Modifying Crosman "skeleton" stock for my meat-hooks/LOP

[HappyHunter]

I'm currently (albeit s..l..o..w..l..y) working on a custom Disco/22xx PCP "bush gun" to take over the tree rat/rabbit/grouse hunting responsibilities that my 32 fpe 2260 HPA use to look after (2260 is in the process of being transformed into a 60 fpe .25 cal ). I was wanting a stock that not only was custom fitted for my long LOP and large hands, but would also be able to handle trekking through bush, branches, rainy weather and just generally harsh conditions without getting all beat up in the process (or caring too much if it did get some "battle scars"). Hmmmm....I guess that nice walnut stock is out of the question then. I had a couple extra Crosman skeleton stocks and thought, "Perfect, they are pretty tough as well as being light...just need to beef it up some to be more comfortable to shoulder is all".

This is where I should point out that I have less than limited skills compared to y'all, have never tried this before and pretty much figured things out as I went. Here is how it was done....

I have an old 2240 grip frame and tube that I use to trial fit things on so I attached stock to it and started the process. First thing I did was to take some 80 grit sandpaper and rough up the stock where I planned on building it up, as well as sanding that Crosman logo off to make it a little more clean looking. I also ground off that little nubby that sticks out on the bottom of a 22xx grip frame as it always felt awkward in my hands (it sticks out right where my pinky finger naturally wants to rest). Then I started adding Bondo to the grip - yes, that's right...Bondo! 


Well...what ya think?... . Don't worry, I know it's pretty crude right now, but it gets better looking as we go!

Once I had a thick blob on I gingerly grabbed the grip and gave it a little squeeze so it would mold to the shape of my hand before it hardened. This was a slow process as the Bondo would set rather quickly, so I had to do it in several stages (one side at a time), building it up a bit more each time until I had it roughly to the size/shape I wanted. Then it was mostly sanding and shaping the contours, adding a bit here and there as needed. Note: If you are wondering why the bottom finger groove looks out of whack, it wasn't a screw-up (really, it wasn't!), it's just where my pinky finger naturally wants to rest...





Once I had one side pretty well roughed out, I then started the whole process all over again for the opposite side:


Now that I had the grips mostly done (still have some fine tuning to do to match nicely with the forearm) I turned my attention to the forearm. This was made by laminating two pieces of 3/4" plywood together, then slowly shaped it to fit the gun. Used a router with a 3/4" half-round profile bit to cut the rough groove for the tube, then finished it off with a 12" long, 3/4" diameter wooden dowel wrapped in 60, then 120 and finally 220 grit sandpaper. Next I inletted for the trigger group and guard so that most of the trigger guard was hidden within the forearm. Once I was satisfied with the fit to the best of my limited abilities, I then carefully measured where the gauge would be and drilled it out with a 1" Forstner bit in my drill press. Thankfully (and with great relief) it fit perfectly! I wanted to attach the forearm as cleanly as possible (i.e- no visible band) so I purchased some super strong 5/16" diameter x 1/8" thick Neodymium (rare earth) disc magnets and inletted/glued them into the forearm. Pic shows only two, but I ended up adding a third one just behind the front one as two just wasn't quite enough. Between the magnets and the tight fit around the grip frame/guard (it actually "snaps" into place around the guard) it is very solid and takes a bit of force to remove from gun.


Now that the forearm was done, I finished touching up the shoulder stock so there was a nice transition from stock to forearm. Once that was accomplished I turned my attention to the rear of stock. Started by first adding an adjustable butt plate and lengthen the LOP to accommodate my ape-like arms. The two extension pieces are 1/2" Delrin rod that I threaded 1/2"-20. Then drilled/tapped the rear of stock the same and screwed them into place, filled the inside (cut-out section of stock) with more Bondo and sanded smooth for a clean look. Adjustable butt pad is from an AR2078LE and I made the aluminum backing plate out of some scrap 1/8" thick material I had laying around. It is attached to the extension rods (which are drilled/tapped 10-32) with 10-32 x 1 1/4" long low profile socket head cap screws:


Next up is the adjustable cheek piece. I made it from a 6" long piece of 1.5" ABS pipe cut in half lengthwise and rounded the ends off. The aluminum rods to adjust the height are 3/8" diameter x 3 1/2" long and is attached to the cheek piece via two 8-32 x 1/2" long low profile SHCS down through the top of cheek piece:


Stock was drilled 3/8" to accept adjustment rods and drilled/tapped the sides of stock 8-32 for the 3/16" long set screws to lock them into place. Rods have 1/8" recesses drilled into them every 1/4" creating a positive lock for the set screws to fit into:


Now that I had the stock to my liking, I "borrowed" an excellent idea from a member on another forum and applied three fairly thick coats of CA glue to all Bondo'd parts to seal them and create a hard protective coating, then 4 coats of truck bedliner spray to all components. Much to my surprise, the bedliner spray almost perfectly matches the factory Crosman shoulder stock.

All I had to do now was modify my P-rod trigger group to fit stock. First thing I had to do was smooth out the frame so it would slide nicely into "new" stock. This meant removing the bump-out for the safety (no safety on gun anymore) as well as the little tabs to locate the factory pistol grips. I also removed that aggravating little nub at the bottom of grip as that is right where my pinky finger likes to sit comfortably. One other area that has always bothered me on a 22xx frame is the rear portion (where rear screw is located) as it always rubs on the base of my thumb, so I removed some material giving it a more slanted profile and more room for my thumb Also drilled/tapped the base of frame 6-32 to add a third screw to the stock which now makes it rock-solid. Once that was all done, I gave it a few coats of bedliner spray to match rest of stock:




Forearm with three magnets installed:



After all that work, a perfect fit!


And finally, the fruits of my labor...




My apologies for the long-winded post guys & gals , but I wanted to fit the whole stock transformation into one post....Hope you enjoyed the journey though, and possibly gave you some ideas to try at the same time!

[avator]

Nice work !!  Really looks comfortable. You gotta love that bedliner paint. I filled and painted a few beat up wood stocks with it. They look and act like synthetic, weather proof stocks but, they are solid and muffle "twang" really well.

[HappyHunter]

Thank you, sir! 

To say it all started out as just a cheapie stock layin' around and too much time on my hands, it certainly feels better than it did...just hope it's durable enough. Can hardly wait to finish the rest of gun and try her out!

[renowntwo]

Nicely done, and thanks for sharing

[Gertrude]

very nicely done.

[Monkeydad1969]

Thank you, sir! 

To say it all started out as just a cheapie stock layin' around and too much time on my hands, it certainly feels better than it did...just hope it's durable enough. Can hardly wait to finish the rest of gun and try her out!

You can always send it to me for high altitude testing with my Disco...nice job.

Joe

[SpringerForever]

Very, very nicely done!

Definitely given me some ideas.

Thanks for posting.

[Scott Endler]

I really like the feel and function of the Crosman skeletal stock. Cheap but works nice after all these years. I'ts great that they included it on the Marauder pistol. A cheek comb is a must for use with a scope and so far I am content  with this
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http://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=59589.msg570961#msg570961
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But I could see doing something nicer like yours.  It would be possible to use a 13ci HPA tank in the same location to convert a 2400 and have a nice comb.
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[crosman999]

WOW!! Thanks for sharing this post,great idea.You got some talent working with bondo and a good eye for detail.Very impressive.

[Monkeydad1969]

So Todd,

Where are pics of the finished product?

Joe

[HappyHunter]

So Todd,

Where are pics of the finished product?

Joe

LOL...well to be honest, there is no finished product yet... . Waiting on a custom breech and she'll be done.

As per usual (for me anyways) I started yet another project in the meantime (I think that's 3 or 4 on the go now), plus just recently picked up a mini lathe which has been getting my full attention lately .

As soon as she's done I'll be sure to post pics here...

[Monkeydad1969]

So Todd,

Where are pics of the finished product?

Joe

LOL...well to be honest, there is no finished product yet... . Waiting on a custom breech and she'll be done.

As per usual (for me anyways) I started yet another project in the meantime (I think that's 3 or 4 on the go now), plus just recently picked up a mini lathe which has been getting my full attention lately .

As soon as she's done I'll be sure to post pics here...

Ok...I'll give you a pass on that then.  Just don't forget us...lol.  Don't you hate not finishing one project and starting 3 more?  I have 3 that need to be finished, one that is sorta finished and restarted one that was finished.  ARRGGHHh...whyyyyyyyyyyyy?

Lol...

[avator]

So Todd,

Where are pics of the finished product?

Joe

LOL...well to be honest, there is no finished product yet... . Waiting on a custom breech and she'll be done.

As per usual (for me anyways) I started yet another project in the meantime (I think that's 3 or 4 on the go now), plus just recently picked up a mini lathe which has been getting my full attention lately .

As soon as she's done I'll be sure to post pics here...

Ok...I'll give you a pass on that then.  Just don't forget us...lol.  Don't you hate not finishing one project and starting 3 more?  I have 3 that need to be finished, one that is sorta finished and restarted one that was finished.  ARRGGHHh...whyyyyyyyyyyyy?

Lol...

LOL.... you know why just as well as the rest of us do.... It's all part of this roller coaster ride of an infection. We research, we shop, we purchase, lol.. we wait for delivery, we justify to others, we test, we tinker, we test some more and we share the ride here with others.
Ain't it great?

[Monkeydad1969]

So Todd,

Where are pics of the finished product?

Joe

LOL...well to be honest, there is no finished product yet... . Waiting on a custom breech and she'll be done.

As per usual (for me anyways) I started yet another project in the meantime (I think that's 3 or 4 on the go now), plus just recently picked up a mini lathe which has been getting my full attention lately .

As soon as she's done I'll be sure to post pics here...

Ok...I'll give you a pass on that then.  Just don't forget us...lol.  Don't you hate not finishing one project and starting 3 more?  I have 3 that need to be finished, one that is sorta finished and restarted one that was finished.  ARRGGHHh...whyyyyyyyyyyyy?

Lol...

LOL.... you know why just as well as the rest of us do.... It's all part of this roller coaster ride of an infection. We research, we shop, we purchase, lol.. we wait for delivery, we justify to others, we test, we tinker, we test some more and we share the ride here with others.
Ain't it great?

Then we see others collections (lets take Bill's collection into that).  We get interested, we get thoughts, then we just get plain jealous.  So Bill, it's people like you who have nice collections that make people like me 'worse'.  Thank-you, sir.  I have no alternatives but to now get more and create more projects---GEEZ LOUISE!

lol...

[avator]

But, I see work like what Todd is doing and it amazes me. It's like watching and artist draw a picture. It's like they know exactly where to put every pencil mark. I imagine they can see the finished picture on the paper before it's done. I can't do that, I never could. There is a lot of talent here and it keeps me coming back everyday, like a kid in a candy store.

[sshewins]

There is DEFINITELY more than just 'some' talent here. Be it wood working or metal crafting or painting or research. I am confident that given the opportunity, we could build anything NASA could. And a lot cheaper.

[Geoff]

looking great

[james]

Great work it looks fantastic.