drum on a small barrel

[deano]

Are there any tricks or pitfalls the be aware of when installing a drum on a little barrel - 3/4" straight octagon and .32 cal? It seems the commercially available drums are meant for larger barrels with wider flats. Should I not worry about it or find a friendly machinist to build a drum for me with small shoulders against the barrel and some form of broad flat for the nipple. I don't know how small is safe, but with a .32 how much powder and resulting pressure would I need to worry about anyway?

From a design perspective I was planning for a light weight squirrel/plinking rifle and put a Bedford lock or a Davis Becky's lock to keep things in proportion. Though it might be the Davis since the Bedford butt plate I have just doesn't fit my shoulder or upperarm at all.

Thanks for your suggestions,

Ken

[northmn]

They make drums in 7/16" which should work.  Use a 5/16 x24NF and do not over crank it when installing.  Once everything is lined up it does not hurt to solder the thing in place.  I have used drums successfully on 13/16 45 with no problems.  Save youself some headaches also by measuring and making the the depth of the drum such that it is fluch with the inside of the barrel or it will grab cleaning patches.

DP

[Steve Bookout]

Deano, an important thing to watch out for is to make certain that the drum & lock plate fit one another very well with almost no gap between the two.  That drum will need all the support it can get.  Cheers,  Bookie