Opinions on shaping stock.

[Runner]

Any suggestions on shaping before I start staining? CVA Hawken stock, so i have touse what is there.

I am still working on the concave around the beavertail. It was a straight angle before. The line runs to the back of the lock panle.

This side I think I have it as good as I can with the wood that is there.

Any suggestions welcome. I know it is a cheap kit gun, but I am trying to do the best job i can on it. Thanks in advance!

 

[bwhoffman]

If it were mine, and I am thinking the same lines on my son's cva hawken, is to take the bare wood and vinegar stain it, treat the brass to an ammonia vapor session to dull it and several coats of BLO. the wood seems thin enough, but I am thinking of reducing the edges around the lock to give a better flow of the contours. toying with an inlay as well. Anything to make it look different from the masses!

Brett

 

[Norskie]

You might oughta add a toeplate. Maybe define the lines around the lockplate and the opposite side a bit more.
The bottom of the wrist could be little more concave.
Are you happy with the front end of the comb? Kind of hard to see, but you could thin that a bit and maybe lay it back a tad.
Sometimes when you darken the wood by wetting it, it gets easier to see how you want to shape it. I've even put stain on before final shaping so I can visualize it better.
This is beech wood, I think. Aqua fortis works very well on beech.
This is the fun part. Take your time.
Moose

 

[silverfox]

A little more definition around the lock plate and a little under cut on the beavertail. Make it look like it was laid over the stock and maybe a inlay or two.
Fox :thumbsup:

 

[grey8833]

Increase the definition on the lock plates and the beaver tail (a bit). A small diameter circuliar file (chain saw file) is really handy for that. By pushing it along the line you want to sharpen and rolling it out to the stock you can get nearly any radius you want. A 6" D shape file is also a handy tool to cut in around the lock panel and add some definition.

 

[Runner]

More definition around the lock plates is already in the works. I don't have a lot of depth to use on the front or back edge on the screw side. I need to get it crisp so that it looks like more than it is. Thanks for the round file suggestion. Scraping those areas is a pain if you need them crisp with a sharp line. There is already a lot more depth there than the pictures show.
The concave under the beavertail is already cut in. The line runs from the back of the lockplate. It needs more work. The concave scraping takes a lot of time. Captchee posted some Hawken pictures elsewhere that I used to create that line. I don't know if my skills are good enough for a bead line or second line around it.
The front of the comb is hard to figure. It is cut right looking at the pictures I can find as far as where it is. I don't have enough drop in the stock to match the angle of the originals there. I can't get the curve to the wrist right because of that also. It is undercut above the wrist on that side pretty heavy. I kept at it until the stock came up straight with my hand in place. If it still needs to be thinned, I will have to remove material from the beavertail side. I already have the hand side cut about a quarter deeper than that side getting the wrist to flow back into the butt and geting it to come up properly when I throw it up.
I can do the toe plate, but the bottom of the stock is rounded behind the guard. I can do one in brass and then shape it to match the wood, leaving the shape alone. I can mill a flat just wide enough and use a long toe plate to clean up the rounded bottom. I have steel and brass. That is the biggest question left for me on that end of the gun. The buttplate fits well enough, but needs a second screw. The single screw down low doesn't hold the top well enough.
Most of you seem to be thinking along the same lines as I am. That is really scary!
I am going to get brass screws I think and install the buttplate and the patch box with the screws filed off and dressed down hidden. The round top screws that were in it are definately not going back.
Thanks for the feedback and I need more! I have not decided what to do with the factory end cap. The Hawken answer is obvious. On this short single wedge stock, I don't think the Hawken type nose cap works any better. I considered cutting the bottom off the factory cap, installing an entry pipe with an inlay at the back of the pipe. The problem with that is the factory cap is not solid enough unless I attach it to the entry pipe also. That is just about what I am thinking. The two screw end cap with the bottom removed and the entry pipe on the bottom that runs back about an inch more. That gives me two screws, the pipe entering the wood, and the pins in the inlay to hold it all together and in place. It would look a lot better, but would be a lot of work also.

More! I need more!

 

[renovato]

You might try poking around[url] http://riflestocks.tripod.com[/url]. He has a tutorial of building your very gun, including some very nice work to the stock. Plenty of pictures and tips also. Good for ideas, at least.

 

[AeroncaTAL]

Here's a photo of the cheek area of a Hawken replica that I liked.

Notice the sweep of the cheek piece and instead of the line heading toward the back of the lock, it angles to the top of the neck. The length of the neck is about right, but you will have to thin the comb.

Here is a pic of the right side of the same rifle. Notice the sculpting at the comb and neck.

It looks like you have enough meat on that stock to work with. Good luck!
Scott
(I can't remember where I found these pics, if it was from a member of this forum, I apologize for posting them without your permission. But it's a durn good looking rifle!)

 

[dlocke]

That stock is a blank slate and should come out nice. You can definitely put in a bead line and the results are stunning. I believe that is the Monte Carlo design and looks like a separate piece of wood was glued to the stock. I built an investarms Hawken and the cheekpiece was just a slab on the stock. I concaved it in and it looked pretty good, but then I added the step and an inlay. Makes a big difference.
Now, I'm going to suggest something that will make the purists cringe, but it worked slock for me. To delineate the cheekpiece, I used my dremel too with one of those small sanding drums with a coarse sanding disc. I drew the edge of the cheekpiece with a permanent marker and went around with the drum to take down wood on the concave part. If you work carefully you can form a good part of the concave as well. After that, I used a SHARP 1/8" chisel to fully form the concave area, cleaning up and smoothing with 60-grit paper wrapped around various size dowels. Chainsaw files worked in the tight areas. After that was done, I drew another line at the base (where the cheekpiece met the stock) and again used the dremel to form a 1/8" step, cleaning up again with a chainsaw file. After that I rasped and sanded the stock, making sure the stock from the buttplate to the cheekpiece was flat. I then rasped the cheekpiece itself until it fit comfortably and finished up by inlaying a brass star.
DJL

 

[BrownBear]

I'm real partial to the step around the cheek piece, and went so far as to put them (real thin) around the swells on either side of the action too. A taste thing, even if I'm not sure about authenticity.

I tried various tools when doing it on a GPR I'm working on now, and found something that works really slick for me. I've got a high quality set of needle files, one of which is rectangular with both flats smooth and only the narrow edges cutting. Best of all, the blunt end of the file has really sharp edges on the flats.

I marked the step using a pencil to get the curve just right, then scratched along the line with one of the pointed needle files. Then I went back and used that sharp blunt end of the file I describes as a scraper to begin deepening the step. Went real fast on the walnut of a GPR, and I'm guessing it wouldn't be too bad on maple or other hard wood. Best of all, because of the smooth flats I could follow and match the contour of the rest of the stock without having to sand or rasp to match after cutting the step.

Lots more controllable for me than a dremel, and quick too. Not criticizing the use of a dremel, but admitting I'm just not coordinated enough to use one safely.

 

[Runner]

Ok, I shaped it for a second line, but just a line. Makes that ckeekpiece look lonesome. I am going to burnish it after I get it stained so the whole thing will take stain well. I will finalize the line once the burnishing is done. Here it is so far.

My two favorite tools are my pocket knife and a pair of scissors with the rivet knocked out. That is the best flat scraper I have found so far. Don't try it or yoiur wife might lose her good scissors!

 

[AeroncaTAL]

Looking good Runner! :thumbsup:
Scott

 

[jeepwj992002]

That rifle is going to make a lot of folks jealous when you are finished with it.

 

[Runner]

Maybe not! It isn't taking stain evenly. Only time will tell at this point

 

[Norskie]

What are you using for stain?
Moose