barrel channel?

[chuck-ia]

How tight or snug do you guys like the barrel to fit? I just finished inletting a b-weight 42" barrel, the left side of the barrel is a pretty good fit, I can fit a .005 gage down the side flat on most of the barrel, the right side is looser, probably .010-.013 and a more noticable gap, the barrel drops in the channel with no pressure, maybe a tiny bit of wobble is noticable. I guess I don't do this enough to know what is good enough, I guess I could allways bed or partially bed the barrel, but don't want to do that unless I have to. My guess is it will be just fine by the time the finish is on, (maybe slop it on a little heavy). I seem to fret a lot on things like this, but by the time the gun is done the things like this seem just fine, (usually). I did not want a tight fit where I had to press the barrel in the channel, I might have over done it a little. What do you guys think? thanks, chuck

[excess650]

If this is to be a shooter, and shot frequently, I would bed it.

[Bill of the 45th]

Cut some shavings, press them flat, then glue them in and recut.  Bedding a long rifle is when you screw up bad.  Bedding is for modern suppository guns.  Use Elmer's stainable, and you'll never see the patch.

Bill

[Randall Steffy]

As you said, you may have over done it a little. I for one would accept the clearance as it is and commit this detail to memory with a plan to get it better next build. I know I would not bed or attempt to fill the minor gap in any manner. Finish will make it tighter, humidity could make it worse or better. If you excel in build details ahead of you, this gap will fade into the background. Move ahead carefully and smile.

[flehto]

If the clearance bothers you, wet the forend, insert the moisture proofed bbl, wrap tightly w/ surgical tubing and let sit for a couple of weeks.  Many times the gaps close up by themselves and don't require correction.....Fred

[rich pierce]

+1 on what Fred said.  Even overnight a wetted and clamped channel can close quite a bit- it's just important that the inlet is smooth on the sides, not chattery with high and low spots.  Use a bicycle inner tube- go to the bike shop and ask them for a flat tube.  If you cut the valve off at the store they will give it to you and not think you're a cheap cyclist trying to get a tube for free to patch.  Slit the inner tube to 3/4" wide with scissors and it works like a charm to clamp for jobs like this or for gluing.

[Bill-52]

Chuck,

Be sure to overlap the bicycle inner tube when you wrap it around the stock.  I had a problem similar to yours and wrapped the inner tube with some space between the wraps,  like a candy cane, thinking it would dry quicker.  What I ended up with was a wavy channel, tight where the inner tube was but no change where open.  It was fine once I steamed and wrapped it again correctly.

Bill

[Bob Roller]

Here in West Virginia,bicycle inner tubes are used to route natural gas around gas meter.

Bob Roller

[chuck-ia]

thanks for all the suggestions. I think I will just leave it alone for now, continue on with the ram rod hole. Once I get the stock cut down along the upper and lower forearm, I will decide what to do, would probably be easier to shrink the stock when it is thinned down, right now it is close to 3" thick. Thanks, chuck

[Jerry V Lape]

I corrected poor fit by cutting a long thin slice of matching wood from the pieces saved from the blank.  With a good blade on a table saw I was able to get a slice approx 1/16" thick which I thinned even further by hand sanding it on a flat surface.  Glued it into the channel  with stainable glue.  Then I reinletted that side using a small scraper to remove the high spots as indicated by color transfer.  The standard I aspire to was learned from Jerry Huddleston.  He inlets so the barrel plus one layer of scotchtape on each side fits.  One layer of scotchtape is approx .002".   At first I doubted I could achieve such a close fit.  But by patient scraping I got there.  Of that original strip of wood less than 1/64" remains in some areas.  Amazing how strong hard curly maple can be in such thin pieces