installing barrel wedges

[Curt Larsen]

Every time I try to cut out slots for wedge keys in a stock I end up with a sloppy fit.  Has anyone done a tutorial on the best way to do this?  If so, I could sure use some tips.
Curt

[davec2]

Don't have a link, but I remember Taylor explaining how he burned the slot in for the wedge.  I made up a steel tool, slightly smaller than the wedges, and did it as Taylor explained the process and it worked great.  I'm sure he will pop in here and point you in the right direction.

[tlallijr]

Here is the link.....http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=10171.0

[E.vonAschwege]

The last 3 rifles I've built have used keys - they do take some time, but get quicker as you develop a process.  Taylor's method is spot on, and I use virtually the same process.  Drill your holes undersized, chip them away slightly (just to break up the fiber between them), and then use an undersized iron to burn your way through from each side, meeting in the middle.  If you've sized the iron right, you should have minimal cleanup to do with a file just to make sure the slot is uniform through and through.  It's easiest to do all of this while the stock is still square, but trimmed so there's no extra width on either side of the barrel.  The burn mark will look bad initially, but when shaped you'll have a clean slot.  Because you have a lot more wood to pass through, it's best to leave the keys pretty tight - you can always loosen them up a smidge when the stock is shaped.  Hope this helps,
-Eric

[Kermit]

Good timimg. I'm coming up on this task, and the reminder is great. Bookmarked it this time around.

[Cory Joe Stewart]

On Hershal House's Hawken Building DVD, he shows how to do the wedges.  I have never done that myself, but will have to soon.

Coryjoe

[Tom Currie]

After I drill the initial hole I take a saber saw blade and gring it down so only the teeth remains with a little backing. After the slot widens I use a blade with a little more strenght. Keep deliicate sawing until the width is obtained..

[Curt Larsen]

Thanks for retrieving Taylor's tutorial for me.  Now the question is: how do I get rid of the sloppy fit of my wedges?  I wish I had remembered the tutorial before I began.

[E.vonAschwege]

Depends how sloppy the fit actually is.  If it's just a little loose but not visibly loose, you may be able to bend the key slightly (with the bend away from the barrel).  If it's really visible, I would take it to nearly finished level and then shim it with thin material, oriented so the grain matches the rest of the stock.  You can also use inlays to hide a sloppy fit too. 
-Eric

[PPatch]

Curt;

Taylor's method works, I have used it and plan on doing so again when I get to that point on a couple of rifles coming up. One of the keys to success is forming the burning rod undersized and being careful with the heat, you want it to kind of melt the wood as it goes in not set it on fire, it takes multiple "burns" from each side to complete the hole(s). Play with it on some scrap wood before doing your rifle so you know just how to heat the tool.

dave

[okieboy]

 RE: fixing sloppy fit. Why not just make some oversize keys and work them down with needle files until you get the fit that you need?

[whitebear]

RE: fixing sloppy fit. Why not just make some oversize keys and work them down with needle files until you get the fit that you need?

Good idea, I had thought about that myself.

[Curt Larsen]

Thanks guys.  Good advice.  Not it's back to the bench.  I'll try Eric's idea of thin shims first then go on from there.
Curt

[SuperCracker]

The last gun I finished I used wedges and tried something new.  

I got the wedge hole layed out and roughed in to very close to finished size using the previously mentioned methods. but instead of burning it through ( I've tried that twice and messed it up both times) I filed the end of the key flat and square and then using a sharpening stone I polished up all four sides and the face to give sharp 90deg edges.  I was then able to tap the wedge through the roughed in hole in the wood a little at a time and the sharp edges cut the little bit of remaining wood out as it went  to give a perfect fit. It was tight enough i had to tap it back out from the other side and then used home made sanding sticks to give enough clearance to call it finished.

Naturally the holes in the barrel lugs were cut and fit after the wood.

Just a thought.