Thimble placement issue

[hmccaskey]

Background

I'm building my first long rifle from a kit of parts that I bought here second hand.
The parts are marked 'Southern Mountain rifle.'
It appears to be either a Tracks kit or a Pecatonica kit with a Durs Egg flint lock.  42 inch barrel 50 cal.

I have the Tracks plan for the Early TN rifle and these parts are a very close match.

The barrel came with the under lugs installed.  I have the barrel, lock, trigger and butt plate (pinned and screwed.)  I have not inlet the thimbles.

The issue -   Assuming the middle thimble (of 3) is halfway between the forward thimble and rear thimble and I place the outside end of the forward thimble 5 inches from the muzzle (as in the Tracks drawing), the middle barrel lug pin is only 1/4 inch from the center of where the center of the middle thimble should be positioned.

In other words the center barrel lug interferes with my my preferred thimble placement.   I should have checked this before I pinned the barrel. I could have moved the middle lug.  Live and learn.

I'm not planning on selling this gun.  I want to hunt with it, but I do want it to look somewhat authentic.
 
I see three options.  Maybe there are others.

1.  Install the forward thimble at 4.5 to 4 inches from the muzzle and then place the middle thimble halfway between after removing some of the tab.
2.  Uneven spacing between the thimbles.
3. Add a 4th thimble. 

Any Ideas/thoughts?

Thanks

[Stoner creek]

Is there enough tab on your pipe to pin front and back and then cut out the part of the tab where your lug goes? I’ve seen that done before.

[rich pierce]

I vote #2

[Stoner creek]

Rich is probably correct. Pick up original guns and study them. Many pipes were unevenly spaced. Possibly installed by apprentices.

[Ky-Flinter]

Option 4 - use the same pin for the barrel and the middle RR pipe.  It will take a little work to get the barrel lug and the thimble tab inletted side by side.  I did this on a pistol once.  Small pistol, not much real estate to work with.

-Ron

[bama]

You could do a couple of things to resolve this problem.

1. Relocate the lug and patch the pin hole in the stock. Uneven lug spacing is much less notable than unevenly spaced pipes.

2. This is something that I have seen on a number of originals although I try to avoid this layout when building a new rifle. You can trim up the pipe lug to where there is just enough room to pin it to the stock and the overlap the pipe's location to where it looks like the lug and the pipe are almost in the same location. You do this by trimming the tabs on the pipe lug and the barrel lug and then butt the tabs of the pipe and barrel together. This takes a little planning and a very good inlet on the pipe to get a good fit that will not be loose.

3. You can notch out the middle of the pipe lug for the barrel lug and pin the pipe on either side or both sides of the barrel lug pin. Then both can occupy the same location. Unusual, yes but doable.

This is just one more reason not to let others do your work for you. I know that most new builders think that having the parts suppliers that do extra work saves time but I have found that in many instances that is not the case. I know you bought this parts kits second hand so it is now hindsight.

Good luck

[Lucky R A]

     If you use 4 underlugs (as should have been done by the kit company) you can then place your center ramrod thimble in the middle as you would like.  The center underlug hole can be used to secure the ramrod thimble.  You will then have to install two underlugs in the proper locations and drill and pin then for a much better job. 

Ron

[Waksupi]

I always put on under lugs at 3", thimble at 4".

[FALout]

For next time, if you move on to a swamped barrel, remember in laying things out the one lug should not get in the narrowest part of the barrel.  Something not always realized in laying things out.  In layout, I usually figure out thimble placement, then lugs.

[Cotton1of2]

I did the same thing on my Fowler. I moved the thimble a hair foreword and cut the thimble lug to fit next to the barrel lug.

[alacran]

There is no rule that says the forward thimble has to be five inches from the muzzle. Your  #1 solution is the least complicated. That would be the route I would take.  Tracks plans are guidelines and as you may have noticed they are also a sales tool. 

[hmccaskey]

Thanks for the replies.

I'm leaning toward a combination of moving the forward thimble to about 4.5 inches and placing the middle thimble similar to what Cotton1of2 shows in the picture. 

I may end up with the middle thimble slightly off center.  I looked at the pictures in the library and see some originals that have the middle thimble off center.

At the moment I have my hands full inletting the rear thimble.   I have managed to temporarily inlet one of the forward thimbles where the rear thimble will be placed.

Thanks again.

[Stophel]

Personally, I think any barrel that long needs four tenons.

That said, S.O.P. on New England rifles was to put each rod pipe straddling a barrel tenon.  Meaning the rod pipes have two small tenons at either end, and these two sit fore and aft of each barrel tenon, so you have a set of three pins in line.