TOW Bucks County Rifle Kit Update #18

[Firelock]

In this update #18 on my Track of the Wolf Bucks County rifle kit.

In this update I installed the Toe Plate.

Here's the video:



During the inletting I chipped out a piece of the stock. I'd like recommendations on how to fix this. It is unsupported, so I'm not sure what will work.

I'll post pictures in a few minutes.

[Firelock]

Here is the area that I chipped out...not sure how to fix it, so all ideas are welcome.

[geb324]

That's a tuff one. Save some sanding dust from the stock mix some stain with it
when it drys put a good amount on the damage area and then use crazy glue the
thin watery one wet your repair with the glue. When dry sand down add more if needed just go slow. You should leave the toe  plate  in place after that.
Good Luck

[b bogart]

Take the toeplate out and peen (from the back) so the "thumbnail" is wider. Finish both sides flush with the sides of the buttstock, since you are not using the "thumbnail" to actuate the patchbox release. Make sure you heat the toeplate to red so that it is well annealed prior to peening.
Just the way I'd do it in this instance. Better ways are sure to come up here!

[Kenny]

Do you have the chip? if not make a small piece out of scrap mix some acraglas and tint it brown, glue it in and it will not show up when stained.

I also like the idea of peening it out, I`ve done it both ways in similar situations.

[PIKELAKE]

From where I sit it looks like you maybe able to inlet the toe plate a tad deeper to minimize the chip out.  You then would have to adjust the bottom of the stock and shorten the butte plate a little. It doesn't look like the end of the world either way. Good luck,.... JZ

[Dan'l 1946]

  You could go with a new, longer toe plate.
                                               Dan

[Whaleman]

Dan'l idea is the best I have heard. When cutting out the new one just don't leave such small pieces of wood.

[sz]

Most of those plates are only .040" thick.
It would be easy to take it out and plane or file the bottom line of the stock down .040" and just start over.
Going down a bit will also have the advantage of making the wood a bit wider so it would be easier the next time.

[TinStar]

Firelock,

Thanks for #18...and for all the others you have worked so hard on. We truly appreciate them!!


TinStar
Soli Deo Gloria!

[DaveP (UK)]

I think Dan'ls suggestion is better than the one I made elsewhere. Custom toeplate vs repaired woodwork. Shouldn't have to think too long...
and you'd get a second crack at the countersinking you weren't happy with.
I used to have a lot of problems with countersinking and chattering until I stumbled across a tool called a slotted taper and deburring countersink. Mine was made by a German company called RUKO. If you look at their website you should be able to find a picture. any problems PM me. I imagine you could then find something of the sort locally. It might not be the correct angle for woodscrews but the result just looks so much better than a star shaped recess round the head. It even works freehand!

[Lucky R A]

     Since you are not using a traditional Bucks Co. opening system where the front of the toe plate activates the push rod to the door catch, just scrap the present toe plate and make a new one that ends straight across the end.  End of problem, and hard to screw up.

Ron

[Firelock]

Thanks for the great ideas. I am torn between using a new, longer toe plate, or piecing in a patch that will extend under the current toe plate. I'll sleep on it and make up my mind.

[Captchee]

  The more I have thought about this , the more I think Steve is onto  the right path .
As I said  on the other forum , it appears to me that   your going to have to take the stock down a lot more on the side that you have the chip out , so as to clean up and transition the  deeper  chiseling that can be seen under the cheek piece .
 In doing so  it looks like you wont have very much to no wood left  in the area of your chip anyway .

 If that’s the case then  dropping the  line of the stock  down  like  steve suggested , would give you more room and  still allow  for that  toe plate .
 The draw back however is your going to either have to make a new TP or  profile the butt plate  and stock back down  to match .

If it were me  and I know I suggested a patch , but I think I would pull the plate . Finish up the area under the cheep piece so that you have a nice clean smooth transition . Then  bring the bottom  line down flush to the bottom of your inlet  . Then check the size of your  toe plate .  To see if it will still fit . If not and you want to use that style , then do some reshaping to reduce the width of the front section  so that it will still be surrounded with wood . Then re inlet

[davebozell]

Thanks for update #18.  Hopefully you will include your fix in update #19, as fixes to problems rarely make it into commercial videos.  As a beginner, figuring out alternative fixes is often the hardest part for me.  It is also encouraging to see that everyone has small issues that crop up during a build, and that they are not impossible to resolve.

[Acer Saccharum]

Most originals had very thin reveals on the edge of the buttplate. Before you get too far along in the finishing stages, thin the edges of your Buttplate down.

[Firelock]

Acer, I will after I get the patchbox installed. The original on page 20 of Shumway's "Longrifle Articles vol 1" has a thick butt plate edge above the patch box and a thin edge below it.

[54ball]

 I would be very tempted to just move on and re visit this later. I guess it depends on how much of a perfectionist you are. One thing that attracts to these old rifles made by the hand of man are their small imperfections.

[rjpalmer]

Firelock, I really like to see you make a video demonstrating cleaning a flintlock long rifle. There have been many words and suggestions written, but a video would be so much better. This is the most troubling part of shooting for me and many of my friends. Rust, corrosion and fear of damaging the stock and finish. Sometimes get-togethers to go shoot are put off because some shooters fear, or don't want the chore of cleaning their rifles. Sometimes I feel this way too.

[horseman]

 Thank you, Mike.  I look forward to your updates.   Bud.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Mike, if that build was mine, there are two things I'd do regarding the toe plate.
First, I'd trace that one onto a new piece of .032" - .040" brass plate with a scratch awl, and cut it out.  Then file draft into the edges of that forward button, but do not drill the hole in it for the forward screw...it doesn't need one there, and the traditional Bucks Co. plate has no screw there, but in fact, is the release button for the patch box release.
Second, I'd do as Lucky RA says...right from the toe of the butt plate, begin taking wood away from the bottom of the stock to increase the belly in the stock there.  Bucks' Co. rifles have a pronounced concave curve along the bottom of the stock.  By the time you get to the missing chip, you'll be down the depth necessary to completely eliminate it.  When you inlet the new plate, you could file that finial just a tad smaller so that more wood shows alongside the rounded end.

[flehto]

Some features found on nearly all Bucks County LRs are a simple toeplate w/ the side opening Pbox release rod terminating under the forward part of the toeplate.  Also the long finials of the entry pipe and "thumbnail" shapes of the TG and buttplate.  Below are some pics of the above BC features.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Nice stuff Fred.

[Firelock]

If mine comes out one tenth as nice as Fred's I'll be overjoyed.