Critiques, please. The dark, mineral streaked one is for a Mauser 98-actioned 9.3x62; the lighter one is for an Enfield / P-14 458 Lott. Both are English walnut, from Great American Gunstocks. The Enfield stock is the 'Griffin and Howe open sight classic' and the Mauser stock is a British express rifle pattern. The Enfield stock will have two crossbolts when done, the Mauser just one as you see it.

Todd


Mauser - Bottom


Mauser - Right


Mauser - Left #1


Mauser - Left #2


Enfield - Right


Enfield - Bottom

I think I leaked a little.

That's good work!

One thing I couldn't get good photos of (no macro) is the miserable excuse for checkering on the panel of the skeleton grip cap. That will be repaired soon though, with a thin piece of wood glued on over the panel (after I shave it down 1/8"); then I will practice some more on checkering, and send it to a pro anyway!

I was actually thinking of something a little different -- the piece of wood I already have fit to the cutout in the grip cap is from the forend cut-off, but I'm toying with the idea of a nicely streaked (black and dark brown) piece of ebony instead. Hmmm???

Thank you Jack for your kind words -- that's high praise indeed to me.

Todd

Todd---

I'm trying to think who showed a rifle this year in Reno with an ebony "marrow" and a French gray skeleton cap. It was fine English scroll engraved and the whole effect was stunning.

Todd, you are doing a great job. I have seen an ebony inlet in a skelton grip cap before also and it did look good. So you didnt try 32 lpi in there chicken, lol. Actually it is rather easy and you dont have to go very deep. You have enough depth in that grip cap to take the whole thing lower, that is another option.

The only thing I would offer is that the flat on the bottom of the enfield around the bottom metal is very wide. I think you might get a better curve to the sides of the stock if you make it narrower on the bottom. The sides almost appear to be slab sided, they should have a curve to them, that will help narrow the flat also.

You are doing a wonderful job, be proud of it. I will tell you one thing, you are a gutsy guy, tackling a skeleton grip cap right out of the chute.

Ebony it is!

And Chic, I agree that the bottom flat on the enfield is a bit wide. I also don't care for the deep 'curve' along the bottom line of the stock, but didn't know what else to do with it. Perhaps it will become less obvious after I round the sides out a little more.

The grip cap on the Enfield is also a bit thick -- it's a Dressels old english style. After seeing the pics, I think maybe I will thin it a bit, also shorten the pistol grip a tad to be more like the Mauser.

Thanks for the critiques and kind words,
Todd

Coming along nicely!

Tell me, how was the inletting on the Great American Stocks? Did you send your actions to them to be fitted?

I strongly considered the G&H style for a Springfield Sporter rebuild but the gun has no sights... How does it fit you? Is there any cast off?

Would a 1/8th inch flat around the bottom metal be appropriate? Or is the wood usually tapered right up to the metal?

The Dressel caps are scaled to the gun size they are supposed to go on. I think if you cut away some of the bottom of the grip, it would look much better. I just sent my large one back to Brownells- of course I was trying to fit it on a Sako .243- too massive for that project...

I'd like to see pics of you fitting the crossbolts, especially the rear one.

Todd,

Those guys are just being nice, send me the Mauser stock, you blew it...

Seriously, they look very nice indeed. Regarding your comments on the Enfield. I see where you can very carefully make the wood forming the wall of the magazine flow into the area below the head, just forward of the trigger. Make it more rounded into the bottom portion but don't go too near the rear of the back end of the triggerguard. Am I making any sense here?

As for the grip cap. Those open caps showing the original wood are A #1 for a touch of class. Going to fill it with ebony would be a last resort for me. Can you do as you say, take it down a little and redo it?

Keep up the good work.

Critiques?

A big thumbs up is more appropriate!

Good shooting!

that is nice work. i have done several skeleton grip caps with a piece of wood that matches the forend tip. it makes for a dressy job for someone who likes some thing different.

Todd,

Thats a fantastic job! I especially like the way you kept the cheekpeice corners nice and sharp and the flutes around the magazine box. Nicely done!

Here is a pic of a skeleton cap inlet over ebony. I just finished doing this one.

http://groups.msn.com/SovernsCustomGunstocks/guildproject.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=119

Nice work guys. Bill, how about some more info on that rifle you're building?

Jeff

Very nice Todd. I can't wait to see the rest of my Enfield.

Jeff,

Its a 270 Win. 23" lothar-walther barrel on a G33/40. Hollow bolt knob by JBelk. Custom mounts by Jim Dubell. Stocking it on a nice piece of Bastogne.

Todd: Very nice work. How long you been at it?

These are my 3rd and 4th stocks, fla3006.

RE: dimensions of the stocks, I will try to measure drop on them later. The Enfield (G&H classic) has a right hand cast. The express stock is more 'neutral.' Surprisingly (when you compare the differences between them) both fit and handle well for me, although I like the express better. Before I sent the action, etc. off to the gunsmith, I was playing around with it in the stock, and it seems like the sights will be 'right there' when it comes up to the shoulder, after the barrel is fully inletted. The inletting and outside shaping of the two stocks was quite different - the Enfield was really well shaped inside and out, the Mauser less so (but action inletting still much better than others). There were a couple of areas of excess inletting, in the bottom metal of the Mauser stock, but in general I was able to get a decent wood to metal fit.

Roger, I think I get what you mean, and I will try that. I like flutes and all, but they are a little too prominent on that one.

As far as flats around the bottom metal inletting, I personally like between 1/8 and 3/16, depending on action and stock size. Less for a trim, small action. The Enfield has too much, as Chic pointed out. I did one stock and tapered it down to the triggerguard, but don't care for that look much. I like the look that the flutes and flat area give, as it somewhat eccentuates the drop of the magazine and gives you an express rifle look. It is even more pronounced with Argentine bottom metal, which has a rather thick floorplate when viewed from the side. I boldly ripped off this appearance from Grandview (Mike Mack) and extend a big thanks to him for providing pictures to allow me to better copy his work!

My next stock will be a Mannlincher style for a Mauser, and I plan to do the whole thing from a black walnut blank. Plain, but air-dried for 30+ years, without checking. Think it'll be stable?

BTW Chic, the Mauser stock was the one I planned to do the inletted swivel pad on, but by the time I got it cut to length of pull, the front edge of the pad was only 1.5" from the butt. Oh well, I'll try it next time.

Todd