Help with pre-carved stock

[mountain-man740]

Any advice on how to straighten a warped stock. The barrel channel warped before the barrel was installed. The channel & barrel are 15/16" straight octagon. Any advice would be helpful.

 

[Davemuzz]

Not that I know the answer.....but I'm gonna ask....how much warp are we talking about here? And are we talking about a full length stock or half-stock? (Maybe you said that.....but now that I hit the response button.....I can't see your question anymore.....and I could go and open up another Window and find it.....but I'm too lazy to do that. :grin: )

Dave

 

[mountain-man740]

It's a full stock & it is warped about an inch or so.

 

[rtdoug]

Call the seller.
IF dry, I wouldn't expect that kind of warpage.
It could have been worse had you assembled it...

 

[54ball]

I assume this is a pre inlet stock. How this stuff normally works out, is that its been in the closet for two years and warped. So you may not can send it back. If it is in fact new I would say send it back. If you can't send it back or like the figure and want to keep it, you'll just have to work through it.

The simplest solution would be to place the barrel or even a suitable length of pipe tape it tight at the breech and work your way to the muzzle. If the warp is severe do not force it slowly work the stock to the barrel. It may take a couple of
days to pull it together. After it is tight it will be safe to store.

As far as inletting it may just be another bump in the road to get over. You'll have to inlet the the breech and maybe even the whole barrel channel to get a perfect fit as you would have to do with all pre carves. This means removing marking your barrel many times to fit the breech or the barrel. Each time the barrel is removed it will more than likely want to spring back to the warp. In your inletting you'll need to tape it down each time. That just means extra steps. You'll have to use your head at the warped area to make sure the inletting is true. You may be lucky as many precarves may require little finish in the barrel channel. A piece of steel rod in the ramrod channel may help.
Most forestocks on long rifles are no wider than 1/8 inch past the barrel at the fattest part of the stock. That tapers down to 1/16 from the ramrod entry to the muzzle. This is very thin and the barrel supports the wood. After it is thinned down the pins should hold it. Again you'll have to use your head in the warped area to make sure you're true as you thin the fore stock.

The stock from now on should have the barrel or some means of keeping it straight especially after it is thinned.

 

[Birddog6]

If it is only an inch, I would go on & build the rifle & not worry about it. An inch warp is not uncommon & will usually work out as you build the rifle & thin the wood down at the forestock.

Oct/Round cam be a lil more of an issue, as sometimes they want to twist at the muzzle, as there are no flats to retain the stock straight. In this instance, you can get the underlugs on, accraglass them & thus the glass bedded underlug will hold the stock true to the muzzle.

But anyway, if thus warp is really bothering you, since it is a straight barrel, that means the barrel will normally lay in the channel. If this is true, you could take some wet rags & lay in the barrel channel for 3-4 hours, then take them out, oil the barrel & put the barrel in the channel, (or lay a piece of wax paper or shrink wrap between the barrel & damp stock) take about 10' of surgical tubing & start at the breech & strap the barrel in as tight as you can, go all the way down to the muzzle & back, forcing the barrel into the channel & wrap back to the muzzle. Stand the rifle almost vertical in the corner & forget it for a month. After a month take it out & check it.

Keith Lisle

 

[oldarmy]

sounds like you have fixed one before :hmm:

 

[mountain-man740]

Thanks for the info. Will the warp pressure affect anything later on? I have had the stock too long to send back and I really like the grain.
I now have the barrel installed in the channel, but as was said when barrel is removed the wood warps back.But I am continuing on!

 

[Birddog6]

I keep about 60-70 blanks & ? 6 to 12 stocks cut out & shaped here all the time. I try to keep the barrels in them for just this reason. You lean that stock in a corner with no barrel in it, most likely it is going to warp eventually. A barrel strapped in it eliminates that issue. Have worked lots of them with slight warps in them. The ones you really want to insure have a barrel in it is any with a knot or the edge of a knot in the forestock. That dang sure WILL warp & I will guarantee it, no barrel there, it is going to warp. Some a little, some allot, but it will warp.
The warps are not so bad usually, the twists are the ones that aggravate me. Those can be a real PITA.

Keith Lisle

 

[rafterob]

I had the same problem on a second stock I bought. Strapped the barrel in it and let it set for 2 weeks, warp all gone. As long as you have enough humidity in the air it should come back fine. If you live somewhere like Phoenix AZ.you might need to stick it in a humidifier cabinet or keep it in the bathroom.

 

[Dave Young]

I wouldn't waste your time, I would box everything up and give it to your brother inlaw!! :rotf:

 

[mountain-man740]

I could . . . . but he would probably bend the barrel to match the stock. :blah:

 

[Birddog6]

You could always cut it off & make a derringer out of it :hmm: That is what I am going to do here, just as soon as I whittle this stock down to fit the barrel. :grin:

Keith Lisle

 

[ronrryan]

Sometimes in boatbuilding a piece of wood can be wrapped in hot toweling and boiling water poured on the toweling to effect a bend as required. Some variation on this theme could be worked to get the forestock straight again, I imagine. Good smoke, Ron

 

[bedbugbilly]

I don't know if I fully understand in which direction your warp goes but will tell you my experience. I bought a curly maple "second" precarved fullstock at Friendship a number of years ago with a 13/16" barrel channel. It looked like it had been leaned against a wall and the muzzle end was warped down for about 12 - 14 inches or so. My intent was to cut it down and make a halfstock out of it. It was going to be a while until I would be working on that rifle so I decided to experiment on it. I put in a 13/16" barrel and clamped it in a number of places from the breech end towards the muzzle. Over a period of time - probably a couple of months, I kept tightening the clamps on the muzzle end until I was able to bring it up so the barrel was fully seated in the channel. I let it set that way for several more months until I was ready to work on it and when I took the clamps off, it stayed put. It didn't seem to create any problems once the barrel was pinned in. Had that not worked, I would have tried what the one gentleman suggested in reference to boat building - I would have either used the towel and boiling water treatment or steamed it. But . . . I didn't have a lot of money in the stock so if it hadn't have worked, I would have just used it for a halfstock. I have a cabinetmaking background and I have some backgorund in steaming wood so it didn't scare me off. Some might claim that it would increase the moisture content and it probably would have, but once clamped and set back, it would have dried down rather quickly. Of course the barrel would have wanted to be well sealed with paste wax or something similar to keep it from rusting. Good luck with your project and I hope it all works out for you.