To the Group:

I have been very impressed with some of the fancy stocked Big Bore Rifles listed in the classified ads (especially the Dakota's). I currently own a very nice Winchester Classic safari in 375 H&H. Other than the plain jane walnut stock this is a very nice rifle. I have toyed with the idea of up grading the wood on this rifle. I have been told that you can spend thousands of dollars in turning a nice piece of wood into a great stock. Hence the price of the Dakota’s at 5-7K. I’m not looking to turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse I just really like a nice wood stock. I have contemplated ordering a Richardson’s microfit stock and trying to roll on my own. In fact I could order a few cheap practice blanks to play around with. I really would like a summer project and I have more time than money at this point. Yes, I understand a good stock maker is an artist and it takes decades to really get good. However, I have to believe it can be done by a reasonably skilled wood worker with the right tools. If anyone has gone down this road I’d sure appreciate some advice and or photo’s. Also is there any good reference books I can get to learn more about the process. Finally any specific tool recomendations would be great. Ideally I'd like to get a reasonably finished wood blank and do some final shaping, checkering and finishing. Midway appears to have plenty of stuff I just don't want to over do it. I posted this question already on the big bore fourm and thought I could get a little more info here.


Thanks Brad

#1 - forget richardsons
#2 - find a nice blank and send it to a duplicator
#3 - have alot of patience
#4 - good luck and have fun doing it

Cheap place to start is to refinish your factory stock. Learn how to get a nice smooth finish. Key issue go slow you can always remove but difficult to replace.

You might do a search. I thought I remembered Richardson having some delivery issues and a number of upset posters.

quote:

Originally posted by butchloc:
#1 - forget richardsons
#2 - find a nice blank and send it to a duplicator
#3 - have alot of patience
#4 - good luck and have fun doing it

Good plan. If you order a stock from Richards you might be lucky and get it sometime around Christmas. If you don't want to go the blank route there are other suppliers of semi-inlets.

Thanks for the info. Do you have a recomendation of semi-finished stock blank dealers that can deliver in a reasonable time frame?

Thanks Brad

I like working from a block. You can do this. If my experience is any guide - buy two blanks, one inexpensive and one fancy. By the time I finished the inletting my first block, I was much better at inletting, I didn't like the work that I'd done and so I started over.

I'd already done a fair amount finishing and checkering over the years and had worked from semi-inlets as a teenager with Dad.

A small drill press, a vise and sharp hand tools are all I use.

Look at the NRA Gunsmithing Guide (used on the net) for some decent how-to's.

Here's some pics from the process.

Trying to keep it proud by the width of a playing card




Forend





Before extending trigger guard


Trigger guard inlet


A few coats to fill in those claro pores


I love dymo tape


Need to point up the shiners and muller the front borders

I got my last semi-inleted stock from Northwood Gunstocks www.northwoodgunstock.com it was Claro Walnut. Quick service and nice quality wood. It turned out pretty good, is at Bill Soverns being checkered now.

I also come down in th ecamp of making a stock from a blank. THis is especially true for you first stock. It makes you understand exactly what is going on and why the little details are done that way. Plus you have complete flexability and are not constrained by a pattern.

I think a person gets more satisfaction out of working from a blank for their first stock.

I also think a person should start off with a blank that costs a little bit of money. The more money you have in th estick, the more attention you pay to every move you make. Again, it forces you to thoroughly think out each and every step before you take it. Do this for 3 stocks and you will know a hell of a lot about stockmaking. The more it would hurt to scrap a blank, the more you will slow down during the build and like the stock after completion.

Do not be afraid of making a stock from the blank. I made my first stock with th ebook "Gunsmithing" by Dunlap, a 4-in-1 file/rasp combo, barrel channel tool, and soem sandpaper. I did not even own a vise at the time and held it in my lap. I used a friend's bandsaw to rough it out and used his drill press to drill two action screw holes.

I congratulate for your aspirations and wish you the nest of luck. If you get in a bind or need help, there are lots of people here who can help you.

Would not maybe perhaps sorta those walnut hunks I had on here a whiles ago work for cheap ($50 each + shipping*) practice anyway for him at least?

*I can saw 'em down to keep shipping weight down.




Oh nothing just

Nice work Yeti.

I remember the ONLY time I fitted a semi-finished blank I got from Herters for a heavy barreled Mauser I built for myself way back about 1962 or so. Kinda followed a booklet of theirs - blank was cheapest grade @ a whopping $7.50! Endless hours trying to hand fit to where I finally gave up and just hogged the wood out wholesale and then glass-bedded it I believe Xmas eve of 1962. Turned out OK.

quote:

Do you have a recomendation of semi-finished stock blank dealers that can deliver in a reasonable time frame?

I purchased several blanks from Great American. http://www.gunstocks.com/ I know some here have had issues with them. I've bought 4 or 5 without issue from their bargin list. They had a fire and were selling some nice semis at a good price.

I would recommend that you NEVER buy anything from Great American.
I have been the last three months getting a refund on a stock he sent me. Stock was not what I ordered. It had the toe chipped and smoke damage. Stock was returned within 7 days of receipt. After about 5 weeks I asked about refund. He replied by, what stock?. He gave me credit on 4/25/08,(after deducting over 20%, all shipping and handling)after I told him I was going to turn it over to my credit card for resolution.

To be fair, I have dealt with Henry before and got good product and service. Lately it's his way or the highway.

James

I am surprised that nobody has yet recommended the book entitled "Professional Stockmaking" by David Wesbrook.

22WRF,
Great book, but way way out of print. I spoke to Dave about it a while back and at that time, he only had a couple copies left. He wouldn't part with them, as he liked to give a copy to his stockmaking customers.

He mentioned that the publisher was looking to possibly sell it in electronic format

Well, in that case, if Brad wanted to borrow my copy and read it that might be arranged.

Stockmaking isn't a rocket science, its just a matter of knowing how and patience..It is pretty simple if you have an eye for stock design IMO..Inletting is the easiest part of stock making and anyone can do it, its not the deep dark secret its made out to be..You put a light coat of black on the metal and then remove it the black spots off the wood, where it can get complicated is sometime cross pressure in the action can push the barrel over giving a false impression, but once you are shown this its pretty easy..

Get after it, if you use a duplicator is will be much easier, and most everyone uses a duplicater these days as hacking the excess off is mostly hard labor and requires little skill.
However I will not use a simi finished blank as mostly they don't turn out altogether right.

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
hacking the excess off is mostly hard labor and requires little skill.

I don't care who you are, That's there's funny.

quote:

However I will not use a simi finished blank as mostly they don't turn out altogether right.

In most (not all) instances, you get what you pay for.

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
Stockmaking isn't a rocket science, its just a matter of knowing how and patience..It is pretty simple if you have an eye for stock design...

Well.....Ray might be minimizing the effort a bit here. "knowing how" and "having an eye for stock design" might not be as easy as it sounds. Ray has done it a lot.....as have I. But I read a lot, and inspected good work before I established in my mind what was required. And I'm not talking "style" here....I mean stock design principles. I hacked out a few "wasp-waisted" stocks behind the grip area until I learned how to do it correctly. A straight edge will become your friend.

I learned mostly from Alvin Linden's pamphlets. Written in the early 40's, and instruction for making stocks from the blank, they still have principles that are adaptable to semi's or duplicated stocks.

quote:

You put a light coat of black on the metal and then remove it the black spots off the wood....

I might add one caveat here also.

I certainly attempt to have tight surface wood-to-metal fit throughout action and barrel. If you scrape off all "black" from metal impressions in the wood.......guess what.....the metal ain't touching the wood any more, and you have a gap. You develop a feel for this, but it's not as simple as scraping away all impressions.

quote:

...hacking the excess off is mostly hard labor and requires little skill.

Heh Heh....

Alway enjoyed that picture of Linden trimming excess wood off a forearm with a small broad axe!

Grandview mentions studying Alvin Linden's pamphlets.

A company named Samworth Books actually turned those pamphlets into a book. I have a copy and it is very detailed in how to go about making a stock from the blank.

If I were going to do it I don't know that I would use Mr. Lindgen's shapes, but his instructions on getting the metal into the wood are very good and the book would be worth its price to anyone who thinks they want to start making stocks.

There is one thing that hasn't been said in this thread, which I think it quite true, and that is that many folks who make their stocks from the blank use a milling machine for the bulk of the inletting process.

I also think its true that most folks that do a lot of them inlet the action first and then put the barrel on the action.