1 piece nose cap install

[smokepole45cal]

Need some help please with installing a swaged 1 piece nose cap on a tapered and flared barrel. Muzzle is 3/4". Ive only nose capped for straight barrels and didn't come across this problem till now: you cannot just slide the more narrow back  of a 1 piece nose cap over the wider part of stock at muzzle. Some of you may be asking why am I saying that the back of nose cap is more narrow than the muzzle? That is because I formed (squeezed) the top edges of the back of the nose cap flush against the side flats of the tapered and flared barrel after I swaged it.  As I see it, if I treat this nose cap as if I was installing on a straight barrel there's going to be an unsightly gap at the back of the nose cap along barrel side flats  (because this is a tapered and flared barrel) AND it will result in more wood off inside the mortise at the muzzle end of stock (causing a wobble or tilt after peening the rivet).

So how do you deal with these problems and get a form-fitting nose cap?... Do you just not worry about the difference in widths, install the cap, drill, and peen your rivets hoping for the best? Do your nose caps tighten properly after peening your copper rivets doing it that way? Ive seen a lot of "tilted" nose caps out there and wonder if those builders had the same problem.

Ive watched Rabys vid part 34, looked at Brooks' 2 piece tutorial and "Recreating the American Longrifle" and going to hit up Alexander's GoGC 1 more time. Am I speeding over the fine print and missing something?  Thanks in advance.

[Stophel]

The springiness of the nose cap will take care of the flare.  There isn't generally THAT much flare, so it's not that difficult to snap it around.

Maybe you can see how this one is tapered down.  You have to spread it out a bit to start it on.

[smokepole45cal]

Thanks Stophel

[Terry Reynolds]

Good question smokepole.... I’ve run into the same problem but with iron nose cap for a swamped barrel and there is no spreading it. Is there a trick for iron?

[smallpatch]

You're right, it won't SLIDE over the end of the barrel from the muzzle.  I've found that if you leave out the front barrel pin, you can pull the stock down enough to slide on the cap, then snap the cap back up to the barrel.
This is especially necessary with a cast cap.
Hope I've explained that we'll enough. Sounded good in my head.

[smokepole45cal]

Last 2 posts I appreciate. Especially the iron cap question. Will take some more expierience on my part and feedback from those who've overcome such problems. Even gentle pushing of any metal cap edge over fragile wooden mortise side edges is precarious especially if youre using 0.050 thick metal caps.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I think you might be worrying about something that is not an issue.  The taper over that 1 1/2" or so inches of nose cap is insignificant.  There is plenty of spring in the brass or steel to allow you to spread the end of the cap to slip over the barrel.  I just installed one on the build I'm currently working on, and it was not a problem.  The brass in my case is .055" thick.

[elkhorne]

Smokepole,
Check you texts and email. Sent you the link to Acer’s tutorial on forming a one piece nosecap. It under: tutorials/Gunmaking tools and techniques/metals/forming a one piece nosecap. Good luck and hope this tutorial of Acer’s helps all. It is the 25th tutorial in that section.
elkhorne

[Stophel]

Also, you fit the nosecap to the STOCK, not the assembled stock and barrel.  Make the nosecap part of the stock, and file out any excess metal hanging inside the barrel channel and basically re-inlet the barrel down in.   

[smokepole45cal]

Yep that definitely makes sense Stophel.

[StevenV]

Just finished an iron nose cap on swamped barrel ,  I feel your pain. I tried a one piece 3 times (.040 iron) just couldn't get the fit I was looking for so went to 2 piece. I finished my stock completely then removed wood .040. To slide it over the wood taper at the muzzle end I reduced the the taper (wooden fore stock)  at the end to slide back to the thinner part of the fore stock. You will never see the wood under the cap. Finished the final fit to the wooden stock and pinned it with a  hand made copper rivet (10ga.wire). Make sure you have enough metal wrapped around into the barrel channel. Use a cut off smaller piece of barrel in the barrel channel that ( old straight barrel cut off laying around) you lay on an anvil and start taping away to fill your counter sink. Now re-inlet your barrel down in to the nose cap that has enough metal wrap that you can file away for a nice tight fit. I was not able to get the iron nose cap to (spring/give / open up) to accept the barrel swamp at the muzzle end this is why I re - inlet into the iron nose cap. I would think that .040 brass might spring open enough but iron would not. After all this still couldn't come up with a way to finish the iron off the gun and then install so I installed , finished the wood and will go back and finish the cap on the stock after the gun is completely done.





 Steve

[rich pierce]

Boughten, pre-made nosecaps can be mighty stiff. Not recommended.

[smokepole45cal]

Nice visuals Steven. Cutting longitudinal lines is smart to help limit your mortise depth.