Did I overdo it?

[WV_Mountaineer]

Trying to get build # 2 going and wanted to make sure it was as thin as possible.  Now that I am ready to inlet lock, I am wondering if I have enough stock left underneath the lock for the lock plate and bottom curvature.  Here is a picture of what I am talking about .  I have a scant 1/4 inch for the plate and shaping.  Is this enough or do I ditch the stock and start over?

[rich pierce]

 Some later rifles were a little chubby in the lock panels compared to flint era rifles, but I think you're fine with what you have as long as you take care to still have the belly slightly rounded.

[Acer Saccharum]

I'd not take any more off until I got to installing the rear thimble. That will dictate the wood between the trigger and the thimble. The profile of the stock from the buttplate toe to the trigger is the next line to define. Once you have those three parts established, you can nail down the bottom line of your stock. Then install the guard, rounding the bottom off as Rich suggests.

The gun below has very little wood under the lock, and is still OK. But it's a different school than yours. I think you're gonna be OK, just be careful as you go, watch that profile!

[WV_Mountaineer]

Rich and Acer, thanks so much for your comments.  It sure helps to hear from folks with your experience when that 'ol doubt' starts talking in my ear.

[Jim Kibler]

I don't have a lot of knowledge about percussion era longrifles, but I believe it is fairly common for the area below the lock to be pretty flat or have little curvature.   With that being the case, I think your fine.  You still have enough wood to get quite a bit or curvature if it's desired as well.

[Acer Saccharum]

One more thing you need to watch is if you will be using double set trigers, you gotsta make sure you have enough depth in that area under the sear of the lock. Some sets allow thinning of the trip bars, and others do not.

With a single trigger, which can be filed down if too tall, you can be confident that you'll have no problem with however much wood you have remaining.

[Roger Fisher]

I have an original l rifle converted to perc that has the bottom of the stock beneath the lock darn near flat with sett trikkers.  He did have more room to work with under that lock than maybe you do.

Were you intending to use a single trikker

[smart dog]

Hi WV_Mountaineer,
If you have a little extra lockplate below the mainspring you can narrow the plate a little to give you more room.  A narrower plate would look good but only consider it if there is excess plate below the mainspring when it is at rest.  You also want to make sure none of the other components drop below the plate if you narrow it.  For example, watch the position of the sear when you go from rest to halfcock and then full cock.  The sear bar may move up and down quite a bit.  Finally, moldings around the plate do not have to be very wide, 1/8" is plenty.

dave

[WV_Mountaineer]

Roger and Acer, I made a double set trigger that I hope to use.  The best I can tell at this point, I will have just enough clearance for the triggers.

[WV_Mountaineer]

Smartdog, reassembled the lock and marked the spring and sear locations in all positions.  This allowed me to take some more of the lower front of the plate and round the rear just a little more.  Should help!  Thanks to all for the suggestions.

[Tom Currie]

I think  your picture looks good. Most originals I have seen and most pictures in the books we have show less wood under the lock than much of the comtemporary work I see posted. The trick is to still get a RR under the front lock bolt and between the bottom of the stock.  As Acer pointed out the area from the entry pipe to the lock area most be planned out top to bottom well in order for the lock area to look right.

[bama]

A lot of the really thin caplock rifles did not have a front lock bolt and the ramrod is tapered which helps to keep the forearm thin.

I restored one rifle that was dated 1858, it was a half stock. The ram rod hole was drilled only for a couple of inches and the rest was milled out so the ram rod rested against the bottom of the barrel. The front 2 thimbles were staked to the bottom of the barrel. This rifle was very thin under the lock because of the way the ram rod was done.

I have a rifle in the shop now to restore. It also has a very tapered rod and the ram rod hole is drilled with a tapered bit. The ram rod hole was directed up to the bottom of the barrel and to the left side of the stock. This does 2 things, slims the forearm and gives more room for the mainspring.

Both of these rifles are nice and slender, both were broken through the lock area. Nice slender rifles are nice to look at but slender comes with a price.

Lay everything out on the stock before you start cutting, if it lays out OK then go for it.