Building your own forend

[bigbuck270]

In an effort to mount a bipod onto my encore I think I need a forend that will accept it.  I can't find one that has a flat bottom.  I am concidering constructing one of my own.  Have any of you tried to build your own?  Any suggestions?

[bull]

I built one a year or two ago. Didn't like the way the carbine forearms fit or felt.  Took a solid block of walnut, about twice the size needed. Got a long 3/4" wood boring bit. Drilled through lengthwise for barrel channel. Then split in half. Sanded out to proper barrel size. Hardest part is getting the cuts and notches for the frame. Go slow and with any kind of woodworking skill you should be ok.  I may be building another soon myself from the leftover half.

[KYODE]

my nephew is a great woodworker as a hobby, and has the tools. i had him make me a wide flat forend each for the contender and encore. he done a great job.
didn't have any walnut wide enough, so he wood glued 3 pieces together, then worked from there. can hardly tell they are glued together either.
i finished them with a few coats of tru-oil, and they look pretty good.
he told me the encore was gonna be one of a kind, because he had a time getting the barrel channel right, since the encore has a tapered barrel.
the contender is much easier with it's straight bull barrel.
he used a router to cut the barrel channel, and put a bevel on each side of the forearm.
it can be done quite nice with the right tools, and patience to make it work.
also, "Georgia jim" does grips and forearms in laminates. sharp! from what i've seen on the net. http://www.olegeorgiajim.com/

[Rupe/PA]

A number of years ago I ordered an unfinished forearm from Bullberry.  This was a target style with a long,wide, flat forearm.   Works great with a Harris Bi-pod mounted to the front swivel.  You can get all the stocks in an economy grade for a good price.

[Raven]

I was not happy with the short kninny rubber forend that came with my 15 inch 308 caliber encore.  I wanted one that was wider and longer. I just finished making one myself.  Here is what I did.  

Basically, I modified a Boyd's laminate forend that was originally made for a rifle.  I shortened the length from around 12 inches to 8.5 inches in length and slighly recontoured it.  The hole spacing for a rifle is not the same for a pistol, so I had to drill another hole in the forend to accomodate the pistol barrel hole spacing.  That left an extra hole in the forend which I drilled out and filled with an Uncle Mike's flush mount sling swivel mount.  The rear hole in the forearm is the same on both the rifle and pistol, so it was useable as is.  I also sanded out the barrel channel slightly and glued some stainless washers in the channel to float the barrel.  It was a pepper laminate, so I applied a light coat of ebony stain to darken it a bit to match the rufbber grips, then finished with true oil.

The rifle forend that I started with cost me $35 from Boyd's, plus a few evenings worth of work.  I am very happy with the way it turned out.  Cost effective and good looking to boot.  I will try to post a pic if I get a chance to take one tonight.

[KN]

I have made several for both Contenders and Encores. You really need a small mill to cut the frame end reliefs. The Contenders are pretty easy with a straight barrel. The Encores are a little trickier because of the tapered barrel.  KN

[old4x4]

I have no factory forends for my Encore and Contender.  Get a couple of files, a couple grades of sandpaper, and I used a Router to do the barrel channel.  I used a dremel for the cutout on the receiver side, drilled the two holes (or one hole) and muxed up sone "putty epoxy)  What I did was put a piece of tape over the barrel screw holes and put a wad of this epoxy over the forearm holes (and press it against the bbl) until cured.  Redrill the holes in the forend and put in your screws.  It kinda "floats" the barrel.   I did this with my Contender.  For my Encore, I do not have my barrels yet (12" 454 Casull fact and a 26" 6.5-06 AI custom), but the forearms are waiting.  My 454 barrel should be here Fri..

[MnMike]

I am just finishing one. I used router, bandsaw, Dremel, belt sander, drill press, files, sandpaper and dowel for finishing the barrel channel, and a fair bit of head scratching.

good luck!

mike

[Jerry J]

I had Virgin Valley rough me a forend. Pillar bedded, wide flat and all the main cuts were done. I cut to length shaped it for a harris bipod and finished it. It was fairly economical, contact them.   Jerry J

[Nashcat]

bigbuck

PM sent.

Nashcat

[bigbuck270]

Thanks for all the help I am in working progress.  I wll let you all know how it turns out.  The trick is going to be matching the tapered barrel.

[Raven]

Here is a picture at my attempt at a semi home made forend.
[http://www.hunt101.com/img/092140.jpg]

[Raven]

It looks like I may need help posting the pic.

[Raven]

Pic attempt #2

[KYODE]

that is a great lookin forearm! was it very hard to cut down from the rifle fit?

[Raven]

It was very easy to cut down from the rifle configuration.  The only thing that you have to do is to drill one new hole for the pistol mounitng screw spacing.  The rear hole that comes in the forearm for is in the same place for both the rifle and pistol barrels.  The beauty of this deal is that the barrel contour is the same on both rifle and pistol barrels.  The only modification that I made to the barrel channel was to slightly open it up with sandpaper so that I could float the barrel and glue in some stainless washers.  If you wanted a forearm that would work on both a rifle and a pistol, you could leave it as it comes from Boyd's and just drill the one new hole required to accomodate the pistol hole spacing for the mounting screws.  At that point you would not even have to refinish it.  I already have a rifle forend that I like and wanted a shorter one for the pistol set up so I cut this one down to 8. inches with a 30 degree reverse taper at the end.

The hardest part is getting the required hole drilled in exactly the right place, and the countersink for the screw head drilled to the right depth.  I had the benefit of a drill press, belt sander, and compound miter saw, but any drill, saw, and sandpaper would suffice, it just may not turn out quite as precise.

[Bullseye]

Gunstocks Inc sells a big walnut target style forearm that goes with their thumbhole stock set.  It is not perfectly flat on the bottom, but is semi finished and thick so you could easily make it flat before finishing.  Cost is only $25.

[Ks.coyote]

Raven you did good. Great Pix to. When I cut up wood it goes to the fire place, that is my wood working ability. :-)

[old4x4]

Here's my attempt.  I ordered a bunch of 1/8" pieces of maple, cherry and walnut, glued them together and proceded to cutting, filing and sanding.  I wanted to stain it dk green, but the stuff is kind of expensive, so I just gave 6 coats of semi-gloss polyurethane.

[Lawful Larry]

Nice job Old4x4, it came out beautiful.     :wink:

LL

[Tommyt]

Here's my attempt.  I ordered a bunch of 1/8" pieces of maple, cherry and walnut, glued them together .

Great Job
Can you tell me what type of glue is used when doing this
Thanks
Tom

[old4x4]

Tom, I used Titebond II from Home Depot, Wal Mart, etc.  just regular wood glue.  Fired a bunch of full power 454 Casulls thru it this past Sunday(not at all pleasant) and it held up.  I was quite satisfied.  That glue is strong stuff.

[Keith L]

Tom, I used Titebond II from Home Depot, Wal Mart, etc.  just regular wood glue.  Fired a bunch of full power 454 Casulls thru it this past Sunday(not at all pleasant) and it held up.  I was quite satisfied.  That glue is strong stuff.

A Titebond glue joint with flat, clean glue surfaces of normal (non oily) wood if clamped appropriately will be stronger than the parent wood.

Nice job.  I can glue the stuff up, but the finished product isn't pretty.  I am a tech, not an artist.