Fred. You make a very interesting post. One thing bothers me though. Wood is compressable. Wouldn't that block of wood eventually compress down some and affect accuracy? Even ironwood will eventually compress down, and that stuff is very hard.
What I think I would have tried was have the oversized hole TIG welded and then redrilled and tapped properly.
I collect Ruger #1 rifles and thankfully, most have been decent shooters. I did pick up one abortion where some idiot restocked a #1 action and placed a Remington 700 barrel in .223 Rem. What a butcher job. I call it a Remger. Really a neat looking rifle, but it thinks it's a shotgun. I do think the problem is is the foreend though, so I'll be fighting with that for a while yet. I'm into it cheap enough that I can get away with a rebarrel if I have to. Always did like a challenge.
Paul B.

Paul B.
There is no reason to believe that a piece of maple or birch will compress with a load that is only a few pounds say 25 at the most. Construction grade fir lumber in dry condition f:2500 has a design strength of 390 psi perpenticular to the grain and 1600 psi parallel to grain. Maple or other dense hardwoods are at least twice as strong.

The piece of wood I installed is about 1/2" x 1/2 or a 1/4 sq/inch. and maple will stand 800psi so the little block will not compress under a 200lbs load and we are talking 25.

Yes you could fill the wrong hole with weld and chance to bugger up the stock screw nut hole.

I feel that if the spacing and compression is just right it will not change. You can easy make 3 or 4 blocks and test them to see which shoots the best. Even with a set screw you have to take the stock off. These little blocks are just as easy to slip in and need not to be glued until you found the best size.

The set screw is a good way with adjustments to suit, but not every one has a long 6x48 screw,tap and the proper drill at hand.

The wood block has solved the vibration trouble, and is a good fix for a handy man with a few hand tools. A piece of 120 grit sand paper wrapped around the barrel will make the contour of the block and a perfect fit against the barrel.

Yes Paul, some guys have a way of really srewing up a good gun and believe the know what they are doing. The way my forearm was butchered is an insult, but my repairs are not too visible and the rifle shoots well enough now. Fred M.