Stock Building question

[Wolfpaak]

Ok, here it goes. I have a line on some 1" thick Pecan wood that is long enough for a stock for my Jukar long rifle. I really dont care for for the split stock with the brass plate it has on it right now so am wondering if anyone has laminated 1" boards together to make a stock out of? Second question is, would the laminations be strong enough to to hold up to the pounding it will take while shooting? Wood has been in a dry shed for MANY years so it should be dry enough.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Kenny

 

[rich pierce]

It will still be a split stock, just split lengthwise. It should be plenty strong. Why not buy a cheap plain maple blank for about $75 instead?

 

[crockett]

The laminated wood stocks sold maybe 15 years ago were made in a factory under extreme pressure- this pressed the boards together to eliminate any air pockets or voids. If you try to make your own laminated stock the possibility of a void will exist and if you do a lot of work and are near the end of the job- say you did the barrel channel, inlet the lock, roughed out the butt area, drilled all the pin holes and are now rounding the forestock AND......big air pocket. Maybe you could fill it with superglue, etc but a lot of work for zippo.
I'd use that pecan for another project and hang around a place like woodcrafters until you can pick up some maple or walnut for a good price. You might even be able to exchange the pecan for maple or walnut plus some cash thrown in.
If you do proceed with the laminate- I would first cut out the profile as close to the final lines as possible. The seam will then be in an area that should be close to the profile- top and bottom- with the wood to be removed to either side of the seam- if that makes sense.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Laminating stocks for ml rifles is not unheard of. Clark Frazier used to make some incredible target rifles with multi-colored laminated stocks. To answer part of your question: the laminating can make the finished stock very resistant to environmental factors. Very stable.
You can do it with the right tools. Personally, I would choose contrasting woods, glue together with Titebond II (2). I dislike Titebond III (3).
A professional woodworker friend of mine has a vacuum bag set-up he uses for laminating.

 

[Wolfpaak]

Thanks for the input fellas. Both the wood and gun have some family history so that sparked the idea of putting them together.
Glad to hear it has been done before,
More "pondering" may be nescessary as this would be my first attempt at building a stock.
Again, thanks for the tips!
Later,
Kenny

 

[jdkerstetter]

Go ahead and use the wood if it has family history. You can only improve that rifle. If the wood is planed dead flat on the mating surfaces, clamped between good stiff culls of the same length with a good wood glue like Tightbond, you have no voids to worry about and the joint will be stronger than the surrounding wood.

If you do not have a jointer then find someone who does....the local vo-tech school or high school wood shop is always a good source. This will ensure the mating sufaces are FLAT and TRUE.

Once glued up like this the seam will be almost inperceptable, especially if you orient the wood grain so that the two pieces match.

One more thing, don't use super glue as it is not as strong as good wood glue, leaches into the surrounding wood fiber and will not except stain.

Good luck and enjoy, J.D.

 

[Robby]

Wolfpaac, You might also cut your planks to a rough shape to the finish rifle before gluing. That will eliminate a lot of unnecessary surface area and lessen the chance you will get a void in an area that will end up as the stock itself. Good luck!!
Robby