Do I need to fix this breech?

[Lone Wolf]

Looks like a little too much wood was removed on this pre-carve fowler stock near the breech in two locations.  One is near the tang, the other is to the right at the side of the barrel channel.  Before I go any further inletting the breech, I am wondering if I should glue in pieces of wood to fix this.  I think the one near the tang needs it, but not sure about the side.  Will that area be removed altogether during final shaping?  This is my first round barrel and I'm having trouble picturing exactly what that area will look like when finished.

[Not English]

Either the barrel needs to be inlet deeper or you need add wood to bring the lock panel and forestock up to the mid point of the barrel. You do need to give the tang a couple of whacks with a hammer over the horn of an anvil to better match the curvev of the wrist. You need to show more of the forestock in your photos. Your top photos in my mind are not as important in my mind as the side photos. if you're concerned about gaps, they can be filled in with appropriate fillers

[Birddog6]

Get the tang bent down as it should conform to the wrist.

First of all, If the Lock is not inlet, stop where you are & inlet the lock 3/4 of the way.

Then locate & mark the vent hole where you want it, in reference to the breechplug face.

Then move the barrel back where it needs to be.

If all of that is already done, I would get the tang down &  Acraglas the gaps.

After looking at it again,  I would most likely Acraglas Gel the breech area  & tang anyway.
Acraglas will give LOTS of support.

Or you could glue in pieces. Either will show unless you stain it very dark there.

Is that a Ash stock ?

[smart dog]

Hi,
I believe that gap is from pulling the barrel out of the stock by levering from the muzzle end. When removing the barrel, turn the stock over, rest the muzzle on the bench, the breech end a little, and tap the bottom of the stock at the breech until the barrel drops out.  The gap on the side might be less noticeable when you shape the stock at the breech but sliver of wood could be glued in place to fill it. I would probably move the barrel back to fix the other gap, however is the lock already positioned?

dave

[Clowdis]

I'd glue in slivers of wood to fix the gaps. Use your chisel to pare off a small amount of wood so you can get a good, straight edge to glue to. Do it now and it will be less noticeable when the stock is finished.

[Lone Wolf]

I just started this kit build and haven't got too far with it yet.  The barrel does need to come down and back some.   I figured that if I needed to glue in pieces of wood to these areas, I'd rather do that now and work into them.

The picture below shows how the wood above the lock panel was molded to the flat of the octagon on a rifle barrel.  Maybe not the best example, but just to illustrate what I am referring to.  I'm not sure what that area of this fowler will look like with a round barrel and don't have any examples on hand.  Is the wood molded to the round barrel in similar fashion?

Also, if I end up needing to move the barrel back 1/16-1/8", will that cause problems with the fit of the barrel in the fore stock since the barrel is tapered?

The stock is pre-inlet for the lock so if anything has to move, it will be the barrel.

[kutter]

In the very first pic,,,the last 1/4" or so of the bbl is tapered down slightly,,,
and the last little bit of the bbl inlet is tapered the opposite way,,,opened up.
A gap is the result.

I'd just glue in a couple pieces of wood at this point and re-inlet to elliminate the gap there and also the one at the end of the bbl at the tang.

The easier way would be to use some epoxy bedding mat'l and color it/ stain it.
Shape the area as needed when final shaping and darken it as it would likely be on a well used piece and no one will notice.

The epoxy repair will add some strength as well as be much simpler . It will allow you to move along with the project and not get hung up on a small detail.
Sometimes things like this can stall a project when we over-think the details.

[Lone Wolf]

Take the tang out. Move the barrel back 3/16" or so till you get past the gap. Put the plug back in and give it a little bend. Inlet the plug and barrel straight down. Done.

If the tapered barrel is already inlet to the stock (pre-carve), won't that much movement result in gaps opening up along the barrel as the tapered parts slide away from the sides?

[Lone Wolf]

I checked tonight and my touch hole will be somewhere around 0.18-0.2 inches in front of the breech plug.  Using a .25" diameter liner this shouldn't be a problem.

If I move the barrel back 1/8 to 3/16", is there such a thing as having the liner too far ahead of the plug?

Also, what's the best way to move the barrel back this much?  Should I try to take out as much of that 1/8" at one time and then final inlet to fit, or should I just keep working it back by inletting very gradually from this point?

Oh D. Keith, it's a walnut stock.  It's just covered in ash from my hurricane lamp.   

[Lone Wolf]

I checked tonight and my touch hole will be somewhere around 0.18-0.2 inches in front of the breech plug.  Using a .25" diameter liner this shouldn't be a problem.

If I move the barrel back 1/8 to 3/16", is there such a thing as having the liner too far ahead of the plug?

Also, what's the best way to move the barrel back this much?  Should I try to take out as much of that 1/8" at one time and then final inlet to fit, or should I just keep working it back by inletting very gradually from this point?

Oh D. Keith, it's a walnut stock.  It's just covered in ash from my hurricane lamp.   

Any additional advice with this?  Thanks.

[mark esterly]

i agree with smart dog. maybe you can steam the gaps and see if the gaps shrink before doing anything else

[Not English]

I'm assuming it's a precarved and inlet stock. If that's the case. moving the barrel back will just create more problems. As previously mentlioned, the barrel needs to be inlet deeper. Acraglass was mentioned for gap filling. My preference is for a good 5 minute epoxy mixed with a dry pigment that will come close to your final stock color. If you use epoxy, coat all metal surfaces with vaseliine or petroleum jelly as a release agent.

[FALout]

I think you should show a pic of the lock in place (or as close as possible) so we can see the barrel in relationship to it.  Looks like that barrel is too high in the stock and any attempt to fix the gaps will just cause more problems then it will fix.  You can alway fill the gaps later.

[Not English]

Mike, a might touchy aren't we?  Dropping out of a conversation never accomplishes anything.

Dave

[Mike Brooks]

Mike, a might touchy aren't we?  Dropping out of a conversation never accomplishes anything.

Dave

It has become obvious I'm wasting my time.

[Lone Wolf]

Not wasting your time, I am listening.  Please indicate how I might go wrong here.  I had no intent to stir the pot; this thread was simply to ask for some advice.  But now I am left with more questions than answers.

[PAFlinter]

You need to unbreach it, move the barrel back till its square and no gap.  Re-install tang and inlet into stock.  If your touch hole threqds are a little ahead of the breach face it's no big deal.