Re-stocking a fowler

[Dan Fruth]

This fowler had some serious damage, and the owner decided to restock, so this is a documentary on the process.






Turning the barrel. I had my barrel maker drill and ream a 20 gage tube.







Draw filed, polished, and ready to inlet







Layout, waste wood, and clean up







Starting the inlet













I copied this little tool from one Jack Haugh made. The little wheel cuts the grain and marks the barrel side onto the wood, without risking the grain influencing the cutter. Jack was a smart fella.
Next installment will be dropping the barrel into the wood.

[Clowdis]

I do like the marking tool. I just might have to make me one of those.

[Mike Brooks]

A pencil and a drill bit works just as well.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Can you describe and illustrate that process Mike?

[borderdogs]

I use left and right Phiel marking knives then pencil in the line I would like to hear what Mike has to say too! By the way Dan I like your bench, is the lathe a Logan?
Rob

[bluenoser]

I am very impressed with this marking tool and think I will make a couple (one for a friend).  It appears the tool, as designed, may not be suitable for some octagon barrels or barrels partially set into the wood.  I think I will try flipping the cutter and setting it into the block so the cutting edge is flush with the face of the block.
Thanks for bringing this neat tool to our attention.

[Dan Fruth]

The little marking tool will work with an octagon barrel, and the lathe is a 13 inch southbend.








Since I turned the barrel, I know where the transitions are, and take those diameters, divide by 2, and mark the stock. With a drill stop I drill down at the locations to establish the depth of the inlet.







With gouges and scrapers I waste the wood in the inlet.



When the inlet is almost home, I use color transfer and do the final fitting....Next will be doing the ramrod channel and hole. Hope you enjoy this, all the best...Dan

[martin9]

I use a drill bit myself...when I think of it. I'm bad about just eyeballing it. You just lay a drill bit against the barrel, your pencil or scribe against the drill bit and slide them  down the length of the barrel. Leaves an even line the length of the stock.

[James Rogers]

Two different operations being discussed i believe.  Dan's tool allows one to mark the barrel location prior to being inlet. The drill bit trick can be done when marking stock thickness on the side of a barrel already in the wood?

[Dan Fruth]

I really don't know what the "drill bit trick" is...Please explain.

[martin9]

Yep, I was talking about marking the edges after the barrel is inlet. I'm not sure the barrel depth marking gauge would do much for me. I normally have to tweak my barrel inlet so much I'd go past the mark anyway.

[James Rogers]

I really don't know what the "drill bit trick" is...Please explain.

Dan,
With a stock that has the barrel already in the wood, many use  sixteenth and eighth inch drill it on the side of thr barrel to mark the stock width for slabbing off excess.  I assume that's what some are talking about.
Your tool clearly is for getting an accurate line of barrel location prior to inletting. I dont knownof a way anyone could do that with a drill bit so I'm assuming there are two conversations on two different topics.  .

[Mike Brooks]

So, what's all of this machining of the barrel business in the beginning?  Looks like the tang was engraved by Schippers.

[ScottH]

Its a restock of an previous built gun.

[WadePatton]

I really don't know what the "drill bit trick" is...Please explain.

Mike started that here-but gave no details.

I suppose one can vary the size of the bit to compensate for exactly what we're marking and whether or not the bbl is let in yet.

[Mike Brooks]

Its a restock of an previous built gun.

So, why not use the barrel the way it is/was?

[DHouse]

Mike I'll take a stab at the answer as I understand it. At top of post Dan said he had his barrel maker ream a tube to 20 gauge. It appears Dan preferred to machine the outside himself to know exactly where the taper transitions were, so that he could inlet the barrel channel using those dimensions and achieve a precise fit. Or at least that's how I read it anyway.

Maybe it's cause I'm new but turning the barrel has me wondering about the temper of barrels. Doesn't tempering prevent machining? Or maybe the temper will be done at a later step? Or perhaps this type of steel does not require tempering. Either way, great thread so far, looking forward to following along. I love seeing this stuff it helps me better understand the process and mechanics of everything.

[Mike Brooks]

I never heard nothin bout no tempering of barrels on muzzleloaders before.

[flinchrocket]

I don’t know about other barrel makers, but Rice barrels are annealed before any machining is done.

[Hungry Horse]

 I am also a little bumfuzzled , about how much gun you have to have left to call it a restock. With no stock, and no barrel, you are getting pretty close to a new build.

  Hungry Horse

[Pukka Bundook]

Same here Hungry Horse...

[Clark Badgett]

Where was a tempered barrel mentioned?

[WadePatton]

It was a guess/speculation by a fellow above. Not anything the OP said.

Most of us are here have a good knowledge of metalworking processes, and others have more to learn. 

But the thread is about a restocking, so I won't get into the other here.

[DHouse]

I had once heard a barrel maker discuss how he cooked his barrels in the oven for several hours at some point during his process. I mistook this annealing step for tempering. I’m still learning but hey that's why I'm here, to learn. Just a misunderstanding but now I know! Sorry for the confusion guys. My mistake.

[JV Puleo]

Mike I'll take a stab at the answer as I understand it. At top of post Dan said he had his barrel maker ream a tube to 20 gauge. It appears Dan preferred to machine the outside himself to know exactly where the taper transitions were, so that he could inlet the barrel channel using those dimensions and achieve a precise fit. Or at least that's how I read it anyway.

Maybe it's cause I'm new but turning the barrel has me wondering about the temper of barrels. Doesn't tempering prevent machining? Or maybe the temper will be done at a later step? Or perhaps this type of steel does not require tempering. Either way, great thread so far, looking forward to following along. I love seeing this stuff it helps me better understand the process and mechanics of everything.

I think you've got you terms all mixed up here. Barrels should be soft...if they are hard, they are also brittle. Think of something like a Mills bomb. Tempering is the process by which something that has been hardened is re-heated to soften it. It's the process used in making springs and knife blade and other such items. It has nothing to do with barrels which, in period, were often made of very soft iron.