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Can the LOP be increased ?

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wizard71

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I've been working on an underhammer for a few months now and have run into another little problem. This is the first time building a gun. So, please be nice.

Here's my problem.
I'm trying to put on a brass butt plate. I thought I'd save a little time and use a band saw to cut the curve of the plate. Well, I seem to have cut off a little too much wood, about an inch to much. :redface: Now the LOP is a little to short, about 13 inch it should be close to 14.
Is it possible to glue a 3/4 inch piece of wood on and reshape the stock? I know the wood wouldn't match, but I have a small piece of walnut and I thought the contrast with the maple might look interesting :hmm: or should I forget about the brass buttt plate and just add a modern recoil pad or just learn to live with a very short LOP.
 
Would you be able to be satisfied with a 13 inch LOP? It might not be all that undesirable with an underhammer if the barrel was long and heavy or if you wanted to keep your front hand farther away from the nipple. Maybe 13 inches plus a thicker buttplate would suffice. Do you think that you'd prefer curved or straight on this rifle when it's mounted to your shoulder?
Have you considered using bolts to secure any extension in addition to, or as a substitution for glue?
Installing metal bolt anchors might be another option to use instead of just simply driving the wood screws directly into the stock. They may help you to hold the entire buttstock addition and buttplate to the stock and remain removable, independent of any glue you use if you're careful. But these may not be really necessary.
What about a decorative spacer made of brass, or a black or white line type, placed in between the 2 different types of wood, or in-between the stock and buttpad if one isn't already included?
And I suppose a Morgan adjustable buttplate is simply out of the question? :grin:
 
Can you glue the cut off piece back on and try again? I know it wouldn't be a perfect match, but if you can get the two together well enough it might not look too bad.Doug
 
You could glue in your piece of walnut then use extra-long screws to attach the buttplate, making sure the screws penetrate the added wood and go right into the stock. BTW, what is LOP?
 
Glue and screw the cut off piece to the stock and cut it correctly. To hide the cut, use a leather sling with the butt wrapped in leather.
 
Thinking about your issue, I was thinking that you could attach the wood with glue, re-cut and then countersink a few screws and attach your butt plate. I don't know about adding the same type of wood, it would look like a mistake. If you added a different wood, lets say your walnut it would look like you ment to do it. If it is a inch, maybe you add spacers. Maybe slice a pc. of maple and the a small pc. of walnut. That would look like you wanted to add a little "design" to your rifle. Just an idea.
 
Or, if you wanted and were able to get a little fancy, a few original rifles had metal inlays inlet against the curve of the buttplate, covering the sides of the stock. These were usually, but not always, made as part of the patchbox sideplates. They were also more commonly seen in the later muzzleloading period, as inlays replaced wood carving as primary ornamentation on rifles -- the same period in which underhammers became more common. It'd make for a lot of metal back in the butt area, but might look better than the line that's bound to show when the cut-off wood's glued back on. The inlays overlapping and pinned on both sides of the glue line would also add strength to the repair.
 
Actually, this might work. Some of the Scheutzen buttplates are quite thick. I believe that TOW has them and maybe Pecatonia, too.
 
Instead of installing a solid chunk of brass or wood an inch thick to make up the length, why not make a little box out of brass sheet and put an FM radio or an mp3 player in there or something? You could engrave the outside of the box, give it an ornate edge where it attaches to the stock, and it would look totally natural and nobody would realize you have a cell-phone in there :grin: .
 
"How about using a really, really thick brass butt plate? Just joking."

Actually, that idea is no joke. A thick slab of brass stock tapped into place would make up some of the difference in the LOP.

A Scheutzen still buttplate is a possibility as well. Why not go for something really interesting and claim that was the plan all along?

One could put in a thin brass piece and then reinstall the cut off wood and the effect would similar to a wire inlay.

I know of one shooter who had a series of metal pieces which were removable so as to adjust his LOP as needed.

There are endless possibilities limited only by imagination and skill.

Just thought I would toss out a few ideas for consideration or ridicule as one sees fit.

CS
 
i like mongrels idea so i checked in the book kentucky rifles and pistols 1750-1850 if you can
 
i like mongrels idea so i checked in the book kentucky rifles and pistols 1750-1850 if you can get a hold of this book it shows several nice examples and you could hide you mistake plus dress up your gun to boot. kinda makes you wonder if maybe thats what they did :hmm: look on page 170 plus there are some other ones . well good luck with your project i hope it works out for you.

curly maple
 
Just a thought. You could glue a thin flat brass plate in between the two pieces of wood. It would give it an inlayed effect. Also I've seen curved brass butt plate that are flat on the wood side and curved at the end.

Put all this together and you'd have a nice brass inlaid wire look in front of the brass butt plate. You can pick up the thin brass plates at Dixie gun works. Or buy another rear stock from Numrich arms. They are walnut and not Maple like the ones from Deer Creek. Just a suggestion. Course I'm full of it. :shocked2: :rotf:
 
This is certainly not my type of gun, but I like Mongrel's idea too. Glue on your piece of wood, put on the buttplate, and cover up the mistake with inlays. Sideplates on the sides, toeplate on the bottom, and the buttplate tang should cover the top. No one would be the wiser... :hmm:
 
The nice thing about using a brass plate between the stock and extension is that you can skeletelize the brass" Plate", to remove weight, and no one will know. this also help make clearance for the wood screws you want to use to attach the extension to the plate and stock. If you are not that handy, then buying a new stock for it seems to be the cheapest, and most practical solution for you.
 
paulvallandigham said:
The nice thing about using a brass plate between the stock and extension is that you can skeletelize the brass" Plate", to remove weight, and no one will know. this also help make clearance for the wood screws you want to use to attach the extension to the plate and stock. If you are not that handy, then buying a new stock for it seems to be the cheapest, and most practical solution for you.

This is the one I like! :thumbsup:
 
Have you thought about puttin' a piece of brass tube/pipe between the stock and action? :hmm:
 
How about pulling out the triger plate, make a new trigger and plate with the trigger placed further forward. Just look at it, scratch your head for a while, cut out some patterns with thick paper. It shouldn'b too hard to get another inch.
Bill
 
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