trouble trigger guard

[frenchman]

It's been a while.
Building most parts except trigger barrel and action. Here is my problem how to attache the front of my trigger guard, decided to use an old trigger assembly to ad to the rifle seems i forgot about a way to tie the front of the trigger guard. I have very little play left . I have approx 3/16 between the rod channel and the bottom of the trigger guard, has you can see i have a screw on front of the trigger assembly. Trick of the trade would be appreciated no specific school just building a Tennessee style rifle with my own ideas.

[Dennis Glazener]

Run the rr in all the way to the end of the hole, mark it at the muzzle and use this to see exactly where the bottom of the rr hole is. Often you will find enough room to drill into the rr channel and glue in a plug which can be used to run you wood screw into. Also I have made a machine screw and tapped a hole through the forward end of the trigger plate instead of using a wood screw.

Hope this helps,
Dennis

[bgf]

Worst case, weld an extension onto the trigger plate and tap for a machine screw to hold the guard on as Dennis said.  

PS.  I wouldn't mention this normally, but it might help.  You might be able to secure a trimmed and shortened T-nut under the guard and then use a machine screw to hold the guard on.

[Mark Elliott]

I usually have less than 1/16" wood between the bottom of the forearm and the ramrod hole.   I don't secure to that.  If I drilled the ramrod hole past the breech plug face,  I chisel out a rectangular hole larger than the ramrod channel up to the breech plug face.  I then fill this hole with a tight patch.   That will give you about 1/2" of wood through to the barrel channel in which to screw your trigger guard.   You don't need a ramrod any longer than the bore, especially if you have a ferrule on the end of the ramrod to accept a wiper.    It is that area under the breech plug where I normally screw or pin my trigger guards.   I also normally end up putting a little block in the end of the ramrod channel to give me something to screw into.

I hope that was clear and it helps.

Mark

[Dennis Glazener]

I usually have less than 1/16" wood between the bottom of the forearm and the ramrod hole.   I don't secure to that.  If I drilled the ramrod hole past the breech plug face,  I chisel out a rectangular hole larger than the ramrod channel up to the breech plug face.  I then fill this hole with a tight patch.   That will give you about 1/2" of wood through to the barrel channel in which to screw your trigger guard.   You don't need a ramrod any longer than the bore, especially if you have a ferrule on the end of the ramrod to accept a wiper.    It is that area under the breech plug where I normally screw or pin my trigger guards.   I also normally end up putting a little block in the end of the ramrod channel to give me something to screw into.

I hope that was clear and it helps.

Mark

Mark is saying basically what I said about the only difference is I use a short piece of RR. I chuck it in the lathe and center drill it with the clearance drill hole for the wood screw I am going to use. Then drill through the trigger guard extension down into the rr hole. Then pull the guard and drill the web between the rr hole and the trigger guard with a drill bit the size of the piece of ram rod. Glue it in place and when dry the trigger guard screw should line up with the clearance drill. Just make sure your ram rod will go far enough into the rr hole to be long enough. I usually let it extend a 1/4" or so e past the muzzle. You can always make an extension for the rr if you have to in order for it to be long enough.
Hope this make sense.
Dennis

[Majorjoel]

From your pictures it appears that you have added a long extension of steel to the front of your trigger plate. This extension goes out well beyond the front finial of your trigger guard. You also have the option of drill and tapping through both this trigger plate extension into your guard from the top. Then run a bolt from above using the same metal as your guard. File off the end of this bolt on the guard side to match the finial's contour making it nearly invisible. Inlet the small head of your bolt and you have a secure guard. Once done this way you will have to remove the trigger plate and guard assembly together like on a late Hawken rifle. Just my 2 cents here and being from the north I can't call it southern ingenuity .

[frenchman]

thanks guy's it does help , i will send my solution when it's done. I was told that a .36 cal makes it a lot more compact but whoa that is nerve racking everything is getting smaller and smaller. But is fun

[frenchman]

found my problem i drill my ram rod hole to deep, don't ask how , i just did, now we are back on track, made a plug for what i needed
thanks again

[shortbarrel]

I think someone on this site somewhere said to always draw the rifle out on paper before you start the build. I always have and it saves a lot of heartache down the road. Takes a lot of time to do this drawing but it sure pays off.........Dick

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Dick..it makes all the difference.

[Dennis Glazener]

I think someone on this site somewhere said to always draw the rifle out on paper before you start the build. I always have and it saves a lot of heartache down the road. Takes a lot of time to do this drawing but it sure pays off.........Dick

Yes but it takes all the fun out of it plus look at all the practice you get fixing un-forseen problems.
Dennis

[frenchman]

I know , i know
 i did everything on paper but i still for some reason drilled to deep, must be age related, when my wife tells me to vacuum a tend to forget what day i should do it.

[JDK]

It's a Southern gun......just screw the front of the guard to the trigger plate.  Enjoy, J.D.

[Mark Elliott]

I know , i know
 i did everything on paper but i still for some reason drilled to deep, must be age related, when my wife tells me to vacuum a tend to forget what day i should do it.

I have the same problem.   I lay everything out on the stock blank, but I almost always forget to stop at the breech plug face for the iron mounted guns.   It's an old habit that is hard to break.  Of course, if I was able to spend more time in the shop,  I would probably remember these things better. 

[frenchman]

For sure Mark, I still enjoy it even with the mistake i do, i accepted to forge ahead even with all the mistake i do ,it's just a hobby and a pleasure to shoot them after i am the odd duck around here with these guns . I have 3 other friends that enjoy it. Now fishing is coming rapidly another hobby just hope i can close the gap at 80% by then

[bob in the woods]

Before I build, I always draw it out on paper. My instruments are all designed and drawn on paper first. Scale lengths etc require exact measurements. I do the same for rifles and fowling guns from habit. Not only does this save you from a lot of potential headaches, it will also let you know exactly if you can use a given piece of wood,  triggers  etc or not. Paper and pencils are cheap compared to time and materials, not to mention the heartache .

[frenchman]

Bob you are right
,i will need to be more diligent on the next one , it is also the signs of a beginner and in a bit of a hurry. It's often the small items when tend to not pay attention to.

[Pete G.]

You will learn more "Recovering" from mistakes than you ever will if everything goes perfectly. At least I think so; I've yet to obtain the perfect build.

[Hungry Horse]

 I have an old Southern gun that has been animalized by a century and a half of gunsmithing morons. But, all the screw ups on this old warrior aren't bad. They are like a roadmap into the thinking of the time. The solution for the same problem you have is pretty simple. The old timer built a staple that spanned the ramrod channel, yet still fit into the forward inlet. This was engaged by a hook, attached to the forward extension of the trigger guard. The rear extension was held with a single screw. Installation was pretty straight forward. Just, slide the forward extension in until the hook engages the staple, and then spring the guard down into the rear inlet and secure it with the screw.

                          Hungry Horse