My first Lyman 54 GPR kit...

[splinter84]

Thanks for the tips guys! This forum has been extremely helpful. Yesterday I made some good progress on the buttstock. No worries...pics are coming. I made a few sanding blocks out of 2x4s. I have several different sizes that help with the tighter spots. I still have work left inlaying the butt plate but it is coming along. I will have pic updates tomorrow.

 

[jdkerstetter]

Nothing beats a good selection of scrapers for getting into tight spots and they can be easliy made from saw blades or any quality steel.

Sanding, even with blocks, is problematic as there are not a lot of "flat" areas on a rifle.

I hate all of that dust, especially breathing it and I don't want to have to wear a mask building a gun. For shaping I procede from rasps, then files, then scrapers....gouges for heavy stock removal, when working from a blank.

Recently I started using an old Stanley low angle block plane for shaping the forends. It is a real joy to use and you can get really close to your lines as it shaves off very thin curls.

I will use sand paper to knock off corners at transitions but that's about it. Enjoy, J.D.

 

[54ball]

I sense some impatience. Rifle building is hard work, it takes time and care but most of the work is hard manual labor. It's a different kind of hard. It's not like digging a 300' ditch 5' deep but it is hard just the same.

It is also slow tedious, mentally tiring, even though you are doing hard repetitive work you must still remain sharp with an eye for detail.

One disadvantage of a kit like the GPR is also it's advantage. Most of the shaping is done and that's good. What's not so good is that the shaping that is left is the most tedious.

Another thing is you must know where you are going with the wood shaping. You can simply fit everything and knock down the high spots and you will have a good rifle as most the stock profile is already there.

On the other hand you can study original or good contemporary work and try to replicate that in your stock shaping. The best thing would be to actually handle a original or well built contemporary Hawken or even a factory GPR just to get the feel of a finished piece.

Most of us can't handle an original but we all can look at pictures. I advise you to slow down and study pictures with the eye of an artist and imagine how they accomplished those shapes, and how you can do the same. There is some risk here in duplicating complex shapes on originals such as the comb. Only you can decide if you can duplicate some more complex details or stay safe and simple.

 

[splinter84]

Hey guys,

I made some progress last weekend. I put about 4 hours of work into the buck stock. Mostly sanding. I am working hard to maintain some good lines. Let me know what you guys think. I still have some work around the butt plate. I have been using charcoal as a blackening agent. It seems to work OK. I am hoping to finish that part up this weekend and start on the monte carlo. To me it appears that there is quite a bit of material to remove from the lower monte carlo where it meets the bottom edge of the butt stock.

I rounded over the edges a bit around the lock to get a feel what it would like. I like the looks of the edges being a little more rounded around the lock.

I did purchase a rasp last weekend. It has helped with removing the wood, but I have to wary about taking to much off, and sanding the gouges out.

The lock side of the butt stock is pretty much sanded smooth, and meets up with the butt plate well. It seems the monte carlo side is a little trickier for me. Any way here is some new pics. Critiques are welcome!

Corner of butt plate:

Butt stock progress:

In this photo you can see where the lower part of the monte carlo meets the lower edge of buttstock. I am not sure if I should remove more material from monte carlo or leave as is.

 

[jdkerstetter]

Charcoal as a blackening agent? How exactly are you doing that?

Rasp to rough shape then FILES to remove the grooves left by the rasp and then scrapers or sandpaper. It's a step by step process and skipping any of the steps results in more work.

The "toe line" is the lower line of the butt stock, the part I believe you are referring to as the lower monte carlo. Lyman gives their GPR are "fish belly" toe line. How much you leave or remove is up to you. I perfer to see that line straight on a rifle of this type.

Don't get carried away with rounding the lock panels. Enjoy, J.D.

 

[splinter84]

Charcoal as a blackening agent? How exactly are you doing that?

Rasp to rough shape then FILES to remove the grooves left by the rasp and then scrapers or sandpaper. It's a step by step process and skipping any of the steps results in more work.

The "toe line" is the lower line of the butt stock, the part I believe you are referring to as the lower monte carlo. Lyman gives their GPR are "fish belly" toe line. How much you leave or remove is up to you. I perfer to see that line straight on a rifle of this type.

Don't get carried away with rounding the lock panels. Enjoy, J.D.

With the charcoal I basically scrubbed charcoal residue on the edges of the butt plate and the charcoal residue transferred nicely. I am planning to order some blackening solution to get more accurate.

I will work the files after the rasp this weekend and see if that helps some.

I understand what your saying about the "fish bely". I am trying to work that "fish belly" look out this best I can.

 

[MSW]

the inletting black is good stuff, but it's easy to get 'carried away.' don't put too much on or it will smear all over (at least, that's my experience)..

good luck with your build - it's looking really nice so far!

 

[jdkerstetter]

With the charcoal I basically scrubbed charcoal residue on the edges of the butt plate and the charcoal residue transferred nicely. I am planning to order some blackening solution to get more accurate.

Try some cheap lipstick until you get your inletting black. Every woman has some cast offs they don't use or it can be bought cheap. Avon ladies have samples. :wink:

Another trick you can try is taking that fine charcoal dust from the bag and mixxing it with a little vasaline. It's the greasiness that makes it stick for transfer. But get some real black as soon as you can. That little jar will last forever.

I will work the files after the rasp this weekend and see if that helps some.

Oh, it will. It's just like proceding through your different grades of sandpaper. You're just going from more to less agressive steps.

I understand what your saying about the "fish bely". I am trying to work that "fish belly" look out this best I can.

A straight edge, pencil and a rasp will achieve your desired results in no time. Enjoy, J.D.