What tool to use?

[Ephraim Cooper]

I am currently trying to make a stock for one of my P53 Enfields. 

Inletting the barrel is proving to be a challenge.  I have started to remove wood using a Pfeil spoon gouge which is working quite well.  What I need to know is would one of the barrel bedding tools from Brownells be suitable to finish off with and if so what size would be best? 

I am on an extremely tight budget with this and cannot afford to make a mistake and get the wrong tool for the job so any advice would be much appreciated.

[ron w]

the gunline barrel channel scrapers are great for final fitting, but not so good for roughing and shaping a barrel channel. they rely on an already established and fairly smooth surface to work well. I have found that using them on a roughed out channel brings issues with directional control as they have a tendency to follow grain and will deviate easily over hard spots making a good straight channel hard to cut. you're best off working slowly with a gouge until the last few curls need to come out, then grabbing the barrel channel scraper for the final fit. used in this manor, they are quick and accurate.

[t.caster]

The Brownell scraper comes with three different dia. scraper discs. Mine now measure 1.255", 1.073" & .760" after God knows how many years of good use.
They cut best pulling them through the channel on an angle, scraping thin slivers at a time. They are not meant to be the exact size as any one barrel. Most round barrels are tapered anyway.

[Pukka Bundook]

Welcome Ephraim!


Nice to "see" you here.
You will get lots of help here.  These blokes a very good and helpful bunch.

R.

[okieboy]

 I like to use scrapers and custom ones are easy to make, but it is also easy to remove wood with sandpaper wrapped around a piece of wooden dowel rod. Various diameters of dowels are cheap. Coarse grit paper removes wood quickly and fine grit paper removes wood slowly. Pieces of adhesive backed abrasive discs made for rotary sanders can easily be cut with a utility knife and will stick to a dowel; they also stick to flat wood like Popsicle sticks for handy detail sanding.   

[RJD-VT]

Hi Ephraim,
   I fully understand you budget requirements. Years ago I built an entire rifle with the tools shown below because it was all I had.
   The gouges, both #7 sweeps, were used to remove the bulk from barrel channels, lock/trigger mortice etc...
   The curved flat chisel was used to “stake” the vertical sides  of locks, bbls etc... and then clean it up to make it ready for the inlet black.
   Like Okieboy said, scrapers are easy and fun to make. I just finished a final lock fit with the two scrapers made from old lathe tool bits. The bigger brown one I made almost 40 years ago for round barrels. It was made from a pc of O1. Old files and chisels work well. The flea market chisel on the right is now ground to a 20-something degree chisel point, but years ago I ground it to 6 or 7 degrees point and used it as a scraper to clean up the bottom of octagon barrel and trigger plate channels. 

Bob D.

[Mark Elliott]

These are all the tools I use to hand inlet a barrel.    At the top are 3/8" rails that I made along with a saw for the rails that I made from a dovetail saw.   The plane is an 19th century  3/4" barrel channel plane that I am pretty sure I got on ebay for less than $50.   The #6 gouge was also bought on ebay.   There is a small dog leg chisel for the flats at the breech, and then there is an octagon scraper made from 1/8"x 1" spring steel.   The bastard cut square file is broken off and the tang bent up to get down in the barrel channel.   It is slow, but it works.    Most people just pay someone to machine inlet the barrel.