting perfectly. Took me awhile as well to figure it out. The light went on in my empty noggin when I tried it while the barrel was out of the stock and it fit perfectly!!

Don

[Jim Filipski]

I never inlet Pipes with the barrel in the stock! You want the pipe tabs to be long and after inletting You mark and cut & file them so the are flush with the barrel ( inside of the barrel channel)
This way you only need one pin to keep them stable....