Drum Installation: 

I installed a 1/2" drum into the breech area of the barrel. I used a wooden dowel inserted down the barrel, mark the dowel at the end of the barrel. Then I laid the dowel along the barrel with the pencil mark at the end of the barrel.  Where the end of the dowel was at the breech, told me where the face of the breech plug was. I made a mark on the barrel here. 

Locating the center of the side flat of the barrel, I punched the barrel with a center punch for the drill.  The drum is  5/16" X 20 thread, so I used a letter "I" drill bit. 

First I removed the breech plug from the barrel. Then I placed the swamped barrel onto the drill press table. I leveled the top face of the barrel to ensure the drill bit was perpendicular to the side of the barrel.  Next I drilled a hole thru the side of the barrel. Note, you have to go slow because when the drill starts to pass thru, it will grab the barrel and you do not want to jam the bit, nor make your hole oblong.  With the hole drilled in the barrel, reinstall the breechplug. 

Mark the exposed face of the breechplug thru the drum hole. Note: I also countersunk the exposed face of the drum. This helps feed powder into the drum during loading.

Now take the breechplug out of the barrel and using a round file, file the markings away to make a coned area leading to the center of  the breech plug. 

Reinstall the breech plug.  You should now not see any of the exposed breechplug if your removed the correct amount of steel. If you still see some exposed on the edges, mark it again, remove the plug and file again. Repeat if necessary. 

It should like this when completed.  Remove the drum again. Now you want to screw the drum into the barrel. Prior to doing so, I countersunk the area around the drum hole. When the drum is drawn into the hole, it will pull up the metal and could keep you from getting the drum flat to the side of the barrel. 

With the drum fully seated to the barrel (you will know this, when you use a pair of vise grips to turn it into the barrel, the vise grips will slip on the drum, thus marking it.)

Look inside the barrel and you can see the drum extends into the barrel.

You will need to take a round file and file this portion flat to the barrel.  Note, if necessary, you may need to run a flat bottomed tap back into the breech of the barrel to re-cut threads into the drum for the breech plug. Then install the breech plug, remove the breech plug to clean up any burrs on the edge of the drum inlet and reinstall the drum again, tightly.

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