Tiny wedge strategy?

[Scota4570]

I have to install a couple of wedges, 0.078" x 0.25".  No wedge escutcheons are to be used.  The wedge holes  need to be neat and tight because they will show.  What is the best way to make the tiny close fitting rectangular hole for the wedges?

My initial thought is to drill a 1/16" hole just like for a pin.  Then drill a second hole the required spacing, halfway.  Then finishing the second hole from the off side, little drill bits love to wander.  Put a hole between the first  two.  Then  make a tiny broach to open up space between the holes. 

This plan seems complicated.  What am I missing here? 

[LilysDad]

How about a tiny mortising chisel? It's a small flat chisel the width of the mortise with a bevel on one side. You drive it straight down and work the length of the mortise.

[TommyG]

By wedges, are you referring to barrel keys?  I did a few on a Haines I built earlier this year.  I believe you have the correct sequence or at least the way I would do it on another.  Lay out a series of holes on both side of the stock.  Drill the first set on one side and spot the holes on the barrel lug.  Drill the off side.  From there what I did was modify a hacksaw blade to become a combination saw and thin chisel.  Remove the bulk of material between the holes to become a slot, but remain slightly undersize of the key.  Then burn the actual key in to place.  Heat- insert - repeat until the undersized slot and key fit pretty much perfectly.  I made the mistake of drilling my holes straight thru the barrel lugs to the offside, and as you could imagine, they were off.  Not by much, but off.  It all worked out as the heads of the keys covered the mistake hence the recommendation to drill both sides separately.

[FALout]

Watch out when you burn them in, I tried that on a Hawken, let’s just say I’m glad there were escheons to hide the burn.  It was still a good thight fit but there was some scorching.  Little wedges are more challenging but doable, your plan is dead on.

[smylee grouch]

If you burn th em through, use a slightly smaller wedge to do the burn. This has worked for me before.

[Kevin Houlihan]

I followed the tutorial by D. Taylor Sapergia and my key came out perfect.  My key is tapered with the exit side a little over 1/8".  Don't overheat the key.
Good luck
Kevin

https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=10171.0

[J. Talbert]

I made a mini mortising chisel from a needle file.  Ground the teeth from one of the small edges of a rectangular file and then ground the bevel on the nose.  Leaving the teeth on the larger flats and the remaining small edge comeS in handy also. 
After the initial hole is drilled thru, additional holes are drilled, one on either side of the first hole.  Drill these only half way thru and repeat on the each side of the stock.  Then clean out between the holes with the mini chisel.

If you choose to incorporate the burning method, I recommend experimenting on scrap to identify the optimal heat so as not to scorch the surrounding wood.

Jeff

[flatsguide]

I would start the hole with a screw machine drill, sometimes called a stub drill.  They are stiffer than the longer jobber drills.
Richard

[Jerry V Lape]

I initially drilled with 1/16" bit but found it difficult to get the hole as neat and tight as I wanted.  So I just used a chisel made from a piece of clock spring.  Marked out the rectangular hole on the wood and cut it with the chisel.  I did this before reducing the stock to final dimension while it still had about 1/8" of wood to be later removed.  This protected the wood around the edge of the hole from getting worn while working the chisel.  My holes tend to get tighter to the inside anyway so that helped to keep the hole neat and tight.  Also made a piece of steel a little smaller than the key and used this to quickly burn the hole for final finish.  The steel is also part of my tool kit for removing the tight keys.   Once the hole were made I put Dykem blue on the barrel lugs and used a thin scribe to mark out the hole on the lugs. 

[smart dog]

Hi,
https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=52636.0

Scroll down a bit to get to the barrel key part.

dave

[P.W.Berkuta]

I use a small mortising chisel that I make out of O-1 tool steel which is hardened and tempered. Sized to be less than the required dimension of the keys. I finish off the rectangular hole in the stock with small needle files. I have burned them in but I like the mortising chisel method the best.

[mtlonghunter]

Check out posts from October 17 2016 under barrel key drift or broach.

[J. Talbert]

Check out posts from October 17 2016 under barrel key drift or broach.

Unfortunately no visible pictures when I checked.

Jeff