Toe plate, to do or not to do.

[flehto]

Toeplates are possibly the easiest inlay to make and  inlet...if you decide on using one, use long screws....the grain at the toe  many times forms a triangle. The Bplate will somewhat  protect the toe, but a toeplate  attached w/ long screws will also help. Knew a builder who dropped his 90 % completed LR and a big chunk of the toe split off. He didn't have the finish applied so it was easy to glue back on.....but this time he used longer screws......Fred

[heinz]

Or, you can actually inlet the toe plate.  I am not in the long screw camp, I believe the butt plate, when properly inlet, should protect the toe

[flehto]

Hi...never inletted a toeplate....looks good. The LR referred above that was dropped had the Bplate attached. but the big piece of the toe still broke off. A properly filed Bplate isn't that thick at the toe  and the soft brass can easily bend. Many of the blanks I've built LRs from had a triangle at the toe because of the grain direction....just waiting to separate. Longer screws  are added insurance, so why not use them?.....Fred

[heinz]

Fred, thanks!  My thoughts on long screws, across the grain like that, are, a screw is basically a wedge and shrinks at a different rate than the wood.  Wood shrinks and expands the most across the grain so I do not like the idea of long screws across the grain.  That is just my pinion and not based on a lot of observation or testing.  It does seem to me that the use of long wood screws in the  tang area, instead of through bolts, results in separation at breech, or wrist, area over the years.   Just my thoughts, others are entitled to theirs. 

[flehto]

Substituting a long wood screw for a tang bolt is something I've never done and don't think it's a good idea. But using long wood screws in the toeplate to prevent the toe from splitting is a good idea. Plenty of room for longer screws and they might just help some.....Fred

[Darkhorse]

I get my mild steel from Ace Hardware. They normally have a small display case in the store with different sizes of steel. I brown my guns so I need something that rusts. There will be a small strip attached to the metal giving the size, etc. It will also state Weldable" or "Non Weldable", the "Weldable" is what you need if you intend to brown the metal.
I also recommend learning to load the rifle with the butt plate resting on your foot. My reason is simple. I often hunt in wet bottomland and sometimes when starting the ball the butt will sink into the soft mud instead of starting down the barrel.