Not sure exactly which forum this belongs in, but it seems gunsmith related. Is there anyone in the Dallas, TX area that has a belt or disk sander I could use to grind a recoil pad, please? I'll bring along a 6-pack if that might help convince anyone. If anyone can help me out, it would be much appreciated.

Make it a case and you can come use mine.

No beer here, just send a 5th.

I have ground many recoil pads with only an 8in bench grinder and a 5in. disk with a 1/4 in drill motor (higher speed 2200 rpm is best). Make up a cardboard trap to catch the dust by using a vaccum. I catch about 95% of the dust this way and always use a face mask.

1. Install pad and use 2 thickness of 1 1/2in. masking tape on the stock to prevent hitting the wood. Leave the barrel and action on the stock. It will add weight to help control grinding latter.

2. Use a 6 or 8 in. bench grinder to rough down the pad using the front face to start cutting with the stock held in the upright position. Hold stock against your body and to control the grinding. The pad is ground at the black spacer area to get it down close to size. Shift to use the side of the grinding wheel to cut the soft neoprene down close to the size needed.

3. Now get out the 5in. disk #100 grit with the 1/4in drill motor. Place stock down flat on a work table. I used a couple of 25 lbs of shot to hold in place. Now grind the pad with the OUTER AREA of this disk. If you have a stock support away from your vise you can hold the stock with the barrel padded to prevent damage to the metal. Over lap the tape when grinding and go easy until you learn to control the disk. Go over the end area only 1/2 way and keep stock lines straight. Pick up or rotate to the other side to finish rough grinding. Switch to 180 grit disk for a smoother finish. For a final finish use a flat file with some 320 wet or dry paper and lub with some paint thiner. Be carefull

4. Practise on an old stock until you get the feel for this method. I still use this method after I had belts and disk sanders. In the 1950's the Pachmayr pad box had this method shown in pictures.