Stock Duplicator Narrative & Photos

[Machinist John]

First, a disclaimer. I am just an old retired machinist that likes to putter in the shop.

Nope, I am not in any type of gun building business or stock making business. I am not an accuracy or long range gun builder. I am not trying to sell anything.

So, if there is enough interest in using a duplicator to make stocks from the blanks, chime in. If the climate is favorable I will put up a long thread with photos showing the setting up and use of a duplicator.

I will wait for Forum Boss to approve before I start. As a newbie to this site, I am not quite familiar with the board customs. I do not want to irritate the pro builders and others.

I also have a fully equipped machine shop with lots of gun building tools. I may also post things about machining as applied to gun work, mainly to help the new lathe owners set up their shops. Again, I will wait for Forum Boss to approve.

So I will show how take the raw material:

Using this:

To wind up with:
(A 40X sock for a 22-250)

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Post away, I think most will enjoy it.

 

[FFEMT]

Sounds like this could be an interesting topic......

 

[dpep5]

Bring it! I really enjoy watching skilled craftsman at their trade.

 

[Comrade Terry]

Looks like this ought to be fun!

 

[snert]

Photos, lotsa photos..

 

[joshb]

Oh boy!! Post away, please! You can go to the "Gunsmithing" area of this forum and find my "Do it yourself stockmaking thread". It's back a few pages by now. I started making stocks a couple years ago for fun. I'm retired and I suck at golf. Anyway, you'll see my pecking away in my thread. The forum bosses were very nice in letting me post such a long thread. I think they'll be accepting of your posting. I just bought a duplicator and set it up. I bought the Radarcarve. It's not as nice as yours but I'm hoping it will sufffice. I look forward to you sharing methods and tricks. I haven't made a single cut with mine, yet. I just bought some bits for it and I'm glueing up some sacrificial blanks to learn with. Thanks for sharing. Josh

 

[matthias]

Let's see it

 

[spife7980]

If youre going to do it do it right and give me indepth pictures and details. Such as, how did you get that stock to look like a giraffe? Lay the grains over on end or at an angle so you see the ends of the grain instead of the linear streaks?

 

[308BAR]

Yes be very interested in this. I've been thinking of getting a stock duplicator. Maybe in your write up go into detail in what to look for in the machinery.

 

[johnfred1965]

That stock looks all mottled. I'll take it off your hands, and you can try again until you get it right!! seriously though, that is a beautiful piece of wood

 

[Grimstod]

Looks interesting. Cant wait for more.

 

[dolek]

I would be very interested in seeing this.

 

[paperpuncher]

Details on the hardware as well as the process

 

[Iowa Fox]

I'll be watching this with great interest

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I want a stock like that in a bad way

 

[Machinist John]

Oh boy!! Post away, please! You can go to the "Gunsmithing" area of this forum and find my "Do it yourself stockmaking thread". It's back a few pages by now. I started making stocks a couple years ago for fun. I'm retired and I suck at golf. Anyway, you'll see my pecking away in my thread. The forum bosses were very nice in letting me post such a long thread. I think they'll be accepting of your posting. I just bought a duplicator and set it up. I bought the Radarcarve. It's not as nice as yours but I'm hoping it will sufffice. I look forward to you sharing methods and tricks. I haven't made a single cut with mine, yet. I just bought some bits for it and I'm glueing up some sacrificial blanks to learn with. Thanks for sharing. Josh

Yes I saw the post a few days ago and made a reply with a couple of photos.

 

[joshb]

I want a stock like that in a bad way

I was wondering if you were drooling over that. It is a beautiful piece of wood. I wonder what it is and how much the blank cost.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I was wondering if you were drooling over that. It is a beautiful piece of wood. I wonder what it is and how much the blank cost.

looks like flamed maple that ive seen on guitars before. let me know

 

[Machinist John]

looks like flamed maple that ive seen on guitars before. let me know

Yea guitar makers. We stock makers hate them: Their wood suppliers take beautiful stock wood, chop it up into 18 inch lengths and slice it into 3/16" veneer. Much "music wood" comes from my area.


The wood is Pacific Big Leaf maple. I have blanks in flame and tiger. The trees grow in my area, this wood was cut and sawed in 1995. Has been air curing since then.

The thread I will start will have photos of blanks and wood grain.

I also have several big Walnut slabs, awaiting the band saw treatment.

I like to build big bore rifles: Stocks have the proper drop at heel & comb, pitch, and cast off for good sight acquisition with the iron sights, like the fine English shotguns. I will discuss this in the future threads. Problem with this type of stock is a very thick blank is required: Few blank providers saw up to the 3 inch minimum I need. Many of my blanks are 4 inches thick.

Cast off helps in the bench guns also. If you are squirming around on the stock to get a good scope picture, your stock does not fit.