fixing bad tang inletting

[michael mcghee]

like to fix the cheek piece on mine.. needs to be a little smaller. duelist 1954 used a french curve . what can you use beside's a french curve to mark the cheek piece??

 

[SDSmlf]

Freehand with a pencil until it looks like what you want.

 

[michael mcghee]

got it out line with a pencil about 1/2 it dont look right???

 

[Phil Coffins]

Try ending the front of the line at a point that is in the center of the wrist. Don’t sweep it up to the comb. You shouldn’t have a flute at the comb but the front edge of the comb is thinner. I’ll post a photo if that would help you.

 

[Phil Coffins]

An original.
all 197 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

 

[Realwarrior]

I use one of these to mark layouts on wood and leather

 

[Steve P Peterson]

The pattern in the stock photos looks a lot like the grain Beech wood has.
If the stock was blond after the factory coatings were removed then Beech it is.

Beech is notorious for having a very tight grain that doesn't accept oil based stains well (if at all). A alcohol or water base stain usually works pretty good on it.
If that is what the stock has on it, then that is about as good as it gets.

I have found that Rit dye of brown and red, mixed appropriately with rubbing alcohol does well on beech. It sinks right in and then is easily finished.

 

[michael mcghee]

it look blond it was a lite color stock

 

[michael mcghee]

It looks like you have a good start there, from what I can see you need to blend the wrist more and make things flow from the lock panels back into the buttstock. Use a good flat sanding block on the lock panel and it will gain you some width if you need it. At this point you could also add some "beaver tails" and make a nice side plate to class it up some, or not, whatever. You could do all kinds of stuff to this gun and give it some "purtty" like lock moldings, beaver tails and tang carving as well as a thumb piece. It would never be mistaken for someone else's "off the shelf" rifle!
When you are ready to stain make sure you sand and steel wool all your file marks out, use water to raise the grain and sand some more! Why not look at Laurel Mountain stains? (www.trackofthewolf.com) I would try nut brown (it has some red in it and brings out the highs and lows in the wood well) or honey brown ( for a lighter color) go behind that with some of Watco's Danish oil (natural) and let it soak in. Come back at it with linseed and hand rub the heck out of it.
These are all just suggestions form a rifle builder but, "you do as you think best..."

finally found time.. been working long hours.. going back and redoing the stock.got the cheek piece almost done i thank?? will post a few picture sunday. any brand of linseed oil you recommend?? got the lock panels clean up some .. thanks michael

 

[theC525]

When you apply the first coat of Danish oil dip a very fine piece of steel wool into it and go over the whole stock with it. This will help to "bleed" some of the stain back out of the wood and bring out the highs and lows in the grain, give it about three coats of the Danish and let it "rest" for a day or two before going on to the next step. Those white/ light areas are harder grain in the wood, like the curls in maple. It looks like you have a Beech wood stock, there's really nothing you can do about them. I use a good quality boiled linseed oil,( I think it's a WATCO product as well) you don't need much of it because you'll be hand rubbing it in. let it dry some between coats, if it gets sticky you are putting too much on, you can buff it back out with a shop towel. You can do the hand rubbing while watching T.V., just remember to have an old towel on your lap because the stain will "bleed" out of the wood slightly. It will stop after everything drys. Try really, really hard to keep the linseed oil OFF of the lock,( I usually take my locks out when I'm rubbing a coat in) otherwise it will get sticky and slow your lock down. Every few months, after a shoot, if you have been hunting in weather you should apply a thin coat if linseed oil, (you can wipe the excess off with a soft dry towel) this will keep the "pretty" on your rifle as well as protect it's finish. Remember, to build up a good hand rubbed finish takes time, your wife might get jealous...

 

[michael mcghee]

you apply that after the stains?? it should be in friday went with laurel mountain nut brown..

 

[michael mcghee]

got 4 coats of nut brown on it and 4 coats of watco danish oil on it.. how long will it bleed the stain out?? wipe it try between coats and still bleeding the stain out.. got the last coat on about 600 sat night. let it set all day sunday and almost all day monday wipe it down today still has a redish tent on the rags???? did i put to much on it?? put the first coat on with 0000 steal wool rest with a paint brush... thanks michael