Stock Reinforcement

[cstilt]

Anyone here have any suggestions on how to reinforce a synthetic stock before you bed the rifle? I have a savage 243 with the factory stock and that thing is aweful. Nearly any pressure you put on it causes the stock to bend and hit the barrel.

Right now my idea is to get a couple old arrows, cut out an area for them in the stock and then bed over all that. I just don't know if it would be stiff enough because I'm not sure I could get the support past the recoil lug.

Any opinions or ideas? I'd love to hear and see some pics on what others have done.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[goose]

I filled the barrel channel on my stevens(which I think has an even cheaper stock than savage) with fiberglass/resin. I got a automotive type kit at the local store.

I taped off the borders and edges where resin might spill or drip, then cut the fiberglass cloth in strips about 1/2" wide and the length of the sections in the stock. Then following the directions I mixed the resin and hardener and carefully poured it in. I let it sit overnight and the next day used a dowel about the size of the barrel and wrapped sandpaper around it. I then sanded until I was happy with the amount of clearance with the barrel installed.

This process worked well to stiffen up the forend but the stock still flexes in the receiver area. You mentioned bedding it which might stiffen up that area.

I did think of using metal of some type also, but having done it with just the glass and cloth I don't think it is needed.

My approach was to spend very little to make a decent improvement until I can purchase a quality stock.

I'll post some pics tonight if possible. Forgot my photobucket password, and my e-mail is down.

 

[J E Custom]

There are some guys that have improved those types of stocks but with all of the time and
effort plus the cost I would recomend getting a good laminate stock and pillar bedding
it and then you will be done.

Stockys has several nice ones for under $200.oo .

After all of your work it will still not be as strong and will still flex under load.

I have tried to fix the Tupperware stocks and now I just give them away to avoid the hassle
and all the load development just to make them shoot.

This is just an opinion but it is what I do on all of my rifles.

J E CUSTOM

 

[NesikaChad]

How I do it:

It helps to have a milling machine for this.

Gut the stock from one end to the other. Just get the filler out of there anyway you can.

I make a mandrel generally shaped like the barreled action, only oversize. aluminum, wood, whatever. It's just a plug so you don't have to be overly technical with this.

I then get some carbon twill weave fabric and chop it up into a big ol pile of kitty hair disaster. (long sleeve shirt that you can afford to throw away after highly recommended)

Now cut the same fabric into strips. I use a minimum of 10.

Now use carbon ribbon cut the length of the barrel channel/inlet X2 so that you can loop it back around and go around where the recoil lug is going to eventually be.

Mix up resin. I use acraglass liquid.

Paint a generous layer of resin straight in the stock to wet it down. Rub it in with a gloved finger.

Dump it in your kitty hair and make a giant hair ball.

Lay that in the stock and spread it as even as you can. Pack it in with a dowel rod.

Pour the resin on a glass plate and lay your strips of fabric in it. Squeegy to ensure the fabric is completely wetted through.

Now begin laying your 1st strip.

Do the ribbon next

Then another strip of twill

repeat back and forth till you've used up the material.


Now (coated with release agent before hand) lay your mandrel in there and clamp the snot out of it. Stuff is going to go everywhere so ensure you have the stock masked off and your working over a covered surface.

Wipe the excess resin as best you can and let her cook.

Getting the mandrel out can be a chore sometimes so just be careful.

when your done you've essentially taken your stock and turned it into a carbon axe that any Nordic tribesman would be proud to rape and pillage with.

Properly done you can now drive over your stock, drag it behind vehicles on a chain, throw from buildings, and generally beat the **** out of with little concern of actually hurting anything. It'll be a bit heavier but that's ok cause we are all strapping American lads who can afford to tote around an extra few ounces.

If you just have an off day and consume all your ammunition, chase the little bastage down that needs killin' and commence to bludgeoning it to death with good ol fashioned sweat and blunt force trauma.

I do this to all my tactical/severe duty rifles and I can assure you never once has a client/agency ever sent a stock back.

It's more work but if you want it "end times" proof its the way to go.

Tip: Use only enough resin to get the material wet. The fabric is the working end of the relationship. Resin just binds it all together. More is not better in this case.

Tip: If your careful and have the ability to do it, make your mandrel to the same contour as your barrel, only oversize by the number of laminates you use. Done right it makes for a very, very sexy looking barrel channel afterward.

Good luck.

C



The reason for all this is just stiffening up the barrel channel isn't enough. It'll just flex right in front of the recoil lug. Especially if the gun is built with a "Kenworth axle barrel contour." You have to tie the back end of the stock with the front. This is where the ribbon really holds it own as it can go around the recoil lug pretty easy. Think of an "I" beam on both sides of the barrel that then wrap underneath.

 

[Kiwi Nate]

Have a look at this product, designed for reinforcing plastic stocks:
Synthetic gun stock stabilizer compound - eBay (item 150437509983 end time May-03-10 00:04:33 PDT)

 

[goose]

those pictures

 

[cstilt]

Thanks for all the help guys. After reading all the posts I sorta almost combined them with my idea and had at it today. Granted, I'm not done, but so far I've made a lot of progress both forwards and backwards.

Chad, I can deffinately see where a mill would be a help. Goose, I think yours is going to turn out a lot better than mine, but I am trying. This is my first, so try not to laugh too hard.

This morning I got up and broke out the dremel tool and went to work on it. Black stuff is flying everywhere and I'm making good progress digging out all the little stiffening beams in the Savage's stock I need rid of. At this point it would have ended up kinda like Goose's stock if I'd have stopped there. I however, have a problem with stopping. I decided to incorporate Chad's idea of tying the front and back together so it doesn't flex around the recoil lug area. Given that I don't have any carbon fiber or talent for carbon fiber, I decided steel rods would work nicely as a cheap sub. ~$3 at lowe's for 3 feet if you're wondering.

So I set back to work with ye' old dremel tool and cut along the sides of the lug in the stock. This took forever and caused about an inch more dust of the carpet downstairs (I have no shop or shed). While dremeling out the area behind the lug for the rod to go and tie it all up I saw something. What did I see? You guessed it, daylight. So I managed to eat a small hole in the stock.

So I'm not too happy about that, but it happens. I think it'll be okay once I'm done though because I intend to camo the stock. On the bright side, The stock is now almost ready for me to epoxy in the steel rods (I got the threaded ones for the surface area). I just have to clean up a lot of the inside of the stock with a knife and then tape everything up for it to be bedded. Speaking of bedding. All that's available here is short strand fiberglass bodyfiller. Def not ideal so I'm going to keep searching for a place that handles Devcon. I'm rather certain I'll be banned from the site if I use bodyfiller to bed with.

J.E. I plan on using your idea in the future. This is a temporary fix and hopefully I will be able to purchase a nice stock for it in the future. I also took this as a learning experience so that when I do get a nice stock, I'll know 100% of how to bed it properly. Just wanting to get all the learning mistakes out on el' cheapo.

Thanks everyone! If it turns out alright I'll try to post pics. Could take me a while though. Days off are severely limited.

Chris

 

[ZebDeming]

All that's available here is short strand fiberglass bodyfiller.

You're right in thinking that it's not what you need. It cures way too fast to work with, and won't stick to the tupperware stock, one twist and it pops out like an icecube in a tray. Try to find the Devcon, I've had good luck with Marinetex as well, but like JE said, I gave up on the stock, Although I didn't go as far as Chad went.

Zeb

 

[Kiwi Nate]

I made this product specifically for plastic stocks:
http://www.ballisticstudies.com/matchgrade.html
I have put the product on Ebay. It sells well here in New Zealand but I think the postage might be off putting to U.S folk. I have never had a problem with it popping out of the stock. Have a look at the instructions/ online tutorial for methods. I need to get off my butt and put some proper advertising on this site however I have not been able to find any costing faqs. Google alone costs $20 per day so I have been a little hesitant about further online advertising- although, I really do enjoy the LRH site immensely.
Nathan.

 

[acloco]

These pics might help. Piece of 3/8" U channel aluminum. Rough everything up, apply marine tex/whatever you are using, and go for it.

I did drill the hole for the front screw eye for sling/bipod. The stock does NOT bend.

The channel is actually under and past the recoil lug.

Do all the trim to fit of the aluminum before you glue the channel in.

 

[Kobra]

I picked up some disgarded broken carbon arrows at the local public range to bed into the rifle. Most cases I would buy a new better stock but one particular gun has sentimental value to keep her factory looking.

 

[steadyrest1]

sorry...

 

[cstilt]

acloco, what you did there looks good. I really liked the way you got the rod under the recoil lug for more strength. That's what I'm trying to do the pieces of steel I have cut for the stock. Hopefully mine will turn out fairly strong too. I thought of using a piece of bar stock but decided that two rods would be a bit easier for me to fit in there.

Kobra, I thought of the carbon arrows. I was going to give it a try but it looked like they would be a touch too large in diameter to fit under the recoil lug like I wanted. I completely understand about the sentimental reasons as well. My Browning will probably never be touched. It'll basically stay exactly as it was when my Dad gave it to me years ago.

Kiwi Nate, you're right about shipping. It'd be cheaper for me to try ago a different route than ordering the product you mentioned. Shipping takes it to a bit more than something like Devcon would be.

Thanks for all the help and advice guys. I do appreciate it. We all started gun tinkering somewhere, I just got a late start at it.

Steadyrest1, why are you sorry???