Friend ask if I could make a replacement stock for an old shotgun. The
old stock is cracked in several places and some small chips are
missing in several places.
I've never made anything like this. Anyone got any tips,
pointers, web sites an any input that will help.

BumHead wrote:

Friend ask if I could make a replacement stock for an old shotgun. The
old stock is cracked in several places and some small chips are
missing in several places.
I've never made anything like this. Anyone got any tips,
pointers, web sites an any input that will help.

Not a gunsmith, don't even play one on TV, but most gun stocks I'm
familiar with are made from walnut.

I'd probably use boat building techniques as follows:

Remove old stock, then reassemble as much as possible.

Using poster cardboard, make templates of the old gun stock profile at
say 2" intervals.

Now you are ready to go to work removing stock to shape the piece,
using templates to guide you.

When you're close, it is fairing time. Lots of sandpaper, lots of
elbow grease.

You could easily invest 200-300 man hours in a project the way I've
described it.

Maybe there is an easier way.


Lew

In article .net,
says...
BumHead wrote:

Friend ask if I could make a replacement stock for an old shotgun. The
old stock is cracked in several places and some small chips are
missing in several places.
I've never made anything like this. Anyone got any tips,
pointers, web sites an any input that will help.

Not a gunsmith, don't even play one on TV, but most gun stocks I'm
familiar with are made from walnut.

I'd probably use boat building techniques as follows:

Remove old stock, then reassemble as much as possible.

Using poster cardboard, make templates of the old gun stock profile at
say 2" intervals.

Now you are ready to go to work removing stock to shape the piece,
using templates to guide you.

When you're close, it is fairing time. Lots of sandpaper, lots of
elbow grease.

You could easily invest 200-300 man hours in a project the way I've
described it.

Maybe there is an easier way.


Lew

There are companies that sell roughed-out stock blanks for various
"popular" guns, in several stages of finish. I think all of them
require hand fitting (inletting) around the action.

http://preview.tinyurl.com/247sja

http://www.outdoorguides.com/outdoor/stocks.htm

http://www.e-gunparts.com/features.asp?FID=25

These things can save an enormous amount of time. If you get really
lucky, you'll be able to find one for the specific gun in question.

Now, if the gun is old, and has sideplates, lotsa luck. Those things
are the dickens to get restocked, or so I hear. I looked into trying
to do an L.C. Smith once, never did get very far with it.

Hope it helps,
Henry

The first thing you have to deal with is how the stock attaches to the
receiver. Most shotgun stocks are attached via a long bolt that goes
through the back of the stock. This long hole has to be bored first through
the length of the stock blank. As you do this, you have to plan for the
wood grain to run straight and flow through the wrist, the thinnest section,
of the stock, and preferably straight through the rest of the stock. If you
don't, you risk the stock breaking under recoil. The inletting of the stock
to the receiver has to be close to perfect, or else the receiver will batter
and eventually crack the stock. There is not much room for error with these
steps.

Any fairly light and strong wood will do. Walnut is traditional, but
cherry, maple and others are suitable too. The rest of the stock can be
shaped with drawknives, rasps and sandpaper. It would help quite a bit if
you have some expertise in fitting shotguns, for the stock is the only thing
that anchors the shooters face and acts like the rear sight. Unlike a rifle
with sights, the fit of a shotgun stock to the shooter is critical to making
the gun shoot straight.

Or you can check with Numrich http://www.e-gunparts.com/ and see if they
have a replacement stock. That's what I would do.

Michael Latcha - at home in Redford, MI

"BumHead" wrote in message
...
Friend ask if I could make a replacement stock for an old shotgun. The
old stock is cracked in several places and some small chips are
missing in several places.
I've never made anything like this. Anyone got any tips,
pointers, web sites an any input that will help.

Try www.billjanney.com. He has a book out called "Gunstock Carving". ISBN
1-56523-166x. Price - $19.95. I hope this helps.


"BumHead" wrote in message
...
Friend ask if I could make a replacement stock for an old shotgun. The
old stock is cracked in several places and some small chips are
missing in several places.
I've never made anything like this. Anyone got any tips,
pointers, web sites an any input that will help.

"BumHead" wrote in message
...
Friend ask if I could make a replacement stock for an old shotgun. The
old stock is cracked in several places and some small chips are
missing in several places.
I've never made anything like this. Anyone got any tips,
pointers, web sites an any input that will help.

A special on tonight (Sat) on the d-i-y network about gunstocks...

The OP might check out www.midwayusa.com. They took over Fajen, a leading
aftermarket stock mfgr. See if you can find a copy of Dunlop's
"Gunsmithing" in a local library. I've also seen it at a fairly low cost
on used book web sites (abebooks.com, amazon.com, bookfinder.com, etc.)