I'm refinishing a 1940's-era military match .22.
The barreled action and bottom metal was sent away for re-bluing recently and won't be back until early next year. I have decided to tackle the stock myself. Does anyone know of a good resource for information on this? Thanks in advance.

The Dunlap book on Gunsmithing
"Artistry in Wood and Metal" by Tom Turpin.
Anything written by Steven Dodd Hughes
"Professional Stockmaking" by Westbrook
etc.

BTW, you should do the woodwork before you blue everything.................DJ

Wesbrook for the instructions, Hughs for the inspiration.

Before this thread gets into the nitty gritty of wood work...

What are you having done to the metal that will take 3+ months?

I'm just having the metal reblued. My gunsmith shuts down his bluing operation in september to handle the influx of work due to deer season. It's probably for the best since I have a bit of a patience problem when it comes to projects like this one. If I can't reassemble the rifle right away, I'll be more apt to take my time and do the stock right. Also, I'm having a crown cut on the barrel as there is nothing there now to protect that lands.

If your smith can't get to the job for several months, don't send the metal until he is ready for it. I would recommend leaving the metal in the stock until you are ready to apply finish. It will help avoid sanding away too much wood and leaving the metal "proud".

It seems to me that since you are just refinishing the original stock, some of the stockmaking books mentioned may only have small amounts of valuable information applicable to your job. My 2 cents:
1. Raise the "dings" and crushed wood by wetting and steaming.
2. Strip whatever finish remains using a chemical finish remover.
3. Sand as little as possible, always using a sanding block. Sanding the wood surface down to the bottom of the deepest "ding" will almost guarantee that the metal will be "proud" and the stock's lines ruined. Keeping the metal installed while sanding will help prevent this.