Question for you stock makers

[Glockfan]

First off, Hi! been awhile since i've been on the site.

When you are fitting your stock to the receiver, do you treat the area that connects to the receiver any differently than the rest of the stock? (I guess -bedding is the word I am looking for) Again my question is not about the fore end, but I'm asking if you bed the stock or treat it differently to strengthen that area.  I was just curious since it is an area under a decent amount of pressure from being bolted to the receiver. I know I posted a long time ago that I was making a stock... and it was turning out fairly well for my first try at it, but then I got really sick which led to some temporary paralysis - I attempted to work on the stock before I should of during my recovery time... and i FUBAR'D it  .... but it was a learning experience... So i started a new one sunday night... got the blank cut and drilled and now fit to the receiver... now I am getting the fore end fit to the receiver/barrel.

So all that is left is to make it all comfy an high speed looking and get it all fit to my specs. I'm actually gonna use an Ebony colored semi-transparent stain - either Cabot or Minwax. (I think it will look really sharp when done) I'll be putting stain samples on an extra piece to decide which I like better (leaning towards the cabot right now) then I'll finish it off with a satin polyurethane - probably Minwax.

more questions though - how many coats of the polyurethane do you all use? my stock is made out of White Oak, so should I use a Wood Pore Filler before staining? Also, would you recommend brushing or rubbing on the stain? I was thinking rubbing - but since this is the first one I'm open to all suggestions.

Thanks,

dcary7

[gunther66]

Be careful with Cabots stains.They don't  penetrate like and oil stain.Don't think you mentioned what type wood you are using but if birch,I would think you need an oil stain. H & R  appears to mix the stain into the finish rather than staining and then varnishing(or whatever it is they use)  G66

[parkergunshop]

Dcary7,

You did not mention the caliber or action type.

However for bolt actions with calibers over .338 Winchester Magnum a cross bolt behind the recoil lug is recommended,  for a .458 Magnum two cross bolts one behind the recoil lug and one behind the magazine in front of the trigger.

For all bolt actions AcraGlas bed the entire length of the action and the first two inches of the barrel.  This adds strength and improves the fit for accuracy purposes.  It also corrects any inletting errors.

A laminated wood stock is much stronger than a plain wood one and will handle the recoil from the magnum chamberings better.  Laminated wood weights more but the extra weight helps reduce the recoil.

I find it interesting that you are making a stock using Oak, it is a strong wood, but harder to inlet and finish.   I rub on any stain used and wipe any excess off to avoid streaking or puddling.   Never used polyurethane on a gunstock so I can't advise you there.

best of luck with your stock.

[mauser98us]

shoe dye works well as a stain

[Dinny]

You did not mention the caliber or action type.

I'm almost certain that the action type is single-shot and the caliber is smaller/less than a 338 WM. 


Thanks, Dinny

[Glockfan]

Sorry for the lack of info and thank you for the replies.

The Cabot stain that I am looking at is a tung oil based formula... and on my wood sample... it penetrated a lot better than the Minwax from what I can see.

I am using White Oak - on my H R .308.. It is a very hard wood (which is how I ruined the first stock I tried making ... drilling the bolt hole through the stock got messed up... along with other small mistakes I made, I decided to scrap the first one.. but I learned from my mistakes) As long as you dont try and take too much off at once its not that bad to work with. I wanted a much harder wood so that it would force me to slow down and take my time. I'm doing it all with hand tools so I can get a feel for the wood. At least on this first one, I'm making the stock moreso for the experience of it rather than just rushing to have a finished project. I was originally intending to use Walnut, but i couldnt find a good piece that I liked, so I settled for oak. Honestly with the ebony stain I think it is going to look really good.

The stock is plenty heavy so I'm not worried about the recoil of the .308 really - anything is heavier than that survivor stock. . I'll also be fitting it with a grind to fit recoil pad - i was leaning towards a kick-eez. So it should be pretty enjoyable to shoot.

I will look into the AcraGlas Bed kit for it. Thanks for the suggestion.

dcary7

[ThomD]

If part of your question is what is the effect of pulling that endgrain up against the action with a bolt going to be, the answer ought to be next to no effect.

Endgrain wood is in the 5-10 k pounds range per square inch.  A 3.5x3.5 cheaper 2x post will carry second story loads over 10 feet spans.  Think of someone leaning back to balance a chair on one white oak leg.  recoil pressure should be easy in comparison.  Getting a nice fit can be difficult, and even though end grain is massively strong, you can still gain something by epoxy bedding it.

[necchi]

  Getting a nice fit can be difficult, and even though end grain is massively strong, you can still gain something by epoxy bedding it.

Epoxy Bedding it?
 Took awhile for that to sink in when thinking of a Handi Butt stock, but I think ThomD is right. Getting that Convex end with center line to fit perfectly to the frame across the entire surface would be a tuff job without machine tools.
 Carving/shaping end grain is a PITA, and to get the benefit of full strength it's going to need to have much of that surface in proper contact with the frame.

[Glockfan]

If part of your question is what is the effect of pulling that endgrain up against the action with a bolt going to be, the answer ought to be next to no effect.

Endgrain wood is in the 5-10 k pounds range per square inch.  A 3.5x3.5 cheaper 2x post will carry second story loads over 10 feet spans.  Think of someone leaning back to balance a chair on one white oak leg.  recoil pressure should be easy in comparison.  Getting a nice fit can be difficult, and even though end grain is massively strong, you can still gain something by epoxy bedding it.

Yes this was part of my question. Thank you that helps clear up my question. I wasnt aware that end grain wood was that strong. It WAS a pain and I struggled with it alot on the first stock I attempted. This one went a lot smoother, but still took me about 4 1/2 hours of carving and sanding to get a clean fit. I don't even want to think about how many times I had to reattach the stock to receiver to see if i was getting closer... take a lil off and check it over and over... but I have a good fit right now on it, but I do feel that bedding it would help make it a smoother fit across it as I am sure it is not perfect right now. There is no light visible through the contact anywhere, so I know that I have pretty flush contact right now.

thanks for the responses

dcary7

[Glockfan]

Ok, I have decided to go with :
Stock Filler from Brownells (same as French Red but no tint)
Ebony Stain from Cabot (upon sample testing it seems to soak in and look better than the Minwax)
and then a few layers of Tru Oil to top it off.
Also, I am going to bed the rifle with ACRAGLAS by Brownells.
I believe I am going to go with a grind to fit kick eez shoulder pad also.

It'll be a few weeks before its all said and done, but I'll get pictures up when I can get it finished.

dcary7