I'm working a pattern stock off an Olson pattern for a Pre war Winchester 70. I thought I'd try some cast off and toe out on this stock and when I got it, Olson had already milled it in- I was impressed with his ability on the pantograph.

Now the problems:

1. The cast off begins at the nose of the comb and terminates at the butt- looks and feels great. But this really throws off the grip through the grip cap area and I don't really know how to continue shaping it. Any advice? An excellent pic of a well done custom stock with cast and toe out from the toe line would be a tremendous help...

2. Should I just hog out the inletting a goop in the glass? Do you guys bed the finished rifle stock in glass after you have your pattern turned on the "good wood" or say it's not neccessary?

3. Someone gave advice on bedding the Winchester 70 correctly but I can't seem to find the link. I want to use stainless pillars in the finished product but not a glass bed. Should the magazine box float in the inletting or butt up against the back of the mortise? Any advise on glassing in a Pre 64 Winchester would be appreciated.

Any insight on any part of these questions would be welcome...

I have 2 old custom stocked rifles and the back part of the reciever is off set in the stock wood shape. Off set starts ahead of the grip.

Cast is a personal thing. The way I do it is to draw my centerline of the barrel on the blank and carry this line completely around the blank. I mark the centers of the guard screws and start my cast from the rear guard screw. I mark the heel and toe with the amount of cast desired and draw the line from the rear guard screw to the heel and toe marks. I then connect the two lines on the butt itself. This puts the grip at an angle to the bore line. This is just one way to do it. You can start it just behind the grip if you choose. BTW-this is how I work from a blank and I don’t use patterns. But if you locate the center of the guard screw holes, you can do the same thing. Will take a little more “eyeballingâ€, but I’m sure you could do it.

As for bedding, spotting compound and scrapers is the way to bed without compound. If you are building a pattern, just hog it out and glass everything in. No need to spend time inletting a pattern with a metal to wood fit. Each action you use in the pattern after this will have to be glass bedded in anyway

Couldnt have said it better Marc

I told Olson the stock would have 1/4" cast off and 3/8" toe out which is the closest I could come to my own fitting measurements. He milled the stock with the cast and toe out already there- I don't have to build it out with Bondo or anything...

But, in doing this, it seems the back half of the grip cap flat is now "twisted" while the front half aims for the centerline- the back half aims for the cast off- Does that make sense to anyone? I'm just scratching my head on how to shape and fit my cap (standard size Dressel)...

Where did I stash that Dremel???

quote:

Originally posted by DeBee:
But, in doing this, it seems the back half of the grip cap flat is now "twisted" while the front half aims for the centerline- the back half aims for the cast off- Does that make sense to anyone?

Yep...I understand that DeBee. I have a Linden stocked Springfield with both cast off and toe out. Although the cast starts at the rear tang screw (as Marc described above), the grip cap is aligned and "squared" with the toe-line of the stock.

I align and square my grip caps the same way on stocks that the cast starts at the grip. I believe the stock "flows" better if the grip cap follows that line.

GV

A pattern stock should be about fully glass bedded from one end to the other as you use that pattern many times before its worn out..Sometimes I just use bondo, but I want a perfect tight fit all the way around, then I will worry about inletting the real stock...what makes a good stock from a stylist is the pattern stock, if its wrong then the real stock will be wrong...