I have been hollowing butt stocks for balance and weight reduction, but am having trouble getting things deeper than about 6”. I am thinking of rigging up a long shank for a Forestner (or whatever you call it) bit. But even that seems to run out of horse power when hogging out butt holes. I am sick and tired of trying to work over holes with my short tool. The story of my life!

What do you use for hollowing butt stocks and boring deep holes? What do you do to be sure you do not poke out through the side of the stock? Do you have a pics or a link to the tool you need to really get deep penetration in butt holes?

Thanks!

Skunk

I just use a plain drill bit extension.

http://www.acehardwareoutlet.c...tails.aspx?SKU=23044

As you know, in order to better deal with some of my local customers, I am currently enrolled in an online Proctologist course and they told us that if we needed to get beyond 6" to use the 3" arm extenders that came with the course. You're welcome to use mine but you'll have to disinfect it when you are through. Better yet, you can just keep it.

thanks for the link! That is about what I was planning to make for the Forestner bit, but it would be easier and chaper to buy it

What sort of drill bits are you using for the holes? Do you just eyeball it to be sure you are boring in the correct line, or d you have a system to be sure you do not drill through the side of the stock?

Malm-

you were posting as I was typing.

at 3" it sounds like you have the same tool length issues I have!

What sort of bits do you use and how do you keep it aligned properly?

Funny. I used a spade bit on my Ruger #1 rattlin rifle. Worked pretty well.

quote:

Originally posted by Marc_Stokeld:
thanks for the link! That is about what I was planning to make for the Forestner bit, but it would be easier and chaper to buy it

What sort of drill bits are you using for the holes? Do you just eyeball it to be sure you are boring in the correct line, or d you have a system to be sure you do not drill through the side of the stock?

I use 3/4, 5/8 and 1/2 inch Forstner bits. I start with the larger size first and switch to smaller as the hole gets deeper. No jig or fixture, eyeball and go slow.

Here is the counter bore that I make up. It can be made from old barrels or cold roll steel. Make any size needed quick. Connect to a shaft by pin or screw. Use a regular drill bit in 3/8 in. long shaft for drilling the pilot hole. Use about an equal amount of counter bore sides to the diameter. 1 in.X 1 in. With the small pilot hole drilled first the counter bore will follow straight without grabbing which makes it easy to control.

This is the same type tool used to fit recoil reducers in butt ends.

I've drilled some pretty deep holes in wood, but never hogged out a butt stock before so take this with a grain of salt.

Anyway, if I needed to remove a lot of material out of some expensive wood, I'd be tempted to make a lathe fixture to attach to the carriage. Then it would be both simple and safe to figure out where the hole is going to go, and you could machine a truly rigid extension that the forstner bit can slip in to. Heck, you can make it a foot and a half long and just put the extra length in the headstock. Afterwards, with the stock still clamped you could even clean everything up with a mill or even a reamer if you wanted to.

If the hole is deep enough, I've even managed to run forstner bits out the side of stuff, either through a wrong guesstimate (usually from being in a hurry) or having a bit wander. Even a forstner bit can wander if it is run deep enough.

quote:

Originally posted by craigster:

I use 3/4, 5/8 and 1/2 inch Forstner bits. I start with the larger size first and switch to smaller as the hole gets deeper. No jig or fixture, eyeball and go slow.

I did a couple just like craigster. Overlap the drilling of the holes then chisel out whats left inside



/

oh chit - i thought this was a porno post

you would!

Rich

I use these brad-point drills for drawbolts and trap buttplate cavities. The common spade bits and even the more expensive Forstners can and will wander, in fact it's not difficult to 'steer' them somewhat, to correct a problem. These brad-point drills OTOH will tend to maintain their direction because the full-size shaft largely prevents any sideways drift.


Each bit is 12" long so depth is no problem. For a cavity I use the larger 3/4" one and then buy a loooonngg 3/4" dowel to fit the hole(s). Drill a hole, plug it with a dowel section, drill another overlapping hole and plug it, drill another overlapping hole and plug it, etc. When done, withdraw the dowel sections and smooth with chisels & rasps.
Regards, Joe

Thanks for all of the help guys!

Here is what I found that helped a lot:

Irwin Speedbor Max Speed

This is very similar to what JD uses, but has 3 cutting blades instead of 2. JD-what brand do you use, and if you had to buy them again what brand would you prefer?

I just got a 1/2" bit to try it out, plus I picked up a 6" extension for sspade bits. Turned out that the extension did not fit all spade bits, but I was able to get the 3 stocks balanced like I wanted them with the bits that would fit. ALong with soem judicious chisleing, of course.

I really liked the way that Speedbor Max hogged out wood (even on the laminated stock) and remained easy to control. THis is VERY important to me, as I have very weak hands and limited use of my fingers. I always felt in control of the tool and never worried about poking out the side of the stock. I am going to buy an entire set of th ebits. Amazon has them at a low price.

I also picked up a ship auger bit like this:

Irwin Ship Auger Bit 5/8", 17" OAL

I live in rural northern MN and this was all that existed on the local level. I did not use the ship auger bit and am going to return it. I like the looks of the bit and am going to do a little research and find out the goods and bads of different brands and buy some of these long ship auger bits.

Additionally, me being the hard head that I am, I have some ideas of tools I can make for boring stocks. One way I have in mind would give me a way to use different diameters of cutters that would run in a piloted hole. As long as I drilled a good hole with the long electrician drill bit, every larger size cutter would follow that hole. It would be a ton of work, but would do the job exactly as I wanted. It is sorta like what Les uses. Not exactly, but the same principle, kinda. I would love to know how many hours I have sunk into making, tools, jigs, and fixtures. If I had used those hours to work as a greeter at WalMart I would not have enough money to buy a Holland & Holland Royal double rifle. This is a common affliction among gunmakers in general and metalsmiths in particular.

ETA-I have done the trick of using a long electrician bit in the lathe chuck with a piece of wood secured to the carriage. It is a great way to bore a long, straight hole in the wood and to have pretty decent control of the whole process

Thanks again for all of yall's help!

Oh, and BTW, if Saeed ever has a vote on the best thread title, well, I would appreciate your vote for this thread!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Marc_Stokeld:
JD-what brand do you use, and if you had to buy them again what brand would you prefer?

Damfinoh. Been way too many years, sorry. But those 3-flute jobbies you showed look like they could be even better.
Regards, Joe

quote:

Originally posted by butchloc:
oh chit - i thought this was a porno post

I was gonna suggest at least dinner and a movie first.

In order to not drill out the side, I made up a simple jig out of a piece of lexan.

I don;t have a picture handy (if I could even find it) but it is basically a 2" x 12" piece of 1/4" material,with a 1" slot cut down the middle, making a long U

All you do is stick one leg of the jig in the hole, making sure it is tight to the outside of the hole. You measure on the outside, and by subtracting the one inch, you can calculate how far you are from the wall.

When I go as far as I dare, I go down a size and sneak another half inch deeper.