Traditional Muzzleloading Association

Craftsmanship => Gun Building and Repair => Topic started by: FlintSteel on February 27, 2012, 09:48:46 AM

Title: Touch hole problem
Post by: FlintSteel on February 27, 2012, 09:48:46 AM

I drilled a 1/4" hole for a WL vent liner. I thought things were straight when I drilled the barrel but the hole was at a slight angle. I installed the vent anyway. It's not sealing well and I am getting a gas leak. That's history.

I ordered a new larger 5/16" vent and will reinstall. My question is, can I redrill through the old defective vent liner? The touch hole is postioned correctly and I wanted to use the touch hole as my new center. My concern with removing the old one first is trying to reestablish the center point in a 1/4" hole.

Any expert advice here would be appreciated.

Title: Re: Touch hole problem
Post by: Captchee on February 27, 2012, 09:53:24 AM

yep you can drill through it.
 but keep in mind there is only a marginal side to side difference between a 5/16th  and a 1/4 . Your counter sink is still going to be at an angle  unless you also deepen that  which in turn will enlarge it

 if your liner is leaking  to the point you can see  it , the case maybe that the hole is already over sized

Title: Re: Touch hole problem
Post by: FlintSteel on February 27, 2012, 10:24:46 AM

Thanks Capt
It's a B weight 50 cal Rice barrel. I think I'm going to have to recut the countersink as well. But I understand what your talking about.

I also have a 3/8" WL Liner as well but I thought that it would be a little large on that barrel. I was going to keep that as a last resort.

Title: Re: Touch hole problem
Post by: Hank in WV on February 27, 2012, 05:04:54 PM

Off hand, I can't remember the hole size, but if you drilled a 1/4" hole for a 1/4" liner, the hole is too big.

Title: Re: Touch hole problem
Post by: FlintSteel on February 27, 2012, 07:38:43 PM

Quote from: "Hank in WV"

Off hand, I can't remember the hole size, but if you drilled a 1/4" hole for a 1/4" liner, the hole is too big.

I'm sorry, it was the correct drill size for the 1/4" vent liner, but I can't remember the actual size either.

Title: Re: Touch hole problem
Post by: huntinguy on February 27, 2013, 01:33:14 PM

I was always told that to straighten out a hole you had to bore it, or so that is what we do at work.

Your problems raises a perplexing question... now, obviously the hole, the threads and the countersink all have to be about the same axis. Given that, on a swamped barrel... as long as those three conditions are met... should it matter if the axis of the hole is normal to the bore, the bottom surface of the barrel or the top surface... other than aesthetics... I don't see any reason... am I wrong?

I think Captchee hit the point well, unless the countersink is about the axis of the hole and normal to the hole... ain't gonna fix it.