Modifying Barrel Beds

[roundball]

Posted this here for opinions since the question has to do with rifle stocks:
FYI, TC Hawken stocks come in two sizes:

.45/.50cal barrels are 15/16" and fit into the 'regular' size TC Hawken stocks with matching barrel beds;

.54/.58cal barrels are 1" and fit into slightly physically larger TC Hawken stocks with 1" barrel beds;

QUESTION:
If the difference in the width of the barrel beds is only 1/16" total, making it only 1/32" difference on each side, is it reasonable to assume a 15/16" barrel bed could be shaved open to accept a 1" barrel, without weakening the edges of the fore stock enough to be a problem?

(I think the tang with it's 1" face will interchange with a 15/16" and almost drop in, or require very minor tweaking to drop in.

The reason I ask is that I have a few spare, attractive 15/16" stocks and was thinking about trying one for a 1" .54cal barrel, if I could modify it with a strong probabability that it would work OK.

Would appreciate thoughts about risk and probability from some experienced rifle builders, thanks

 

I have done this switch with several barrels in both TC and scrath built guns. Shooting one as my regular off hand rifle right now that started as a scratch built 1"x42" .58 Green Mountain barrel but now has a 15/16x36" .45 Douglas barrel sitting in the stock. (we don't talk about that little accident any more) 1/32 on each side of the tube has drawn not a single comment from any one. Of course the stripe in the stock is so vivid they are usually looking at that instead of the hairline gap. Even with the change in bedding it shoots better than I can. (that is not necessarily a good thing!!) But I am still hitting the 50 yard steel gongs, and people are still asking me who built the gun. (like I couldn't build a nice looking accurate rifle????)
I also have a scratch built Jager rifle that has endured a humiliating series of barrel changes from a swamped Colrain, to 7/8=15/16=1" as I scarfed its barrel for a more "important" project and religated it to the status of "comercial barrel holder". The arcitecture was wrong, too poor to show off/to good to throw away. It has provided a home for a series of CVA and Traditions barrels in all sorts of sizes. Right now it has a CVA Misouri Hunter barrel .50 cal and shoots it as well as the factory stock but has Davis triggers and a tuned Siler lock.
People get too nit-picky about some things if they know about them. If you do not point them out they usually never notice any thing but how well the gun shoots. Some barrels you can duct tape to a 2x4 and still get good groups, or at least no worse than you were before!
Borrow a barrel from some one and try the switch, if it is large to small, you may be pleasantly suprised that you can tell no real diference. This is why they invented barrel channel scrapers and accraglass.

 

In other words YEP IT WILL WORK.
Make a scraper out of 1" flat stock (that will take about 5 minutes)for opening the barrel channel (that should take another 1/2 hour), and relieve the nose cap slightly and it will look and shoot like a factory job. People no smarter than you are doing the same thing on the TC assembly line.

 

[shooter575]

If you get it a tad loose on the fit you could allways full length glass bed the barrel.By coloring the epoxie to match wood it will not be very noticeable.I use boat epoxie and tint it with powdered paint.Brownells Accra glass works well also.It comes with a brown dye for walnut color.
Thats how I splice musket forearms onto orgional stocks.Stuff is strong too.

Jim