Enough wood?

[MeatStick]

Should I fill any of this with epoxy? It looks a little thin to me, this was my first attempt at inletting, any advice would be great.

[blunderbuss]

 

  Looks fine to me ,Look at an original and see how yours matches up you'll find that the originals are very thin in spots.

[flintriflesmith]

Hard to tell in the picture but it looks like the lock may be a bit too high on the barrel. Most folks place the touch hole in the center of the barrel and the top edge of the pan about even with the hole.

If you stick the lock in and take a picture from closer up that shows the relationship between the pan and side flat of the barrel it will help someone answer your question.

Gary

[MeatStick]

I guess my concern is that the wood that was removed under the bolster exposing the barrel channel. I thought I'd mention it's a 3/4 barrel.

[blunderbuss]

  

  You may have a hard time with the front lock screw clearing the bottom of the barrel can't really tell .Don't worry though it'll work with only one lock screw. I worked on an original flintlock once that had a hook inside the lock where the front lock screw would have gone and a metal hook inside the mortis to hook it to. It's better to do it that way than to have it to low and interfer with the ramrod.

[MeatStick]

I had only planned on using one anyway, the front end of that L&R is a little crowded.

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

Is she square with the world vertically and horizontally and does the bolster/pan fit tight against the barrel?and the plate sit in its mortise firmly?? Looks pretty good to me to this point. I assume the pencil line on the side flat of the barrel is marking the front of the breech plug?

Sometimes there just isn't enough room without taking all that wood out specially on really slender guns.... a 3/4' barrel is going to be slender... I understand they are a bear to work with.

[MeatStick]

It's square, tight and flat to the barrel and snugs up good with the one bolt. The pencil line is the face of the plug.

[B.Habermehl]

Having the mainspring inlet siamese with the barrel chanel is no sin. It happens to me more often than not. Looks like you are off to a decent start. Just take your time and think about each step. BJH

[MeatStick]

I spent 10.5 hours on it today, and I started shaping the stock after about 8 hours of fitting. I have hopes of shooting it next week.  I'm guessing about another 40 hours of actual work and maybe 10 hours of fixing mistakes I make along the way.

[David Rase]

Based on the picures it looks like it will work.  I have broken into the barrel channel several times and it has presented no problem.  Sometime you have to thin up the mainspring or in the case of a heavy walle breech remove some material from the exterior of the barrel to allow the spring to clear.  Keep on truckin! 
Dave

[MeatStick]

Actually, I did end up filing the edge of the spring for clearance.

[t.caster]

Actually, I did end up filing the edge of the spring for clearance.

Not a problem, just make sure to smooth out the spring. Don't leave file marks that can lead to cracks & breakage.
But you already knew that

[Jim Kibler]

Just a note, one thing that might help in the future is to cut the panel of wood down to just above finished dimensions prior to inletting the lock.  This way you don't have to inlet through all the extra wood and it is easier to get a nice fit this way.

A bit of information regarding file marks, finish etc. on spring.  I have seen some very coarsely filed original springs, sometimes at an angle almost perpendicular to the axis of the spring.  Also, even on the highest quality guns, spring finish is somewhat less than might be expected from todays perspective.  For example on a French flintlock by Thuraine, the internals and external parts are extremely well finished, but the mainspring still shows relatively coarse file marks at an angle to the axis of the spring.  There is absolutely no doubt it is original to the lock.  What I'm getting at is that I believe the need for a finely finished spring and the tendency for breakage has been overplayed in recent times.  If you have the chance, start looking at original examples and I think you will probably agree.  But with that said, I usually finish a spring out fairly fine.  Just can't help it I guess.

Jim

[JDK]

Could the file marks be less critical on a forged spring than the cast springs most of us are using today   J.D.K.

[Eric Krewson]

This maybe HC blasphemy. If you think you took out too much wood from your inlet and want to strengthen the remaining wood, soak the area with the thinnest super glue you can find. It soaks into the wood somewhat and makes the area much stronger.
 
I have been doing this in gun and non gun projects for years.

[MeatStick]

Here it is a couple of days later. I think it will be okay.