Stock build

[Smokestick]

I am going to try building my own stock, and I am looking for templates, any ideas, not having any luck, any other pointers or input also welcome thanks to all

 

[shortgrass]

What action? Will you be working from a 'blank' ( a blank is about 36"L x 6 1/2"-7"W at one end tapering to about 3" on the other end. It's about 2 1/2" thick) ?

 

[tinkerer]

OK, for the first timer, a guideline.

Using a mill or router? Have you picked out a style yet? Wood, laminate or chassis style?

Here's how I do it.

Obtain wood/laminate big enough for this style of stock, from 2.25 to 3.5" wide, depending on forearm style. Of your using laminate, you can cheat and glue on pieces for the forearm.

Lay out center line. Locate front action bolt hole as reference for all other dimensions. Drill big enough for bolt plus pillar and a little over. I.e. 1/4" bolt yields a 9/16" hole with a 1/2" aluminum pillar. Layout rear hole from that.

Next I mill/route out deepest part, probably trigger. After that probably the magazine box cutout.

And next, the action up to the recoil lug area. I do the barrel channel last as I like to lay the barreled action into the inletted area so I can trace on the stock blank the barrel outline.

I use a router on a sled so no jerking around and ruining expensive wood.

After barreled action will lay onto the inletted stock levelly, I screw stock bolts into pillars and bed with devcon stress free.

Now you can start shaping the exterior stock for smoothing and finishing.

Highly condensed, but approximate.

Larry
Tinkerer

 

[Smokestick]

Thanks for the info, I have 4 black walnut blanks, my hope is to build a stock for each member of my family. Anyway my plan is to build the first for the old model ruger m77, I must confess I wish I could find someone to cut in the barrel and action, I am really concerned about locating the action holes correctly, especially the front one due to it being on an angle and it serves the purpose of the recoil lug, so if you know anyone that would cut in the action and barrel please let me know or if you have any more pointers I am all ears, it will be a slow process due to I am borrowing the router and so forth, but I am pretty excited about shaping the stock

 

[shortgrass]

Thanks for the info, I have 4 black walnut blanks, my hope is to build a stock for each member of my family. Anyway my plan is to build the first for the old model ruger m77, I must confess I wish I could find someone to cut in the barrel and action, I am really concerned about locating the action holes correctly, especially the front one due to it being on an angle and it serves the purpose of the recoil lug, so if you know anyone that would cut in the action and barrel please let me know or if you have any more pointers I am all ears, it will be a slow process due to I am borrowing the router and so forth, but I am pretty excited about shaping the stock

You would use the center screw hole, with a guide pin, to 'guide' as you're inletting the barreled action, and worry about the other two holes after the inetting of the barreled action is complete. Decide where on the blank you want the barreled action, locate that center hole, and drill it on the centerline for the guide pin. "Eye Ball" the tang on the centerline, and relieve any and all projections on the bottom of the action with a sharp chisel/gouge and after the action is sitting flat, on top of the blank, scribe a line around the action and barrel, highlighting that scribed mark with a silver pencil if the wood is dark/a regular lead pencil if the wood is light. Figure out where/what the center of the action, and route inside the line to that depth. Use a core box bit to rough out the barrel channel staying inside of the lines, Now the 'fun' begins', using sharp chisels and gouges remove wood slowly until the barreled action is half in and half out of the stock. Special barrel channel tools are available to work the barrel channel until you are within scraper distance of finishing up. As you are inletting, keep the barreled action on the centerline as closely as you can. I have tried many marking aids to show me where to remove wood while inletting. Jards Inletting Black might be 'nasty' to work with, but it leaves a mark I can see. Jards has "Inletting Gold" for darker colored wood. Apply it liberally with a 'tinning' brush to completely coat the metal that's going into the wood.

 

[Smokestick]

Thank you, you are demystify the process, making it less scary to jump in

 

[Smokestick]

Ok, drill center hole. Due the tight area in action where center hole . You said drill 9/16 and install pillar, but won't pillar interfere with magazine area?

 

[shortgrass]

No pillar for the middle action screw hole. You are correct, it'll interfere with the magazine. The hole must be 90* to the top of the blank. The very first thing I do is to visit the local mill works where I have them square the top of the blank to the off cheek piece side of the blank. The blank needs to be a thick as possible after this 'truing". I like to have a blank that's a minimum of 2 1/2" thick before "truing", and NO thinner than 2 7/16 AFTER truing. When you establish the centerline on the top of the blank it needs to be off-set, so that you're leaving enough wood for the cheek piece. As you inlet, if you find you are walking off of that centerline, don't worry too much, I have a method to re-establish a NEW centerline. Are your blanks at least 2 1/2" thick? One of Jerry Fishers' line drawings would make you a good reference. If you'll go to www.accuratereloading.com "gunsmithing" section there's a pretty good tutorial by Les Brooks titled "Stockmakers Show and Tell. It will help you understand. He has many pics to help clarify.

 

[shortgrass]

I have both shop made and store bought scrapers & chisels. the store bought scrapers are by Jerry Fisher and are available from Brownells and probably MidWay. The chisels/gouges are Dastra Woodscrew. The pic with the square in the barrel channel illustrates one way of gauging width to depth in the barrel channel.

 

[shortgrass]

Smokestick, , If it was me, I'd not be making a stock for a rifle as it came from the factory. With the hours that it will take and your lack of equipment (my method uses a band saw, router, drill press and 12" disc sander,,,, not to mention that if I need a guide pin or hand screws I make them with my mill & lathe) it will be a daunting task. It can be done without those tools (as Les Brook shows), but it takes a lot more "elbow grease". The carving tools I use are now $25-$30 each and there always seems to be a 'need' for another. The file I like for rough shaping is $40,, the lowest cost I can find on the net. You will wrap-up at least $200-$250 in just carving and shaping tools. My method and experience requires 60-95hrs (depending on the complexity of the stock) before I start hand rubbing finish. Without someone standing over your shoulder when you get 'stuck' 150hrs is not beyond what it might take to inlet and shape a rifle stock from a blank. It's your time and your $$,, proceed or not is up to you. Just 'food' for thought. Hand made stocks don't happen over night.......

 

[dsculley]

If you want to build the stocks, you can do it. Maybe I simplify things too much sometimes, but the process just doesn't seem that difficult to me. Here is one that I built for my rifle. For a pattern, I found a picture of the style that I wanted. I placed the original stock on a sheet of paper for reference, then roughly drew in the shape of the stock that I wanted. I laminated two pieces of African Mahogany that had been laying in a friends wood shop for several years to get the thickness that I needed. Using my drawing as a pattern, I cut the rough shape with a band saw. The rest of the work was done with a hand saw, router, dremel, wood rasps, sandpaper and round dowels to use with the sandpaper to shape the action and barrel channel. I knew I was going to put a bull barrel on my action, so I opened the channel for this even though I had a sporter barrel at the time. The barrel channel wound up a bit oversized, but I don't mind. I figure the extra clearance allows the barrel to cool faster. The barrel is definitely free-floated! I have considered closing up the barrel channel with epoxy, but not sure if I will. The action is pillar bedded with Devcon 10100. I plan to add an ebony cap to the fore end and at the bottom of the grip when I get the time. Or maybe not, it shoots really well the way it is. Here is a picture of the rifle after I put the new barrel on. This is a Savage 110 with a Criterion pre-fit chambered in 6.5x47 Lapua.

The key is to know what you want the end product to look like and then go slow. I would work on this stock for 30 min. to an hour at a time. It took about 3 months to complete. I made a few mistakes along the way, but I am very happy with the results.

 

[shortgrass]

In the 'circles' I'm in, when it comes to custom rifle and shotgun stocks, we are looking for the 'perfect fit' of wood to metal. No gaps, no gaps filled with glass, nice sharp edges around the action , barrel and bottom metal, and a classical, symmetrical shape,,,,, the forearm tip looks like it grew there, no seam...... "Guild quality" work... Sure, it can be accomplished, but most don't have the attention span and fortitude to make it happen. We live in a world of instant gratification, and stock making by hand is far from 'instant".

 

[dsculley]

Yes, I understand. Yes, there are errors in this stock. Still I made it myself, I did not make it to sell and I can live with the imperfections. I have the mind set that I can do anything that I REALLY WANT to! If it takes time, that is no problem. I can't think of anything worth having doesn't take time and work.

My son and grandson will be able to use this rifle one day. I gathered from the OP that he wants to make heirloom quality stocks. Those don't have to perfect, they just have to reflect the character of the maker. I would much rather be able to hand down this imperfect stock that I made than one that was made on a CNC mill or even one perfected by someone else. It only takes money to buy a "perfect" stock. It takes patience, determination and a bit of skill to make one yourself. I was making first round hits on a 4" wide steel plate at 660 yds last weekend, so even with the imperfections it will shoot.

I learned a lot on this stock and the next one I make will have less errors. Will it be perfect? Probably not. Will I still be proud of it because it is something useful that I made from a block of wood? You bet! The OP said he intends to make several, he will learn along the way too and each succeeding stock should be better. If he has the patience that is. If he doesn't have the patience, he will not complete the first one and will either abandon the project or hire someone to make the stocks.

 

[Edd]

A late friend of mine made a few stocks. His labor charge was $4000.