Killer you did great for your first time refinishing stocks buddy, they look great, and the straight stock looks much better than when you sent them to me as a pistol grip. The wood used in these stocks is quite hard and it takes stain differently than a softer wood does. How do you like the handling characteristics of the straight stock for a shotgun? They are said to be quicker to get on target and easier to follow a bird in flight with than a pistol grip stock...Also a question, the buttstock appears to be finished in 2 differents shades, did the stain take that way or is it just the shading or color in the picture?
Brett I used a slide saw, a compound chop saw with a traversing feature, sort of a compound chop saw and a radilal arm saw combined and on steriods. I remove the buttplate an place the butt flat against the fence with the cut set at at about 12.5 degrees, however each buttstock is a bit different and the actual cut has to be set by eye, but 12.5 degrees is a good place to start. Before you make any cuts clamp the stock to the table with the butt pushed firmly and flatly against the fence and block each side of the stock with shims to prevent the stock from rocking, I use pieces of cedar house shingles for shims. After the initial cut to remove most of the downward projecting pistol grip the stock is still wider or thicker in that area, it looks swelled there. On my first few stocks I tried to remove some or most of that swelled area with the saw but have found that a palm sander with 80 grit paper is better at reducing the width to being more in line with the lines of the stock. Be carefull not to cut to close to where the reciever attaches or to where the buttplate is at the toe of the stock, better to remove not enough than to much!!!! again, BETTER TO REMOVE NOT ENOUGH THAN TO MUCH!!!. The final smoothingl just requires finer and finer paper and hand sanding, be very careful to not remove wood where it matches up to the buttplate, especially if you don't have the buttplate to reattach, if you have it you can use fine paper or a fine file to feather the fit of the buttplate to the stock with it on the gun....I use a combination of a citrus based paint stripper first, then followed by fine sandpaper to remove the factory finish. Good Luck and be very careful of your fingers when you make the cut, I block each side of the stock with a wooden shingle so it is perfectly flat on the table and solid with no visible rocking. Do not make the cut in one try, score the wood lightly first with the blade where you intend to cut it and check, only then should you start to remove the lower part of the stock in a couple pf passes, each a little deeper. Please be careful if you try this, the stock can move and I do not want anyone to lose any fingers....<><....
