The Appalachian
Feral American
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2022
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Butt plates are only hard if you let them be. Tedious, yes, definitely can be tedious. Not saying they're easy either, if it was easy most people wouldn't gravitate to "kits" milled out on CNC machines would they.
For me it's easier to just do stock work than explain how to do it, but I'll try to muddle through this. Maybe it'll help somebody. My methodology, works for me, that's it, that's all, your mileage may vary.
First off I leave the stock blank square, because I'm going to use that squareness to my advantage throughout the process as it's easier for the eye to align straight lines instead of curved or random ones. That, and the butt plate is an integral part of shaping the stock, so I want it in place before starting any shaping.
Next thing is locate the butt plate for LOP and drop. This needs to be fairly accurate, within an 1/8th inch or less. Marks on the stock blank are made to STOP by at the end of the inletting.
Then I cut the profile of the blank to the shape of the butt plate leaving enough wood between the cut and the STOP lines. For the first timer I suggest 1/2" of wood left there. That's plenty enough to fill under the plate and still give a little wiggle room if things start going haywire. A flat butt plate wouldn't need as much. The next time you do one motivate yourself to work with a closer rough fit.
Now I install vertical and horizontal indexing lines. A "centerline" on the butt plate, and the same vertical/horizonal lines on the wood where I want the line on the butt plate to be when this thing is done. Sometimes I lightly scribe them on the metal, sometimes I use masking tape and a fine pencil line. On the wood I'll scribe a line and darken it with pencil lead so it stays put and highly visable.
In the picture you'll see an arrow. That is the direction the butt plate moves all the way through the process. Down and forward at the same time. Should either the top or the back get there first, then I start moving in only one direction, but only then.
I do not involve screws until it's done. I use the index lines where they come off the comb and the toe to align and "steer" the plate. I tap the plate in the direction it's needing moved with a wood or plastic hammer to transfer the inletting medium. Using screws is not good for this, 1) screw holes will move as the plate constantly moves deeper, 2) screws can pull the plate out of whack with countersunk heads. Use the lines and only the lines.
Eventually you also develope "shoulders" as the butt plate deepens. If you're making good clean accurate cuts with the chisel, these shoulders can also become secondary guides.
At some point you recognize what is excess wood, and what you need to be conservative with. You eventually get a feel for removing large chunks in just the right places to make things move along faster.
Keep your chisels and scrapers sharp, and trust the inletting black. Think things through before doing them, visualize the result, and do things on purpose not by luck.
For me it's easier to just do stock work than explain how to do it, but I'll try to muddle through this. Maybe it'll help somebody. My methodology, works for me, that's it, that's all, your mileage may vary.
First off I leave the stock blank square, because I'm going to use that squareness to my advantage throughout the process as it's easier for the eye to align straight lines instead of curved or random ones. That, and the butt plate is an integral part of shaping the stock, so I want it in place before starting any shaping.
Next thing is locate the butt plate for LOP and drop. This needs to be fairly accurate, within an 1/8th inch or less. Marks on the stock blank are made to STOP by at the end of the inletting.
Then I cut the profile of the blank to the shape of the butt plate leaving enough wood between the cut and the STOP lines. For the first timer I suggest 1/2" of wood left there. That's plenty enough to fill under the plate and still give a little wiggle room if things start going haywire. A flat butt plate wouldn't need as much. The next time you do one motivate yourself to work with a closer rough fit.
Now I install vertical and horizontal indexing lines. A "centerline" on the butt plate, and the same vertical/horizonal lines on the wood where I want the line on the butt plate to be when this thing is done. Sometimes I lightly scribe them on the metal, sometimes I use masking tape and a fine pencil line. On the wood I'll scribe a line and darken it with pencil lead so it stays put and highly visable.
In the picture you'll see an arrow. That is the direction the butt plate moves all the way through the process. Down and forward at the same time. Should either the top or the back get there first, then I start moving in only one direction, but only then.
I do not involve screws until it's done. I use the index lines where they come off the comb and the toe to align and "steer" the plate. I tap the plate in the direction it's needing moved with a wood or plastic hammer to transfer the inletting medium. Using screws is not good for this, 1) screw holes will move as the plate constantly moves deeper, 2) screws can pull the plate out of whack with countersunk heads. Use the lines and only the lines.
Eventually you also develope "shoulders" as the butt plate deepens. If you're making good clean accurate cuts with the chisel, these shoulders can also become secondary guides.
At some point you recognize what is excess wood, and what you need to be conservative with. You eventually get a feel for removing large chunks in just the right places to make things move along faster.
Keep your chisels and scrapers sharp, and trust the inletting black. Think things through before doing them, visualize the result, and do things on purpose not by luck.
