Challenge in fitting a steel butt plate.

[PathfinderNC]

I am building a SMR with steel furniture. The cast butt plate has a slight gap where about 2/3 of the contact area (wood to metal) in the crescent presents a small gap, probably less than a 1/64". (I can see light when looking at it from the side).
With brass butt plates, I was able to tap the butt plate with it on the stock to get a good fit, but I don't know what the steel will do if I try this.. It is probably much harder than brass and don't want to risk breaking the wood if I try tapping it to fit.
Any advise would be very helpful.
thanks!

 

[deerstalkert]

for 1/64 th i would mix up some bondo and spread it thin on the buttplate. seal the stock face with wax and screw the plate in place. OR, you can tear a strip of sandpaper in a strip and work from the middle of the gap to the heel . chances of getting it perfect by bending is small. just my 2 cents.

 

[SDSmlf]

You can beat the buttplate into submission as long as you keep it annealed, but always found the springback in steel hard to overpower. Suggest using something like Prussian Blue or lamp black on the back of the buttplate so you can see where it is hitting wood when you install it (maybe tap it lightly a few times). Carefully remove the slightest amount of wood with your sharpest small wood chisel where it is marked by the Prussian Blue or lamp black, barely removing the marking. Repeat until the buttplate is flush with the stock. It doesn’t take much to have it fully seated. Will seem to go very slow first time you attempt, but with some practice will move along quickly.

for 1/64 th i would mix up some bondo and spread it thin on the buttplate. seal the stock face with wax and screw the plate in place. OR, you can tear a strip of sandpaper in a strip and work from the middle of the gap to the heel . chances of getting it perfect by bending is small. just my 2 cents.

Save the Bondo for patching up rusted out fenders on old cars. And blindly using sandpaper is a fool’s errand, at least in my opinion

 

[French Colonial]

SDSmlf has the correct approach, prussian blue and sharp tools, you can make it look like the wood grew around the metal if you take your time.

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
Cast steel butt plates are a pain and even after annealing, they can be tough to hammer to fit. If it was formed from sheet iron or steel like the originals, it would be easy. If the gap is confined to just a small spot, you can rest the edge on an anvil and peen that spot to spread the metal into the gap but you have to smooth the dimples later. Most cast plate have enough extra metal thickness to allow that. However, if the gap is over more than just a small spot, you need to continue inletting to eliminate it.

dave

 

[Tom A Hawk]

Scrape, fit, repeat...

 

[Vaino]

Keep on inletting the Bplate until the job is DONE!.....Fred

 

[user 34300]

Assuming the top extension shelf is flat and at the right angle, continue with the spotting compound until you are perfect. Move foreword and leave the shelf alone. Make all cuts toward the center of the stock to avoid chip out. I use a rasp until I am chasing the marks then change to a double cut file, then sandpaper. Use a sharp chisel to cut the foreword vertical part of the top extension as needed.

Do not beat the butplate against the wood. That will spall off pieces of wood and ruin the stock.

A big fat sharpie marker is my preferred spotting stuff. Greasy stuff make a mess and is not pressure sensitive. I get false marks with greasy stuff.

 

[Sidney Smith]

Mix up a little bit of acraglas, dye it brown to approximate the final stock color. Put the glass on the stock where the gap is. Add release agent or some vaseline to the buttplate, and attach buttplate. Once cured, sand stock sides smooth. Once finished you wont even know a gap was there.

 

[PathfinderNC]

Thanks guys. Thanks for all the suggestions and warnings. I was afraid the steel wouldn't respond as kindly as brass does. I don't know what to do about the issues with the casting either, where the edges are very rough and not flush. Sanding it in would really take off a lot of wood to get the surfaces flat.
I will just have to work at the stock patiently. Obviously using any filler is out of the question, It seems the top of the butt plate may need to be inlet forward a bit to get the crescent shapes to join. With this pre-carved stock, there just isn't any wiggle room.
I am kind of surprised because this is a high-end kit and thought the fit would be much closer. I hope the rest of the rifle fares better.
I am attaching some pictures to show what the challenge is.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

You may need to true up the butt plate edges with a file to eliminate casting voids.

 

[PathfinderNC]

You may need to true up the butt plate edges with a file to eliminate casting voids.

I think so. But it will require a lot of wood to be removed to get it flush. Ugh...

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
I am surprised considering it is one of Jim Kibler's kits. It just may be a miss by his QC methods. Anyway, PathfinderNc, yes it is a bit of a pain, but those things teach us. Thanks for including the photos, which help a lot. I think you only need to remove a tiny bit of wood at the point of the heel and maybe a tiny bit across the front of the return (tang) and it will nestle in nicely. The edges of the butt plate look a bit ragged to me. I wonder if the casting is not the best. Also, put the screws in and tighten them down and see if that draws it in.

dave

 

[Hatchet-Jack]

My Kibler SMR was about the same. I think this is normal on this kit. Jim's instructions and videos say you will have to fit the butt plate. I used Inletting black, half round file, sharp chisel. Take your time and you'll get a nice fit.

 

[PathfinderNC]

Hi,
I am surprised considering it is one of Jim Kibler's kits. It just may be a miss by his QC methods. Anyway, PathfinderNc, yes it is a bit of a pain, but those things teach us. Thanks for including the photos, which help a lot. I think you only need to remove a tiny bit of wood at the point of the heel and maybe a tiny bit across the front of the return (tang) and it will nestle in nicely. The edges of the butt plate look a bit ragged to me. I wonder if the casting is not the best. Also, put the screws in and tighten them down and see if that draws it in.

dave

Bave, yes, it's a Kibler and I was surprised at the fit, considering how well the Colonial went on. Nonetheless, no gripes really, just a bit of a curve ball. I got spoiled the first go-round.
I took your advise and took a wee bit off the front of the tang' area and also the heel. I also filed the metal sides inward, toward the stock and seems that it's a better fit now. I will use some water next to swell the wood a bit.
The casting is quite rough on one edge, and I filed away some of the metal. But I am afraid to remove too much or the comb will be kind-of skinny. I hope that bit of casting flaw will not be very distracting.
Here's a few of how it is going.
~Bob

 

[PathfinderNC]

My Kibler SMR was about the same. I think this is normal on this kit. Jim's instructions and videos say you will have to fit the butt plate. I used Inletting black, half round file, sharp chisel. Take your time and you'll get a nice fit.

Thanks for that info, H-J. I didn't notice that part in the video, so I am glad it's not just mine that's being a challenge LOL.

 

[SDSmlf]

Edit: Didn’t see @Hatchet Jack ‘s post until after I posted below.

Remember, you are working with a kit. Have you reviewed Jim Kibler’s video on fitting the buttplate? He starts the buttplate 22 and a half minutes into this video.

Note in this screenshot from the video, even though it is a brass buttplate, the fit appears similar to the one in photograph you posted. The fitting process is the same with either.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I have an early SMR kit, almost everything just took a little wood removal to fit, not so the buttplate which took a complete inlet just like one of my other builds.

I built an English fowler with one of those nightmare steel buttplates, I inletted until I was blue in the face and always had a slight gap at the toe. I redid it several time and couldn't get rid of that gap. In frustration I pulled the buttplate off, heated the toe to red hot and smacked it with a hammer. After it cooled I tried the fit again, perfect fit, no gap.

I don't plan to do another gun with this buttplate ever again.

 

[Nameless Hunter]

Had a similar problem with my Colonial. Careful sanding of the wood fixed it.

 

[Sidney Smith]

I see your issue now. You will need to file the casting marks off the steel plate, and inlet the stock some. It wont take much to get it to lay right. Use inletting black and take your time and you will get it to sink in. Remember too the butt plate screws will bring the plate home when tightened down as well.