Feather Hole diameter?

[Bob McBride]

Anyone have a TN/Appalachian rifle on hand with a plated feather hole in front of the toe plate that can give me a measurement of the hole diameter? Thanks in advance.

[Mike Brooks]

Just slightly smaller than a feather shaft.

[Bob McBride]

Just slightly smaller than a feather shaft.

Oh cool. So there’s an International Standard? That should be easy to Google then....

[Stophel]

There's really not any better answer that could be given.

[rich pierce]

The feather needs to be same size or smaller than the touch hole. The feather hole has to bind the feather. Thankfully feathers are tapered. I’d go .070 or so.

[Bob McBride]

Thanks Rich. I figured something close to that but before I drilled I thought I might ask as there was an actual preferred feather used in TN, NC written about more than once in the literature, and as I recall the holes are generally close to the same size in original TNs.


Stophel, sure there is.

[Stophel]

I'm not trying to be a smart aleck, but you've got a touch hole, do you have a feather that fits in the touch hole? If you do, then you have the answer right there in your hands. 

[Bob McBride]

I'm not trying to be a smart aleck, but you've got a touch hole, do you have a feather that fits in the touch hole? If you do, then you have the answer right there in your hands.

  I’m not looking to drill a touchhole to fit a particular feather. If I was I’d get a turkey feather from my shop and drill a 3/8” hole in my stock. I’m looking for the size of the hole in the plate of a feather hole on an original Tennessee rifle. Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat.

[Mike Brooks]

I'm not trying to be a smart aleck, but you've got a touch hole, do you have a feather that fits in the touch hole? If you do, then you have the answer right there in your hands.

  I’m not looking to drill a touchhole to fit a particular feather. If I was I’d get a turkey feather from my shop and drill a 3/8” hole in my stock. I’m looking for the size of the hole in the plate of a feather hole on an original Tennessee rifle. Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat.

  Great googly moogly! What if you can't find a feather that fits that particular hole? And, don't even be thinking you're going to put a song bird feather in that hole.....

[Bob McBride]

I'm not trying to be a smart aleck, but you've got a touch hole, do you have a feather that fits in the touch hole? If you do, then you have the answer right there in your hands.

  I’m not looking to drill a touchhole to fit a particular feather. If I was I’d get a turkey feather from my shop and drill a 3/8” hole in my stock. I’m looking for the size of the hole in the plate of a feather hole on an original Tennessee rifle. Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat.

  Great googly moogly! What if you can't find a feather that fits that particular hole? And, don't even be thinking you're going to put a song bird feather in that hole.....

Then it shall remain featherless.

I was thinking more a baby golden eagle feather.....   

Nonnative songbird types are allowed. House sparrows, some finches, etc. I plan on tweety bird hunting soon. (Legally of course)

[Tim Crosby]

 I've often wondered: how big/long a feather do you use, do you take the vane off. I can't imagine the problem of trying to keep a 4 or 5" feather stuck in a hole on the underside of the stock.

  Tim C. 

[Bob McBride]

They’d be songbird feathers. Think 1.5” x 1/4”. Super flexible. They shed so they would’ve been all over the ground and blowing in the breeze virtually all year long.

[WadePatton]

Shoot one measly mourning dove and pick all appropriate feathers from it.  Easy. Then eat the rest or feed it to a good hound or kitty. Songbird schmongbird. 

Feather holes aren't this hard.  Retaining a feather in the feather hole isn't that difficult and I usually keep an extra feather or two in my hatband or bag.  Starling feathers might work too, but as I keep them runnoft, i don't have access to 'em. Yes there are other unprotected and game birds with an array of touch-hole sized quills.

I have seen originals with double feather holes, and I'm thinking I might double mine.   Momento por favor--

Mine is about 5/64 as best as I can measure at present. I think it's a little bit tight on them, but I've never lost a feather out of it-and it's the only size I've tried. I probably put it in with a gimlet.  I don't recall ever seeing a dimension given, nor have I measured an original.

My touchhole is quill-blocked any time the pan isn't primed and there's a charge in the bore.  I may drill the feather hole out a few 64th's more and some deeper, and add a twin because closing the pan on feathers rags 'em out pretty fast, And I'm seen at least one two-hole original.

I think I've seen as many with inlay as without, but of course that little gun needs a bit of silver 'round the feather hole.

[Pukka Bundook]

Wade's right;
 Just find a feather that blocks the touchhole tight and drill a hole to take it.
Grouse feathers or dove/ pigeon work well.  Hard to lose out of a quill hole, but they do get crumped at times! A ruffed grouse has years of quills in it's tail, without even getting to the wings.
Quills not being dead straight, jam in a hole that's a little over -size usually.  Just drill it deep enough.

[Bob McBride]

Shoot one measly mourning dove and pick all appropriate feathers from it.  Easy. Then eat the rest or feed it to a good hound or kitty. Songbird schmongbird. 

Feather holes aren't this hard.  Retaining a feather in the feather hole isn't that difficult and I usually keep an extra feather or two in my hatband or bag.  Starling feathers might work too, but as I keep them runnoft, i don't have access to 'em. Yes there are other unprotected and game birds with an array of touch-hole sized quills.

I have seen originals with double feather holes, and I'm thinking I might double mine.   Momento por favor--

Mine is about 5/64 as best as I can measure at present. I think it's a little bit tight on them, but I've never lost a feather out of it-and it's the only size I've tried. I probably put it in with a gimlet.  I don't recall ever seeing a dimension given, nor have I measured an original.

My touchhole is quill-blocked any time the pan isn't primed and there's a charge in the bore.  I may drill the feather hole out a few 64th's more and some deeper, and add a twin because closing the pan on feathers rags 'em out pretty fast, And I'm seen at least one two-hole original.

I think I've seen as many with inlay as without, but of course that little gun needs a bit of silver 'round the feather hole.

Hey Wade,
I guess I wasn’t super clear in the OP. I’m not confused about the feather hole size. It’s more a question of how the plate over the hole is done in relation to the hole. I’ve done it about 1/8” and countersunk. I think it looks good. I inletted the plate yesterday. I made it of sterling, football shaped. As I’m going to sulfur all the silver it isn’t silver nailed yet.

[WadePatton]

Curious as I ate breakfast with a sulfured spoon this morning--it's a fantastic shade of peacock--blue/green/purple.  Source of sulfur--Mom's well-water when it was running a bit rank (and this spoon got an extended soaking). Maybe the dish liquid or other chemicals helped make that color, so I'm going to experiment about replicating it. 

Probably not a good gun furniture color but it's a neat set of hues for about anything else I'd think.

Using a plate over the hole gives an easy fix if the hole in the wood itself is over-sized. I may go with Cu.

[Bob McBride]

Curious as I ate breakfast with a sulfured spoon this morning--it's a fantastic shade of peacock--blue/green/purple.  Source of sulfur--Mom's well-water when it was running a bit rank (and this spoon got an extended soaking). Maybe the dish liquid or other chemicals helped make that color, so I'm going to experiment about replicating it. 

Probably not a good gun furniture color but it's a neat set of hues for about anything else I'd think.

Using a plate over the hole gives an easy fix if the hole in the wood itself is over-sized. I may go with Cu.

Yea, the wells around here are known to go sulphuric occasionally. Usually when you have a small collapse. I basically seal my silver in a Tupperware with a few cut open boiled eggs for a few days. The low levels of sulfur in the yolk put a nice even grey to the silver that is a great copy of years of patina. I thought about Cu for a spot of color on the rifle. I still may do it on the side plate panel. A front lock bolt plate of a different color from the main escutcheon looks nice on a TN.

[Hessian]

A Cardinal had a fight with the front end of my car at about 50 mph and lost. Left a wing sticking in the grill. My oh my those are some pretty feathers! Do I dare use them or am I going to be loved tenderly by the possum cops? Just asking.

[Daryl]

The mere "possession" of them/it, might be illegal, just saying.

[mark esterly]

chicken feathers work too.    years ago a young friend who moved to this state from pa. told me how good he did shooting doves on a certain farm near him.  i simply told him to check his CURRENT hunting regs.   they are not legal to shoot here.   ya gots to be careful.

[Elnathan]

Another species for feathers might be a budgie, to replicate the now-extinct Carolina Parakeet. Whacking a budgie for the feathers might be a bit extreme, but dropping by the local pet store to see if they have a couple loose quills at the bottom of the budgie cage might be rewarding....

[A.Merrill]

   Don't worry so much about the size of the hole, it's about how you fix the feathers quill. First off you cut the point off the quill, you don't want to push the power into the barrel away from the touch hole. As you remove the tip cut at a angle then split the quill shaft a inch or two up the shaft. Now roll one side of the quill into itself, it will stay springy enough to fill any hole.  The small black and white stripped feather on a turkeys wing works best. It's short with a nice size quill. Good luck.  Al

[JohnnyFM]

Feathers are de rigueur as a flintlock tool.  As mentioned, they have a naturally tapered shaft which reduces the chance of getting stuck in your touchhole but even if it does, the shaft is hollow which makes a stuck one easier to remove

They make excellent indicators that my flintlock is loaded but not primed.

I definitely have my preference for feather species but that information will remain classified

[bob in the woods]

When I'm all alone in the woods and feeling like living dangerously, I pull out a blue jay wing feather and put it in the holder below the cheek piece of my rifle. For everyday use, when others may see it, a partridge tail feather takes it's place.

[Pukka Bundook]

Re not being able to use found feathers down there in the US, (protected species etc) that is one crazy law.
We never even Think about it up here...