This method is also the way I inlet barrels - straight, tapered and swamped. My instruction came from Biven's articles in Rifle mag which I compiled into a book of my own. John had a wonderful talent at being able to explain things to make a newby understand. I still go back and read his articles, just for the pleasure of reading his explanations.
I use cold rolled 3/8" key stock for my guides. I drilled holes as close to the outside edges as possible to pass gyprock screws. No countersink is necessary. In the areas of the swamp the holes are considerably closer together.
Here's the process: I lay out my bandsawed blank and clamp the barrel over the centre line of the barrel inlet. Then I clamp the rails to the barrel. The 3/8" square rails butt up against the vertical flats of the barrel, where 1/4" rails may try to scoot under them. With everything clamped up, I use a punch made to just slip into the holes in the rails to centre punch every hole. I then drill an undersized hole to receive the gyprock screws. Screwing down the rails is next. Then the barrel can be lifted out off the stock blank.
I made a special saw from a rip saw to cut on the pull stroke, and removed the set of the kerf from one side. This side of the saw slides down the inside edges of the rails cutting to a mark scratched on the inside face. You cut toward the breech on one side and toward the muzzle on the other. Now a 1" chisel removes the wood in the channel up to the bottom of the saw cut, leaving a ridge down the centre that is removed with a big gouge and a mallet. Using the same 1" chisel, I slide it down the inside edges of the steel rails to make a clean vertical cut for the side flats of the barrel, as the saw, having its set removed, tends to want to curve inwardly. Now the rails can be removed, having served their purpose.
In order to get the depth right, I make a felt pen mark every three inches along the barrel and measure the dimension across the flat at each mark. I divide that by two (only half of the barrel goes into the channel) and add .020" to get the barrel a little below the top of the half way point.
This wood is removed later during finishing. Those dimensions are written on the top of the stock at their appropriate points, and starting at the breech, I fully inlet the barrel to that depth until I reach the muzzle. Layout colour (Jarrow's in my case) applied lightly with a piece of cotton towel shows where wood has to be removed.
It takes me about seven hours to inlet a 46" barrel. It is not hard work and is very satisfying, but obviously you have to pay attention, and chisels and scrapers need to be as sharp as they can be.
I'm posting this to compliment Dave's thread and to reinforce an excellent and simple method to inlet a barrel. Also, I believe this tutorial exists in that forum, but will have lost its images. Perhaps Dave's thread can replace it.
