Your're most welcome, Ed.
1. Thanks for suggesting kitty litter to age the exterior of an epoxy joint. New to me, will try it! I presume that you use new out-of -the-bag KL, not the stuff that your Felix has already romped through.
2. Yes, the forward portion of the pan extends further than the dovetail. It allows a pan of sufficient size, and reduces the labor needed to chisel and file the slot further. The walls of the dovetail slot were originally undercut to provide the necessary support (the pan being tapped in with a hammer for a tight friction fit), but so much metal has been lost due to centuries of corrosion that some sort of adhesive is now needed if you don't want to re-cut the slot. (to avoid an invasive, irreversible alteration to the metal of the barrel, re-cutting would not be advisable and is unnecessary for something you want to restore for display and not use).
3. Yes, the projecting pan does allow for increased stability of the barrel in its trough in the stock considering the fact that the breechplug has no projecting tang that takes a bolt or screw. The stock inletting of many early European guns is such that the right hand "wall" of the barrel channel projects a tad higher than the bottom of the pan, providing a notch that supplements the barrel pin(s) in the forestock in providing a firm and stable fit. (this is even more crucial with many Oriental matchlocks that utilize barrel bands, but that is another story). As I recall, the barrel hook on guns like yours is normally perforated for a barrel pin, so the attachment of the barrel is especially sturdy both fore and aft.
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