Inletting a flat top....

[Dusty Stevens]

I want the barrel centered in the channel no matter what crooked junk may get put on later. Its a visual and tracking thing

 

[LVLAaron]

That's why I was thinking about turning an old barrel to fit the action(s) - Indicate on the OD and set the threads/shoulders up to that. Best of both worlds?

 

[Dusty Stevens]

That's why I was thinking about turning an old barrel to fit the action(s) - Indicate on the OD and set the threads/shoulders up to that. Best of both worlds?

Use a decent barrel and youll never know

 

[LVLAaron]

Glue is drying. I relieved the inlet for glue, but left the bit behind where the bolt cutout will be. I’ll do that bit in a second pass.

 

[LVLAaron]

Not terrible. A couple of bubbles but I'm not worried about it.

 

[Twdmar]

I'd like to see what kind of fixture they use at Manners, McMillan, or any of the other stock makers for doing a carbon fiber hunting stock. Seems like a slim stock with a tapered forearm would be quite a bit harder to hang on to.

I'm envisioning pivoting jaws with rubber pads for grip, and to protect the stock. Maybe individual screw pads for the butt stock end to account for all the different styles of stocks.

If i was doing the same or very similar stock, i would make a clamping pad they fits the stock. Tape a piece of foam over the stock and then Put some bondo in a zip lock bag and lay it on the stock. Attach that to the vise jaws somehow.

 

[Twdmar]

Not terrible. A couple of bubbles but I'm not worried about

I found if I smear at least a small coat on the receiver with my finger I can fewer bubbles. Mixing the epoxy without folding in air helps too.

 

[LVLAaron]

I found if I smear at least a small coat on the receiver with my finger I can fewer bubbles. Mixing the epoxy without folding in air helps too.

I buttered up the bottom of the action where that hump is in the middle of it... and ran out of mud. Since this is just an experiment I'm using some cheap devcon in 1oz tubes. I knew better. Heh.

 

[LVLAaron]

Appreciate everyones help. This is ultimately the stock I want to put the action in. It'll be a christmas break project... I'll have to do some mill/vice gymnastics because I need to open the barrel channel

 

[LVLAaron]

Drop your creative workholding ideas here. The stock in the photo above has almost zero flat spots... So I can't just drop it in the vise and call it a day. :/

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Shims and lost wages...

 

[LVLAaron]

This might be one for Masterclass to handle

 

[Alex Wheeler]

This is why this is the first thread I can remember about inletting a flat top vs the 10,000 threads about chambering. Its not fun, its messy, its unhealthy, it pays lousy, but if you want the best finished product you do it. I sell a stock, it comes as a flat top only. VERY few guys will do them. My advice, stick with the guys that will do them, and do them right. They care. Thats not to say Alex at Masterclass doesnt do great work. He does. I send guys his way often.

 

[Twdmar]

Drop your creative workholding ideas here. The stock in the photo above has almost zero flat spots... So I can't just drop it in the vise and call it a day. :/

The bottom of the foreend and the butt are flat, that's a starting point. I would make a cradle so the stock sits level. Make shims of some kind of elevator to support the foreend. A vee shaped cradle for the butt. Pull the cheekpiece off and clamp down on that into the cradle. You can make clamping pads shaped similar to stock.
Something else that works is to put masking tape on your part and then you can super glue blocks to the stock(on the tape) to get a flat spot to work off. Haven't done it with a mill but works fine with a router, which due to bit speed I am guessing is more problematic than with a mill. Test it on your finish first obviously, but the tape should come off no problem. Try it, it works.
You could also put a blob of bondo in a zip lock bag and lay it on the stock. It will make a clamping pad that will take the shape of the stock.

 

[AlNyhus]

For holding stocks in the mill vise, synthetic wedge shims for carpentry work. For padding, pieces of leather with one smooth side and one rough side keep from damaging anything while still giving good grip. A cut up thin yoga mat works too. -Al

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Heres what I can say about holding a part in the mill. If you grab it in more than one place you will bend it. No stock is perfect and if you use multiple vises your going to bend it and after you un clamp it the inlet will not be straight. If you do need more than one support, put a dial indicator on the stock before you snug the second support. That way you can adjust things until your not twisting or bending.

 

[Walt Krafft]

When things are not held tightly, it is very important to take many small light cuts. That big old core box bit to cut the barrel channel is definately NOT your friend.

 

[LVLAaron]

Luckily this bit and the wood are working perfectly together. I've got all the time in the world so small cuts are my game.

My mill is a PM 833TV so I can't do the action and barrel inlet in the same setup... Couple that with the stock that has no flat spots to clamp it (repeatably) .. I'm not feeling confident. I may need to defer to a friend with a larger mill I can borrow.

Or send it to sitman

Or wait a few year until I have the floor space for a real mill. What's the rush, he asked himself?

 

[Twdmar]

Heres what I can say about holding a part in the mill. If you grab it in more than one place you will bend it. No stock is perfect and if you use multiple vises your going to bend it and after you un clamp it the inlet will not be straight. If you do need more than one support, put a dial indicator on the stock before you snug the second support. That way you can adjust things until your not twisting or bending.

That makes sense when you mention it. do you try to use narrower vise jaws because of less chance of the variations in the stock creating deflection onces its squeezed in the vise? All my vises are about 5-6 inches wide but some woodworking vises are a couple feet wide

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Luckily this bit and the wood are working perfectly together. I've got all the time in the world so small cuts are my game.

My mill is a PM 833TV so I can't do the action and barrel inlet in the same setup... Couple that with the stock that has no flat spots to clamp it (repeatably) .. I'm not feeling confident. I may need to defer to a friend with a larger mill I can borrow.

Or send it to sitman

Or wait a few year until I have the floor space for a real mill. What's the rush, he asked himself?

I always clamp the section im working on. If its the barrel channel ill put it in the vise halfway down the channel then use machinist jacks and clamps just to keep the back end from free-balling (no need to be tight). When working the action area just sit the action down flat, take 2 pieces of thin plywood and stand them up next to the stock. Visualize what itll take to hold those 2 pieces parallel so you can put it in the vise. Sometimes its shims, sometimes its bondo and saran wrap to make a molded clamp. Sometimes you just gotta lay it on a table and imagine for a few days.