biulding gun stocks

[jraney]

does anybody here biuld thier own gun stocks?
if so i would like a little info on what tools are needed,
and any other stuff i might need.

J

 

[shortgrass]

Are you wanting to start from a blank or from a pre-inletted piece?

 

[jraney]

i would like to do it all myself if possible, so i suppose a blank,
but my main problem would be the inletting. i would think you would use a mill but i really have no idea. i just really would like to try this for myself but depending on the difficulty i may just have to save up the money and buy what i want. any help would be great.

J

 

[Samdweezel05]

There are lots of ways to do it. For the poor people like myself, we just use hand tools. Simple woodworking tools are your friend if you have the time and patients. Big fancy mills and such sure would be nice but there is nothing about the process that can't be done with a good set of chisels, several hammers, decent set of drill bits, sanders and even a 4" grinder with a good selection of flapper wheels. About the only machine I use is a drill press and what I do with that could be done with a hand drill. Keep in mind that I don't do checkering and all of mine end up in the paint booth. I am about to start a new one and I will take pictures of the process.

 

[jraney]

what kind of wood do you use, i understand that hardwoods are preferred but while surfing earlier i found some made of cedar. i was telling my dad that i think we could make 1 out of hickory but i would like something not just real heavy it is going to be painted also, but it will be used basically for varmint hunting. so anyhow i will be looking forward to the pics.

J

 

[shortgrass]

Stick with the traditional 'gunstock woods', Black walnut, Claro walnut, or English walnut. Figured Maple or Black Cherry might be considered, too. You'll need a good set of carving chisels and gouges, most of mine are intermediate size made by Dastra Woodscrew. A mallet for driving the chisels & gouges. A marking gage. Making pencil, I like the silver ones like welders use sometimes. A couple of accurate scales, one flexible, preferably. Scrapers, the only commercial ones I've found useful are those by Jerry Fisher and sold by Brownells, the rest I made to suit myself and the task. A drill press and good wood bits are handy for a starter for the magazine box inletting. When you get the barreled action down flat, on top of the blank, if you're careful and have enough nerve, you can do some pre-inletting , free hand, with a router. A 1/4" bit and a 5/8" core box bit will get you started. You can, also, use that router to get rid of some of that extra wood on the outside when it's time. A band saw is nice, but a large coping saw will do, for getting some of that extra wood off, but a regular hand saw will work. A Nicholson 10", #49 Patternmakers rasp/file is the tool of choice for shaping. Along with an assortment of 1/2 round , double cut files, 6", 8", &10". Double cut riflers are handy, too. A barrel channel tool of some sort makes that work alot easier (another tool [or tools] I had to make myself, no good commercial ones that I liked). You'll want some sort of marking compound, like inletting black, I prefer the 'gold' on darker wood. A set of guide pins for your action and a set of 'stockmakers hand screws', too. I use a template on the end of the butt to establish the shape, another home made item. A metal grip cap will do for a guide there. I've probably neglected to mention 1/2 dozen other things, but, most of all, you'll need a plan! And a big bucket full of patiences! And, JMO, it seems to me it just takes too much time to make a stock to have it end up in a paint booth! If you're serious, use the nicest piece of wood you can afford to buy!

 

[TOObuilder]

If you are going to paint it don't make it out of hickory (or any nice grain wood). The reason I say this is that I had a couple done out of a hickory blank that I laminated and according to the person that cut it for me it was a difficult wood to work with. Very hard and would splinter if not careful. Maybe choose an easier wood to work with for a first time project.

 

[jraney]

hey thats is great i just thought of hickory becuase it is easiest to get for me besides just oak of somesort, i have access to walnut and pecan also,but really my main concern is inletting for the action i could be wrong but to me i think all that other stuff would be simple after getting the action in right. as far as the shaping my dad has a very good eye for detail like that so i am sure he could help alot in that area. but really thanks for the replies and please keep them comin. oh the reason i was going to cut the wood myself is i have a cousin who has a saw mill and my grandma has all the timber i would need, and plus i am always broke(lol)but anyhow glad to hear that ya'll do not all use power tools, after pricing some mills and not even knowing how to use them i was a little worried it was no possible. looking forward to hearing more ideas and feel free to add pics of your handmade stocks.

J
oh ya pianting was just another thought if the stock looks good enough when and if i ever start or finish it then most definetly i would not piant it.

 

[shortgrass]

On second thought, If it's going to end up in front of a spray can or in a spray booth, why not just buy a Boyds as making a nice stock by hand only takes 75+ hours or so, and that's having more than a few under my belt!

 

[jraney]

well i would at least like to try it and i promise ugly or not if and when i get around to it i will not piant it.

j

 

[sailhertoo]

I just made my own stock by hand.

Get you a $30 die grinder from Harbor Freight. It does wonders takeing out wood fast and getting in tight spots like behind the grip and digging out for the thumb area.

 

[shortgrass]

Power tools like a Dremel or die grinder can either be a toublemaker or your best friend.

 

[Preacher]

Cedar will make more dents with light hits than anything you can imagine.
Lots of stocks are made by hand with limited power tools....
Even us old timers know better than to make one out of Hickory.
To heavy and to many other problems with using it.. stick with Walnut and you'll do fine...

 

[JohnMill]

You could also buy laminated wood panels from Cousineau Laminated Wood. You can get enough for 2 Benchrest gunstocks for about 135 bucks. I would think the ones thinner for varmint rifles will be a good deal cheaper. Tough to work but stable.

John

 

[BoydAllen]

Use a planer to make your piece of wood flat with both faces parallel. Joint what will be the top of the stock so that it is straight and at a right angle to the faces. Use a template to draw the profile of the stock (with a little extra wood) on the side of the blank. Use a band saw to cut it out, leaving the top as jointed. Make a fixture so that you can clamp the blank to your mill or drill press table so that it is square to the travel of the quill. Lay out the center line of the stock, including any offset needed for a cheek piece. Lay out the action location including the precise location of the action screw holes. Using the aforementioned fixture, carefully drill the action screw holes through the stock. build a router template to rough in the shape of the top of the action and barrel bedding. Carefully align the template to the blank and rout out the upper edge of the bedding. Use guide screws and inleting blacking to guide your stock removal as you finish the bedding. This should get you started. An old friend did everything from felling trees to finished socks. This is all from memory, from watching him work. I hope that it will help get your started.
Boyd Allen

 

[jraney]

hey thanks for the replies, i know this will really test my patients but i think i can do it. i am going to my parents this weekend so i will lookaround for a good tree to use, i would buy the blank or other wood material but i would like to keep this as low cost as possible. just wondering i know hickory is heavy and ya'll said use walnut but what about red oak? the reason i ask is i know where some are that are already near dry and they are way more abundant thean the walnut at my parents. anyhow keep the info comin i really enjoy reading what is said.

j

 

[shortgrass]

Don't use oak! It's for fence posts! If you're going to cut a tree, don't be in much of a hurry. Cutting it into blanks properly, drying it, and then letting it 'season' for another 4 or 5 years to relieve the internal stress won't have you a stock by hunting season. Using a blank that is too young will be risky as it is not 'seasoned' and will tend to move when it shouldn't. Opens up a whole new can of worms. Straight grain Black walnut is cheap. Nicely figured English walnut commands big bucks. Face it, there's a reason why the walnuts have been used for as long as they have, because they're the most suitable of hardwoods for gunstocks.

 

[TonyR]

I have a book that shows the density and strength of various types of wood. Shows why most of the wood gunstocks you see are either walnut or maple unless they are some sort of laminate. The combination of strength and density is really hard to beat. The book is called "Understanding Wood" by R. Bruce Hoadley. I ended up buying a nice laminated birdseye maple blank from Shirley McGee. I saw a light 1000 yard BR gun in birdseye maple that I still think is one of the best looking guns I've ever seen. I hope mine looks half as good after I've put in my 75 hours.

 

[jraney]

hey no big deal about the oak then just figured i would mention it.

 

[jraney]

hey i was just going to clear some stuff up. i want to biuld a stock simply becuase the 1 that is on the gun is not reall good, i can't afford to buy the exact stock i want, and last of all i would just like to try and see if i could do it. so i am not to worried about the look of the wood such as english walnut versus black walnut i mainly want something that is not going to be to expensive for the blank but will give me good strenght and durability. i apologize for not mentioning this sooner but i really wasn't expecting such differences in the hard woods.


J