Copying a Stock Profile

[dd832]

I wanted to copy an existing Jenks Carbine stock and I designed a tool made from scrap wood to hold a pencil to trace the outside profile.
The tool is made from a piece of wood cut to right angles along the bottom & front & back side. A hole is drilled to intersect the front corner of the block - I drilled the hole at 60 degree angle but a steeper angle like 70 or 80 degrees would be better. The tool holds a pencil that meets at the bottom corner of the block of wood. The mechanical pencil I used fit into a 5/16" hole pretty snug, but I had tapped the wood for a no.10-24 machine bolt anyway.
Here's some photos of the tool -


The block of wood is 3-3/4" long x 3-1/8" tall x 1-1/4" wide. The front of the block is tapered to 1/4" wide, but I think going as small as 1/8" in a piece of beech or maple would be better for tracing. I think I may have seen this type of tracing tool long ago in the past but I could not find it on the "net" or youtube.
The only critical part is to have the front edge in line with the tip of the pencil at a right angle. Use a small square to check that the pencil lead touches the paper when the square is touching the front edge. Here's another view -

If the front edge is too far ahead of the lead tip trim it back, if the pencil tip is too far forward of the front edge then cut some of the bottom off.
Hope this tool may help someone trying to duplicate a stock sometime.

Here are a couple of photos of the Jenks carbine drawing I am doing -


later, Mike

 

[Cruzatte]

That is a brilliant idea! I'll be copying that tool in the future, I believe.

 

[Metalshaper]

Mike,

That's a WOW!!! Great tool and an even better show of "how it's done"

Respect Always
Metalshaper / Jonathan

 

[longcruise]

Buchelle illustrates that tool in "Recreating The American Longrifle.

 

[dd832]

Buchelle illustrates that tool in "Recreating The American Longrifle.

Thanks longcruise, I said that I thought I had seen a tracing tool like this before, but couldn't remember where. It's on page 10 of "Recreating The American Longrifle". Also, they (Buchele,Shumway, Alexander) show the front edge of the tool with a very narrow edge like I recommended above. I haven't opened that book in at least a decade, but at least I remembered some of the things I had read!
This is one of those books that everyone who builds should have in their library.

 

[longcruise]

I thought about making one but it's still one of those round tuits. It would be handy for many things.

 

[Cody1776]

Love it. Great post !