Cast on by bending

[fleener]

I got a kiln full of hickory that I am picking up on Monday from Iowa State University here in Ames. They dried it for me as part of a class. I will ask the phd on Monday some of these questions, see if he has any experience with bending wood and what happens with it.

Fleener

 

[jerrywh]

I remember the guy that burned the stock. He never did what I told him to do.
That is one reason I don't give out info on this procedure on the forum much. Like I said, The procedure isn't for pot heads. I don't use steam on gunstocks because it raises the grain too much and leaves too much moisture in the wood. Most furniture makers use steam for temp control and because they do it before they finish and it is less messy. I learned what I know on bending stocks from Steve Nelson. Steve was an officer in the American custom gun makers guild for many years. Those guys are the top in the world. The trouble with forums is there are too many cases of the blind leading the blind. You will get arguments from people who have never built a gun and all they know is rumors. The oil has nothing to do with lubricating the wood it is only for transmitting heat and retaining it. The same goes for the water. Native Americans and other bow makers have been bending bows and straightening arrows with heat for thousands of years without steam or oil. Now there are some saying is doesn't work. Are we getting smarter or what?

 

[ApprenticeBuilder]

Well it does not take a rocket scientist or pot head to figure out that oil is not the only way that will work to bend a gun stock.

On older finishes the oil has a very good chance to cause problems, just watch the ole' boy in the Brownells video.

 

[jerrywh]

There is no way to bend a gunstock without effecting other parts of the gun. The finish is the least of the problems. I can touch up finish perfectly in no more than two days. Tang fit and trigger guard are two other problems. If you give a gun more drop you will have to stretch the tang and re inlet The trigger guard. If you give it cast off or on it will effect the trigger guard and tang as well. If one does not have the skill to deal with these problems then don't do it or learn the skills.
Also the gun needs to be in a fixture so that the area of the lock cannot be allowed to bend.
It is not a Cheech and Chong type operation.
It is for professional gun makers.

 

[ApprenticeBuilder]

Agreed,

there are many things in life that cannot be cheech and chonged.......

or should be attempted without some serious research and the realization that you may simply destroy the piece your working on and will need to produce another.

 

[nhmoose]

Mike Orlen gunsmith in MA bends stocks by hot oil method. His info can be found at the Double Gun Journal board.