Butt Plate fitment on SMR

[Brettitt41]

I am nearing the finished build stage with my Kibler .32 SMR and trying to get the butt plate fitted. I have a gap at the top and am unsure where I need to remove material from or how to remove the gap. I have gotten to where I have the wood screws holding it but don't want to go to far in the wrong direction. The plate seems twisted to me and is wood proud on one side and metal proud on the other. Thanks for any help.

 

[Snooterpup]

To start, you will need to remove all the screws as it appears your holes are off center pulling the butt plate askew. A very small amount of wood needs to be carefully shaved where the top of the butt plate meets the comb. Very small amount, then try for fit. A bit at a time. Do not remove too much at once. This will allow the top of the butt plate to shift toward the front of the gun. That gap will close. You will need to plug the incorrectly located screw holes with dowels and properly center and re-drill the holes. All of them. This will be necessary to have a good job. Don’t get discouraged.
Others will chime in too.
Work slow and carefully. Best of luck.

 

[Brettitt41]

To start, you will need to remove all the screws as it appears your holes are off center pulling the butt plate askew. A very small amount of wood needs to be carefully shaved where the top of the butt plate meets the comb. Very small amount, then try for fit. A bit at a time. Do not remove too much at once. This will allow the top of the butt plate to shift toward the front of the gun. That gap will close. You will need to plug the incorrectly located screw holes with dowels and properly center and re-drill the holes. All of them. This will be necessary to have a good job. Don’t get discouraged.
Others will chime in too.
Work slow and carefully. Best of luck.

Thank you. I had been removing, shaving, the comb/buttplate joint but was thinking I was taking off too much. I'll ignore the holes then and get good fitment then fill and drill as suggested.

 

[reddogge]

You can use some red lipstick on the buttplate to see what wood and where it needs to be removed. When redrilling the holes in the top of the buttplate drill them a hair more towards the front of the comb so the screws will pull them tight to the comb.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

Inletting black should tell you. I would look to the toe area.

 

[beagle74]

I ended up redrilling my screw holes after inletting buttplate on SMR, also. Not a big deal, really. The whole glue in a dowel thing.

 

[James Kibler]

Okay, here is what I would suggest. It appears a little wood needs to be removed from the front of the inlet. That is, the area nearest the barrel. This will help close up the gap. This is typically required on most of the inlets for these rifles.

We straighten these buttplate castings, but we can only get them so good. So, if you feel it needs tweaked and you have a stout vise, don't be afraid of bending things slightly. Oftentimes you can either bend a touch or just adjust the inletting. Both can work.

As far as screw holes go, I hear complaints, but for some reason I don't seem to ever have a problem with them. A few notes... They are purposefully offset so as to pull the buttplate in the proper directions. Some look, see this and think there is an issue. Also if you do seem to have a screw that wants to pull it off center, put this one in LAST. Tighten all the others first. This typically solves problems. You can also tap the buttplate to one side slightly with a hammer or mallet. This is not to say that we might have made a mistake. If so, the holes can easily be plugged and drilled, but putting the holes in the proper locations is no easy task.

I hope this helps. This task is probably the most difficult part of the SMR. We machine Woodsrunner buttplates for this very reason, but it's not an option on the SMR. I've contemplated making dies to hot for the castings to more consistent shape, but this isn't easily accomplished and has it's own difficulties.

 

[James Kibler]

Okay, here is what I would suggest. It appears a little wood needs to be removed from the front of the inlet. That is, the area nearest the barrel. This will help close up the gap. This is typically required on most of the inlets for these rifles.

We straighten these buttplate castings, but we can only get them so good. So, if you feel it needs tweaked and you have a stout vise, don't be afraid of bending things slightly. Oftentimes you can either bend a touch or just adjust the inletting. Both can work.

As far as screw holes go, I hear complaints, but for some reason I don't seem to ever have a problem with them. A few notes... They are purposefully offset so as to pull the buttplate in the proper directions. Some look, see this and think there is an issue. Also if you do seem to have a screw that wants to pull it off center, put this one in LAST. Tighten all the others first. This typically solves problems. You can also tap the buttplate to one side slightly with a hammer or mallet. This is not to say that we might have made a mistake. If so, the holes can easily be plugged and drilled, but putting the holes in the proper locations can be a little tricky.

I hope this helps. This task is probably the most difficult part of the SMR. We machine Woodsrunner buttplates for this very reason, but it's not an option on the SMR. I've contemplated making dies to hot for the castings to more consistent shape, but this isn't easily accomplished and has it's own difficulties.

 

[beagle74]

I wasn't complaining, it is a kit, afterall. I'm quite happy with it.

 

[Brettitt41]

Thank you all for your words of wisdom, especially from the owner of the company of my kit. You can't really beat that. Anyways I was able to utilize the existing screw holes with a combination of a little wood removal at the front of the butt to comb area to close the gap and then a little persuasion in the vice with the butt plate to get the twist out and well la a fitted butt plate. Now on to the fun stuff wood and metal finishing.

 

[James Kibler]

I wasn't complaining, it is a kit, afterall. I'm quite happy with it.

No worries . Just hoping to help