How to repair a poor bolt inletting on a wood stock. Remington 788 LH.

[Xerothermic]

This stock is a replication of a factory stock. It came with no bolt handle inlet. The individual tasked with the inletting must have measured incorrectly in that the cut was a good 1/4" inch off. (I had a local smith recut the stock and fix other inletting issues to make the new stock functional at least)

Long story short, how would one go about fixing the unsightly gap on the right side? I can paint the stock if necessary, but would prefer keeping the grain if possible. Ideas?

 

[JFrank]

This may help

Stock Painting***full paint job pics added

I received this PRT lowboy from Ron Clark of Texas. Beautiful nutmeg laminate. Problem was someone prior to Ron lopped off the front of cheek piece. We know it was to remove the bolt, maybe they didn't realize Masterclass hardware is magnetic and they could've just wiggled it out. Who knows?? A...

forum.accurateshooter.com

 

[Xerothermic]

This may help

Stock Painting***full paint job pics added

I received this PRT lowboy from Ron Clark of Texas. Beautiful nutmeg laminate. Problem was someone prior to Ron lopped off the front of cheek piece. We know it was to remove the bolt, maybe they didn't realize Masterclass hardware is magnetic and they could've just wiggled it out. Who knows?? A...

forum.accurateshooter.com

 

[Xerothermic]

Thanks, for refreshing my memory, because I remember that post and the sweet result.

 

[LVLAaron]

I'd start by finding a piece of wood that's the same species

 

[drover]

OP - the easy answer is to put a piece of wood or epoxy filler into the rear of the oversized cutout and then paint the stock.

An alternate is to "fool the eye" - open up the area in front of the bolt handle an 1/8" or so. This will put the bolt handle more centered in the slot. While this is a great fix it will make the gap at the rear less obvious because your eye is not drawn to it.

Personally I would epoxy and paint. Painted stocks are more common than wood finished these days and it would solve the issue simply.

drover

 

[Xerothermic]

I'd start by finding a piece of wood that's the same species

OP - the easy answer is to put a piece of wood or epoxy filler into the rear of the oversized cutout and then paint the stock.

An alternate is to "fool the eye" - open up the area in front of the bolt handle an 1/8" or so. This will put the bolt handle more centered in the slot. While this is a great fix it will make the gap at the rear less obvious because your eye is not drawn to it.

Personally I would epoxy and paint. Painted stocks are more common than wood finished these days and it would solve the issue simply.

drover

An epoxy repair and a squirt of paint would make the most sense. This stock was a replacement for the LH factory stock that I didn't want to hog out for a heavier barrel. Opened a can of worms with this one.

Thanks, for the advice.

 

[SSL]

Ran into the same type of situation a few years ago (though not quite that excessive). A friend had ordered a 'drop-in' stock that had the bolt handle slot hogged out. I relieved the slot to form an equal amount of space in front of, beneath and behind the bolt handle and then filled the gap formed with black glass epoxy. Once hardened, I shaped the opening square and with enough relief to prevent the rear of the bolt handle contacting the stock under recoil. I also slanted the bottom of the slot to match the angle of the bolt handle and then polished all surfaces. The result was a bolt slot that looked as though it was decorated with a fitted piece of ebony as trim.