Do it yourself Stock making thread

[joshb]

those look like my clamps!! if thats a stock blank though i dont quite see how its clamped
edit- oh now i see it- mabie you are clamping strips on the side?

your table looks nice and flat—- mine isnt- i think thats why i stared using the saw for glueing stuff. need to fix the table for sure.

The white surface is new. I replaced the old one because it had curled from using particle board under plywood. The new is all plywood @ 1 1/2”. Glued and screwed.

 

[AMG04]

3/4" melamine makes a great top surface, especially for a glue up table. Let the glue dry and it pops right off for easy clean up.

3/4" mdf with 3/4" melamine

Added t-tracks recently to adjust for different stock lengths.

 

[joshb]

3/4" melamine makes a great top surface, especially for a glue up table. Let the glue dry and it pops right off for easy clean up.

Yeah, but I sometimes nail or screw something to the surface. I just put a sheet of 4mil plastic down, when glueing.

 

[hoz53]

Here’s my work center:
View attachment 1692775

The blank in the clamps. 3/8” strips outside a 1 1/2” center. The inside piece is bland with a few knots. The white boards protect the walnut from clamp damage.
View attachment 1692777View attachment 1692776

This one is promising. I split the board because it wasn’t thick enough. Thin strips in the center.
View attachment 1692778

After that, Mesquite:
View attachment 1692779

the work center looks good--thanks for all the pics- my actual wood working table needs attention to the top for sure.. Oh that one table you have about as much stuff as i do on my table!!! - good idea how you glued that blank together. i usually glue 3--- 3/4 thick pieces together. --- looks like its time 4 you to go shoot some now

 

[joshb]

the work center looks good--thanks for all the pics- my actual wood working table needs attention to the top for sure.. Oh that one table you have about as much stuff as i do on my table!!! - good idea how you glued that blank together. i usually glue 3--- 3/4 thick pieces together. --- looks like its time 4 you to go shoot some now

My wifey calls it chaotic. I think it’s managed chaos.
3-3/4” boards works fine usually. I have a bunch of 2” rough cut boards. They come out in different thicknesses by the time I get them flattened out. Making 1/4” to 3/8” pieces is a pain but they can be more interesting.
I’m in a groove and the clock is ticking. No time to shoot. I want to get these shaped as far as I can before the migration to Texas.
A new stock for my 6.5x47. The old stock goes on a 300WSM build.
A new stock for a 30-06 build.
The new stock for the Tikka 6.5x55.
A new stock for a 6.5x284
And a couple Christmas presents.

 

[hoz53]

My wifey calls it chaotic. I think it’s managed chaos.
3-3/4” boards works fine usually. I have a bunch of 2” rough cut boards. They come out in different thicknesses by the time I get them flattened out. Making 1/4” to 3/8” pieces is a pain but they can be more interesting.
I’m in a groove and the clock is ticking. No time to shoot. I want to get these shaped as far as I can before the migration to Texas.
A new stock for my 6.5x47. The old stock goes on a 300WSM build.
A new stock for a 30-06 build.
The new stock for the Tikka 6.5x55.
A new stock for a 6.5x284
And a couple Christmas presents.

lol if i had a wife Im sure she would use words like disaster for my place. ill leave you alone for now since ur on the tite schedule— later

 

[Seagull]

The good old radar carve i ended up putting mine on fully supported linear rails . I mounted these to 150x50 x 5 mm rhs made a massive difference to stiffness

 

[joshb]

I put some Leopard Wood in as an accent with the Teak.

 

[Seagull]

That will come up looking nice. While you glue and shape up Josh. Im on over watch at a local chook farm they have an issue with a couple foxes at the moment. Bloody cold out here can tell you that much

 

[joshb]

Sorry you’re freezing!
I’m toasty! My shop is 75 degrees. Perfect for bedding an action.

 

[Papa Charlie]

@joshb

Hi Josh, do you do any F-Class style stocks?
Love the work you do. Been thinking about moving from FTR to FO class. Just wondering.

 

[joshb]

Thank you, Papa! It’s nice of you to say that.
I tried a couple F Class type stocks. I’m not too good at it. Maybe because I don’t have a design . I’ve done a couple of the Master Sporter styles with a long fore end and a flat butt. . I’m kinda stuck in my niche. I read about guys making them and how they “keep tolerances to the thousandths so they track right”. I can’t do that with my hand sanding and crude tooling so I stay away from that puddle.

 

[Seagull]

@joshb

Hi Josh, do you do any F-Class style stocks?
Love the work you do. Been thinking about moving from FTR to FO class. Just wondering.

What type of ftr stock do you have at the moment. If you put a pic up mite have an idea or 2 on how you can use in open.

 

[Papa Charlie]

What type of ftr stock do you have at the moment. If you put a pic up mite have an idea or 2 on how you can use in open.

Thank you, I have a Chassis which would only require adding a slider up front.

I have thought about building an F Open rifle. I like what I saw from Josh's work and was just wondering if he had ever built an Open rifle stock.

 

[joshb]

Back to the build, With my pillars set, I cut for the magazine, trigger and safety. Then I flipped it over and used my template to route out for the PT&G bottom metal. I put the bottom of the pillars at the same level from the top of the jigs to make the cut. With the bottom metal in and screwed to the action, I can use a bearing bit to finish cut the trigger opening.

 

[hoz53]

Sorry you’re freezing!
I’m toasty! My shop is 75 degrees. Perfect for bedding an action.
View attachment 1693639View attachment 1693640

*so you preglue the pillars in before doing the final bedding job? like Jstock
*how do you set and hold the pillars at a certain height?
*what is the block of wood on barrel channel? ive used something like this to level top offorend to gun.
* ive bin using pillars made of devcon for awhile and i havent cared if they stuck out past the action however ill have to do this one like the old days. as you know not much tang on a reminton to cover apillar and still get it substancially glued— ive had them come loose before. you must have youre pillars matched so they are the correct length for your bottom metal?____ more fun to come!

have a safe trip!

 

[joshb]

1.*so you preglue the pillars in before doing the final bedding job? like Jstock
*2.how do you set and hold the pillars at a certain height?
3.*what is the block of wood on barrel channel? ive used something like this to level top offorend to gun.
4.* ive bin using pillars made of devcon for awhile and i havent cared if they stuck out past the action however ill have to do this one like the old days. as you know not much tang on a reminton to cover apillar and still get it substancially glued— ive had them come loose before. you must have youre pillars matched so they are the correct length for your bottom metal?____ more fun to come!

have a safe trip!

1&2. No. I do it all in one. I measure and cut my pillars. (Put everything together and check function. Sometimes a pillar is a little long.) Then I lock them to the bottom of the waxed action with bolts. I’ll spread my bedding compound in the stock, the holes and coat the pillars. Set the barreled action in the stock, press it in and check for level. Leave it overnight.
3. Exactly! The shims under the forend are making it level as clamped. It leaves room to slip in the barreled action.
4. I buy the aluminum pillar blanks 10 pair at a time. I cut them to length on my miter saw using a homemade fixture. Tape wrapped around the bolts keeps the pillar centered. I drill a 5/8” hole for the 9/16” pillars leaving room for the epoxy bedding. Gotta spread bedding in the holes and goop up the pillars. In the morning, I unscrew the bolts and drill out the extra epoxy with a 5/8” Forstner bit, careful not to hit the pillar.
Trade secret: I put a steel washer on the bottom of the pillar before I lock it to the action. The Forstner bit will hit the steel washer and spin it loose, leaving the pillar undamaged.
Plenty of room to cover the pillar in the rear.

Not leaving yet!

 

[hoz53]

1&2. No. I do it all in one. I measure and cut my pillars. (Put everything together and check function. Sometimes a pillar is a little long.) Then I lock them to the bottom of the waxed action with bolts. I’ll spread my bedding compound in the stock, the holes and coat the pillars. Set the barreled action in the stock, press it in and check for level. Leave it overnight.
3. Exactly! The shims under the forend are making it level as clamped. It leaves room to slip in the barreled action.
4. I buy the aluminum pillar blanks 10 pair at a time. I cut them to length on my miter saw using a homemade fixture. Tape wrapped around the bolts keeps the pillar centered. I drill a 5/8” hole for the 9/16” pillars leaving room for the epoxy bedding. Gotta spread bedding in the holes and goop up the pillars. In the morning, I unscrew the bolts and drill out the extra epoxy with a 5/8” Forstner bit, careful not to hit the pillar.
Trade secret: I put a steel washer on the bottom of the pillar before I lock it to the action. The Forstner bit will hit the steel washer and spin it loose, leaving the pillar undamaged.
Plenty of room to cover the pillar in the rear.
View attachment 1693999
Not leaving yet!

thanks for all that good info—

 

[joshb]

I cut the top chamfer with a 15 degree bit.

Cut the bottom edge with a 3/4” round bit.

Tried a different side cut with a 1” core box bit, then cut the rest of the side with a 3/4” flat bit. I took off 3/16” of wood.

Then I bedded the recoil pad in epoxy and the leopard wood grip cap. It will sit overnight.

 

[hoz53]

I cut the top chamfer with a 15 degree bit.
View attachment 1694152
Cut the bottom edge with a 3/4” round bit.
View attachment 1694153
Tried a different side cut with a 1” core box bit, then cut the rest of the side with a 3/4” flat bit. I took off 3/16” of wood.
View attachment 1694154
Then I bedded the recoil pad in epoxy and the leopard wood grip cap. It will sit overnight.
View attachment 1694155

something happened to my 1st post. i was wondering how you did those things lately and i do have a model i can go off. bin thinking how i will do the different operations. power washing house today and ladder fell over and i fell off and hit the ground. went to ER— compression fracture— seems ill bee okay. thanks for the info. im looking forward to working on this one…