Need advice on fitting a nose cap to a British 1776 rifle

[Penske]

Good morning all. I am in need of advice on how to proceed with fitting the nose cap on a British 1776 rifle. Do I shape the stock and work the cap onto the stock from front to back  where the curved rear and tang needs to be inletted? It only requires the wood along bottom three flats to be used as the sides fit snug to the barrel. Also the wood needs to thinest at the front and slopes at almost a 35 degree angle to the rear. The rear is curved to the tang final than needs to be inlet in the fore stock. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Happy Memorial day "Lest we forget"

Regards,
Peter

[Hungry Horse]

 Not very many rifles built in Britain around the time of the American Revolution. You’re probably going to have to take some pictures of it. We need to know if it is civilian, or military, at least.

  Hungry Horse

[smart dog]

Hi Peter,
You have to work it back so the tang slips into the ram rod groove and is fully inlet.  Fortunately, the extension or tang is tapered so you can move it back ward without creating gaps but it is a bit of a pain.  Try to maintain as much wood as you can so you have sufficient for the rivet that holds the cap in place. One aid is a paper pattern.  Wrap paper around the nose cap and trace the outline.  Then cut it out and wrap it around the stock and trace the outine on the stock.  That will give you an idea how far the tang will go back so you can remove wood for it.  Just remove wood shy of your outline on the stock to allow for close fitting.

dave

[Penske]

Thanks for the reply Dave;
That was what I was thinking. I have started the cap about 1/2 way on and now must start inletting it to get the cap down onto the stock fully. Never thought about the paper template. I always thought about looking at it the same as fitting the entry ramrod pipe. Similar but different. I will try the paper template though. I have left plenty of wood to fasten the rivit too but can take some off if I need to adjust the cap to match the barrel center line.
Regards,
Peter