The rifle I use most often when hunting needs to have the LOP cut down a bit. When I first got it setup it was summer and I shot it without my winter clothes on, after a couple of seasons I am realizing too long.

So...I need to cut the stock and remount/replace the pad. It's a good Decelorator, not as good as a Kick-eze in my opinion, but it does the job.

Can anybody tell me how to pursue this? I thought about using my bandsaw to cut the stock and then get the wood off the pad and reattach it, but don't have a guide and would have to free hand the cut. Might be uneven when done.

Then for shaping the pad to fit the stock, I have heard of doing this with a disc sander, which I don't have. Will the belt sander work? Am I better off trying to use my dremel, or is there a way to shape it by hand?

OR, am I better off just cutting the pad 1/4" to adjust the LOP? (I just thought that might cut the effectiveness of the pad down).

Thanks guys.

Red

Dag,
I'm kind of with you here on this one. I'm thinking of making up some kind of jig that will hold the stock zero-zero square to another jig that guides my saw and slowly going at it from there. I'm thinking of using one of those Japanese bamboo saws that produce a very fine, very thin kerf with a smooth edge; they cut on the backstroke which reduces the chance of the blade jumping and making a raggy cut. The stock isn't ordered yet as I just can't decide what I want from what Richard'ds Microfit has available. I thought I wanted the Wildcat thumbhole, but lately I'm thinking one of those heavy tactical jobs as my rifle will be shot from a bench or bag only, never carried to the game. The thumbhole looks too "sporty" as opposed to the tactical looking "all business." If deeply in doubt-- use C-4. Any thoughts?

[ 07-10-2003, 18:17: Message edited by: rootbeer ]

Red

A humble suggestion is in order here.

If you don't have the tools take the rifle to a competent smith. As you are about to tear the hell out of your rifle stock.

The buttstock will have to be cleaned up with a disc or wide belt sander no matter what kind of saw you use to cut the stock.

Then the pad (preferrably a new one) will have to be fit to a stock with existing finish. This is best done with a recoil pad grinding fixture. Otherwise, the finish is going to get cut. Probably thru the finish and the stain. Very difficult to match up without looking like a repair.

It is a relatively simple job, but you need the proper tools to do a proper job.

Rog

Well, not only am I not pleased with the local smith (he put the existing pad on and it isn't fit right to the stock, you know, not sanded even all around), but I want to start doing this kind of thing myself.

I'll hold off and use another rifle for hunting this year, I think this is a good reason to buy a sander and that jig you talked about. I see sanders on e-bay for under 60 bucks, and the jig probably is available at brownells.

As far as the finish, I did this one, so it can't get much worse! :-) REally it didn't come out to bad, it was the first one I did, no filler used or stain, just a few coats of tru-oil to protect from the elements.

Thanks a lot. Looks like I will wait till I buy the right things to do it.

Red

Red

It sounds like you are on the right track. The fixture is available at Brownells.

Get the one that hangs down from the J hook. It works the best.

As I got myself more and more interesting in stockmaking I starting to acquire all of the appropriate tools. Last December I got a 12" Disc Sander on Ebay. Almost identical to this one.

Disc Sander on Ebay

For every piece of equipment that I've purchased in the past couple of years I have found this one to take the cake. It's absolutely tits for stockwork. Now I've got my eye on a duplicator. Hopefully that should come soon. Then I needed to upgrade my gouges and chisels to the Swiss Pfeils but at $40 per tool I think I will make that upgrade very s.l.o.w.l.y

-Mike

Red,

Not long ago I did something very similar to what you are about to do. My purpose was to add a pad to a rifle with a solid plate, without changing the length of pull. Here's how I did it...

I like the suggestion to start with a new pad. Not only will it be easier than recovering the old one, but you can switch to the Kick-eez if you like. You can make your own jig for the saw failry easily. I took a panel cutting jig that I already had for a table saw (the same principle would apply to the band saw you refer to) and put a jig for cutting the stock on it. To make the stock cutting jig I used the rip fence of the table saw as a guide to make sure that I didn't change the toe angle of the stock. With the stock pushed up against the rip fence I made sure that the center line of the stock was parallel to the table. I was lucky and didn't have to shim the fore end of the stock to bring it to parallel. I then took several blocks of wood and hot glued them to the stock cutting jig so that the stock would only fit into it one way (without changing the toe angle). Next I compared the thickness of the plate and the pad I was to install and determined how much wood I needed to remove (5/8" in my case). I then removed the old plate, placed the stock in the stock cutting jig, and positioned the stock cutting jig on the panel cutting jig such that the correct amount of stock material would be removed. Pushed it on through the blade and off fell the perfect sized little piece of butt stock. I don't know how well I explained this, but if you think this is something you want to attempt, and you think it would help, I can send pictures of my set up.

My pad fitting procedure was nothing revolutionary. I simply centered the stock on the larger pad and screwed it on temporarily. I put two layers of masking tape on the stock to avoid marring the stock if I slipped. I used a stationary belt sander (I can't comment on the relative success with a disc sander) to CAREFULLY take down the pad to pretty close to where it needed to be. Next I removed the masking tape (I had gotten into it a couple times, but not the stock, the tape did its job), replaced it with one layer of masking tape, and finished taking down the pad by hand with a fairly coarse grit paper (100 or 150 if I remember correctly). I don't know if this part would be kosher with the ACGG guys, but here's what I did... To permanently attach the shaped pad I removed it and applyed a GE silicone sealant/adhesive to both the pad and the stock. I really worked it into the poors of the stock with a putty knife to ensure a good seal. Then I screwed the pad back on, did some minor reallignment, and it's been there ever since. That's the only downside to using the silicone/adhesive is that you would have a hard time getting it off, but it seemed quicker and easier than refinishing the butt at the time.

Well, I hope you made it to the end of this and that it might help you out. Again, if you want any pictures or clarification drop me an e-mail (rotty@zoo.uvm.edu).

Bob