The secrets of installing Barrel Keys

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

I am about to intall three of these on a Griffin rifle....simple, no escutcheons.  I hear that they are very difficult to do well.... So I am asking the experts here, what, besides care can be done to ensure they come out the way they are designed to.  These are the slotted kind that don't come a;ll the way out... The kind Peter Alexander uses a carpet tack to hold in place.

Any thoughts??

[California Kid]

Taylor posted a good way to do these, its on here some where. The trick is to cut the slots in the wood a little smaller than your key and burn the slots the rest of the way with a hot piece of steel. I'm curious what everybody else has to say too. I'm going to be doing some soon as well, like to hear all the ideas out there. Everybody can always learn something new!

[Roger Fisher]

Taylor posted a good way to do these, its on here some where. The trick is to cut the slots in the wood a little smaller than your key and burn the slots the rest of the way with a hot piece of steel. I'm curious what everybody else has to say too. I'm going to be doing some soon as well, like to hear all the ideas out there. Everybody can always learn something new!

Burn 'em in then you don't have to bend them 'tight' Like somebody I know did

[Lucky R A]

     If you burn them in, be sure to do this before you bring the forearm down to the final size.   The hot steel sometimes scorches the surrounding wood at the entrance and exit of the key.    A 1/16 extra wood allows you to correct this if it happens.   

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Precisely.

[490roundball]

I used the Peter Alexander tools - made from old Hacksaw blades, he describes them and the process on page 147 of his book, finished up with a needle file.

[B Shipman]

The heat involved in burning them in is critical. Get it too hot and you have flames.  Go easy.

[California Kid]

How hot dull red or what? How do you judge the temp. of your burning instrument?

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I don't let it get to red.  After shiny blue it will go black.  I then carefully and quickly align the "key" and press it into the already carved out slot.  It'll go in easy and then stop.  Withdraw the key and reheat, then go in a little further.  It will likely take three or four of these heats to burn all the way through.  You don't want to force it, and though there is some smoke it goes fairly easily, if you have the hole prepared so you are just slicking up the sides and corners.  It's to finish the hole, not make it.

[Sean]

Ah ha, found it.  Can we move Taylor's tutorial on this over from the old board into the new tutorial section?

http://americanlongrifles.org/old_board/index.php?topic=21.0

Sean

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

Ahhhhhhh Thats helpful!!

Thanks

[Dave C]

Taylor posted a good way to do these, its on here some where. The trick is to cut the slots in the wood a little smaller than your key and burn the slots the rest of the way with a hot piece of steel. I'm curious what everybody else has to say too. I'm going to be doing some soon as well, like to hear all the ideas out there. Everybody can always learn something new!

Burn 'em in then you don't have to bend them 'tight' Like somebody I know did

I just did some of these a couple weeks ago and did exactly that. Got them very close but slightly undersized and heated the key itself (mine were steel) and burned them in for the final fit.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

You cannot get a better fit, eh Dave?

[Dave C]

You cannot get a better fit, eh Dave?

They are snug for sure

[Metalshaper]

Here is my "saw" for cutting the tennon openings. Made it from some industrial hacksaw band. Ground it to profile and mounted it in a piece of broken off broom handle ?

To use I set the barrel in the stock, marking the location/depth of the tennon. I drill through the stock at each end of the tennon's openings and try to get a third in the middle. then I use a slim chisel, made from another chunk of hacksaw blade ( kinda like when doing silver/brass wire inlay ) or an exacto blade and push it through  clearing out some of the web material. then the saw gets inserted and worked through, evening out the opening and squaring the corners!

Works for me anyway??

Respect Always
Jonathan/Metalshaper

[P.W.Berkuta]

I also find the "burn in" method works well for me. I drill a series of undersize holes, then using a thin tapered hacksaw blade I connect the holes, then I make a undersize wedge and heat it to almost red and by the time I get to the wood it has cooled a bit and poke her in - I do this a few times until I go through to the far side. I then use needle files to dress up the slot for fit and any burnt wood.

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

I will get to them this next week. I'll see if I can get some useful pictures....sorta depends on my helper