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Author Topic: Bolster to barrel on a Brown Bess  (Read 6978 times)

Offline Dr. Tim-Boone

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Bolster to barrel on a Brown Bess
« on: July 21, 2012, 11:07:04 PM »
I was up at Steve Lundgren's house this morning helping him work out his plan for building his TOTW Brown Bess..  Early Willits I believe....

In any event we started looking at the round barrel and the flat bolster on the lock.  Hmm, the barrel is round..Bolster doesn't mate up well....PLUS there is a turned decorative  band around the breech that prevents the bolster from sitting down on the barrel surface evenly...........

So of course  the kit has no instructions...just a plan and historical notes by Kit Ravenshear!!

So what does Steve have to do to mate the lock bolster to the barrel where it belongs??

Round barrels are strange creatures.
« Last Edit: July 21, 2012, 11:07:45 PM by Dr. Tim-Boone »
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Offline Acer Saccharum

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Re: Bolster to barrel on a Brown Bess
« Reply #1 on: July 21, 2012, 11:21:24 PM »
File a flat on the side of the barrel where the lock mates.

Usually the round bbls have a flat on BOTH sides of the bbl.
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Offline David Rase

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Re: Bolster to barrel on a Brown Bess
« Reply #2 on: July 21, 2012, 11:25:49 PM »
Tim,
I went through the exact same thought process about 10 years ago when I was building a Brown Bess from a Bob Lepley precarved stock.  You have to file a flat on the lock side of the barrel for the bolster to mate up to.  The flat will end up being about 1/2" wide at the breech and tapering to a point where it blends into the round part of the barrel somewhere in front of the bolster.  You will lose the decorative band where you file the flat.  
David
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Offline Acer Saccharum

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    • Thomas A Curran
Re: Bolster to barrel on a Brown Bess
« Reply #3 on: July 21, 2012, 11:27:42 PM »
Note the flat only has to be slight. the wedding bands disappear on the sides of bbl. If your bbl has already been inlet, forgeddaboutit.

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Offline Acer Saccharum

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Re: Bolster to barrel on a Brown Bess
« Reply #4 on: July 21, 2012, 11:28:19 PM »
What Rase said.  ;D
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Offline Dr. Tim-Boone

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Re: Bolster to barrel on a Brown Bess
« Reply #5 on: July 22, 2012, 12:33:58 AM »
Excellent Thanks Guys!!. ;D ;D  We figured it was the case but wanted to ask the experts!!  ::)  Thankfully when they inlet the barrel they did not inlet the decorative Rings, So filing them off on each side will not be a problem. :) :)

BTW.. this kit comes with a coned touch hole liner with a screw slot in it. Did they have liners or would he be better to use one of Tom Snyder's coned touch hole tools to internally cone a drilled touch hole??  Seems like it would be more realistic to me??
« Last Edit: July 22, 2012, 12:34:17 AM by Dr. Tim-Boone »
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Offline Acer Saccharum

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Re: Bolster to barrel on a Brown Bess
« Reply #6 on: July 22, 2012, 12:36:39 AM »
Snyder it.

Some of the original Bess touchholes I've seen have been AT LEAST 1/8 diam, maybe more. Probably shot out, to some degree, but I'll bet they started large. Don't stand to the right of the shooter, please, Mr. Powder Burns.
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Offline Pete G.

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Re: Bolster to barrel on a Brown Bess
« Reply #7 on: July 22, 2012, 12:38:55 AM »
I second the Synder touch.
A liner looks bad enough, but those with the screw slot across them really look bad.
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Offline Eric Smith

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Re: Bolster to barrel on a Brown Bess
« Reply #8 on: July 22, 2012, 12:44:58 AM »
I like the idea of just a touch hole, no liner. Then if you have problems later, (after 7000 shots, how many muzzleloaders get that much workout,) then install a touchhole liner.Just sems more PC to me.
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Eric Smith

Offline Acer Saccharum

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    • Thomas A Curran
Re: Bolster to barrel on a Brown Bess
« Reply #9 on: July 22, 2012, 01:00:03 AM »
The touch hole on a Bess is big enough to self-prime. Very bad practice.
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Offline Mike Brooks

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Re: Bolster to barrel on a Brown Bess
« Reply #10 on: July 22, 2012, 01:24:50 AM »
Don't over do the flat, it doesn't have to be real big. Let me know how this kit goes, I'm supposed to do one soon.
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Offline T*O*F

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Re: Bolster to barrel on a Brown Bess
« Reply #11 on: July 22, 2012, 01:33:02 AM »
Quote
The touch hole on a Bess is big enough to self-prime.
That's because they used coarse musket powder, not 2f or 3f.  It's also why they had big flints and locks with strong springs to set off the same.  Size your hole for the powder "you" will be using.
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Offline Artificer

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Re: Bolster to barrel on a Brown Bess
« Reply #12 on: July 23, 2012, 11:48:25 PM »
Quote from: Acer Saccharum on July 21, 2012, 11:21:24 PM
File a flat on the side of the barrel where the lock mates.

Usually the round bbls have a flat on BOTH sides of the bbl.

I have never had the privilege of taking an original Brown Bess barrel out of a stock, but I always imagined there was a flat on the left side as well, that was below the surface of the stock. 

When I had to dismount the breech on my reproduction Bess, there wasn't a flat on th at side and I had t file one and then fill in the void left in the stock.

Gus
« Last Edit: July 24, 2012, 01:11:42 AM by Acer Saccharum »
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Offline Acer Saccharum

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Re: Bolster to barrel on a Brown Bess
« Reply #13 on: July 24, 2012, 01:12:14 AM »
If the barrel is already let in, I would not file a flat on the off-side.
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Offline David Rase

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Re: Bolster to barrel on a Brown Bess
« Reply #14 on: July 24, 2012, 01:15:41 AM »
Quote from: Acer Saccharum on July 24, 2012, 01:12:14 AM
If the barrel is already let in, I would not file a flat on the off-side.
What Tom said!
David
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Offline Dr. Tim-Boone

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Re: Bolster to barrel on a Brown Bess
« Reply #15 on: July 24, 2012, 05:19:13 AM »
In this case the barrel channel was cut but the breech was not inlet fully so either the barrel has to be filed on both sides or the wood carved to fit the decorative ring...so its not a problem  Steve will just file the flats on both sides.

BTW pet peeves... on this gun and another one I helped with this weekend the vendor encourages builders to let them install lugs and sights..... Oh ain't it fun to inlet a barrel that already has lugs and sites!!! Te good news on the bess was no sights.... On the one that had both, we knocked the sites off and inlet the breech with the barrel upside down..... I know they make a nice margin on those kinds of gunsmithing services, but hey......just sayin!!...
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Offline Artificer

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Re: Bolster to barrel on a Brown Bess
« Reply #16 on: July 24, 2012, 08:13:12 AM »
Quote from: Acer Saccharum on July 24, 2012, 01:12:14 AM
If the barrel is already let in, I would not file a flat on the off-side.

I agree it was the absolute last thing I wanted to do, but I had to do it to get the breech plug out after trying a whole bunch of other things first.

Gus
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Offline Dr. Tim-Boone

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Re: Bolster to barrel on a Brown Bess
« Reply #17 on: July 24, 2012, 07:22:51 PM »
We had to heat the breech to get the p[lug out!!  But then it came right out!!
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Offline Artificer

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Re: Bolster to barrel on a Brown Bess
« Reply #18 on: July 25, 2012, 06:14:45 PM »
Quote from: Dr. Tim-Boone on July 24, 2012, 07:22:51 PM
We had to heat the breech to get the p[lug out!!  But then it came right out!!

Heat was one thing I had tried on my barrel after soaking it for two weeks with penetrating oil and the plug would not come out.  Now I didn’t know about combining Acetone and Transmission fluid in those days. 

I may not have heated the barrel’s breech enough and to be honest, that scares the $#@* out of me with barrels made from steel.  I don’t know how hot you can get them without ruining them.

What finally worked after I filed the opposing flat was keeping the barrel and plug in the horizontal freezer overnight.  When I pulled it out the next morning and tried again, it FINALLY broke loose. 

Gus
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Offline Dr. Tim-Boone

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Re: Bolster to barrel on a Brown Bess
« Reply #19 on: July 25, 2012, 07:17:55 PM »
Now that is creative!!
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De Oppresso Liber
Marietta, GA

Liberty is the only thing you cannot have unless you are willing to give it to others. – William Allen White

Learning is not compulsory...........neither is survival! - W. Edwards Deming
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