Air rifle Stock Building by howie1a Part 5

[howie1a]

Hi here are some pictures of the carving of the outside of the stock , After gluing on any trim pieces and sanding them flush the next thing is to mark the outline of the cheek plate and any other areas we need to cut ( carve) out. I use a 4 inch side wheel type sander it is made for metal and comes with a stone type wheel, But I put a flapper sanding disk made for it you can buy them at sears, the depot , or just get them from Harbor freight for about 3 bucks each instead of 8 bucks each.I am using a 32 grit disk for shaping the stock . In picture 182 you will see the cheek plate carving started be careful with this sander it bites I have got bit before and it just takes a light touch to bite, I know it comes with a guard but I can't do the type work I have to do with the guard on. This is a two hand tool using one hand will most likely get you a bite. Most of the shaping is done with this tool and some of the round surfaces are done with a drill with sanding drums , After it is roughed  out you will need to finish the blending (making smooth ) using a 4x4 sander , I use 80 grit for this and when done I use 220 grit for the final sanding. I can't show the fitting of the trigger guard since my order didn't get here from Crosman yet . But what I do is to put the screw that holds the action in the stock on the trigger guard then put it in the hole on the stock and mark the out line of the guard out, here is the way I get it to drill the hole easy I push a dowel into the stock and center punch it then taking a 1/2 inch fostner bitt I can drill the hole out for the rounded end of the trigger guard. from here it's just putting what ever finish you want. I use Danish oil for the first coat sanded in with 220 paper then after 20 min wipe it off and apply a 2nd coat the next day I start with my varnish about 6 to 10 coats sanded between coats . That's it  Howie1a.

[Rescue912]

Excellent work, thanks for walking me through your whole process...

[lloyd-ss]

Howie,
Amazing!  Funny thing is that I always thought that making a stock was all about sculpting the outside, but it looks like the bulk of the work is the internal stuff... the technical part.  Thanks to your detailed pictures, I think I can handle the technical part.  The Artistic part of the carving is what I find intimidating.
Thanks for this great series,
Lloyd

[howie1a]

Just keep everything in a square shape till you are done with the fitting of the action, then you can go to the outside , One of the things I found out when building wood parts ( like moldings ) is getting the steps of cutting out in the right order , if you jump ahead sometimes you fine you cut off a part you need to be a guide for the molding, it's just getting the work done in the right order ,Sometimes you can see it in your mind and get the work in the right steps before cutting. Howie

[ezman604]

Wow...is all I can say Howie.
MANY thanks for sharing your excellent craftsmanship with us and taking the time to walk us through it. I'm REALLY looking forward to my first stock attempt now. Some really good steps and pointers.
Great job my friend!!!!
Happy Shooting!!!!
Dave
 

[john]

This series is a treasure, Howie! Clearly and logicly presented. You make it look totally doable. One question...what does the term "fairing" refer to?

[howie1a]

Hi I changed it to read blending ( making smooth ) making something fair is a boat makers term  to make something fair is to blend  it so the lines flow, ( a fair line supersedes a drawn ling ) like the side of a boat.

[glassman98]

Howie,
Thank you for this write up. I would love to make a one of a kind stock. With your write up I'm going to make one. Have a few questions. In pic 160, where did you get the drill jig? Pic 173, what is the angle for the butt? When you added the light color wood to the forarm, did you notch the stock for the inlay? Thanks again.  Craig

[howie1a]

Hi Craig  The doweling gig I got about in mid 1960's my father and I needed one for a Walnut fireplace cover 4 fluted column's and a arch over the fireplace.I got my son who is a machinist to make a new set of inserts for it having the same OD so when you set it up and need to change the hole size you can just put in a new drill and insert and you will not have to reline the jig. You might find one it a flea market or maybe one of the new drill jigs will work I have found it is real good drilling out the trigger asse. area before I used to cut it out using a hand chisel.   The angle of the butt is taken off the stock I am copying I set the old stock in my table  saw and adjust the angel of the cross cut tool so the blade of the table saw is against the end of the butt pad then I can just put the new stock in place of the copy stock and cut it off, again this is better if the new stock is in the square shape else you have the angle of the stock from the butt pad to the pistol grip  to deal with you could end up with a non square end and need to shim up the pistol grip to get it square . The inlay piece I lay out the angle first to find where I want the insert to end and using my table saw make a cut the thickness of the insert just short of the the end of my mark and using a fine saw make the side cut on the side and then with the same saw follow the table saw cut by hand to get to the end of the slant  you might have to dress the cut up by hand using a file, and then epoxy in the inserts . I use epoxy for all my work not only it is one of the most strong glues you can get but it is also waterproof and is a void filling glue. ( to be a waterproof glue the test piece must be able to be boiled for 24 hr's without coming apart, ) I hope this is a help Howie

[ezman604]

In lieu of the jig, do you think a drill press would be as accurate?

[howie1a]

Hi I think it would work fine you can set it up for depth with out using the collar's  I use and with a drill press vice you could be able to move the stock right to left as needed and also use it to clean out the bottom of the holes you could also put a flush cutting  router bit for cleaning out the bottom of the slot or trigger assem. box That might be a good tool for me to buy, on the Gamo, Ruger and B25 their is a shoulder ( shelf )  you need to make for the bearing on the 2 piece cocking linkage to ride on a drill press might be just the thing for that , a lot safer than the router jig I use. You will have to invent some jigs for the drill press to make it work out .  Howie

[glassman98]

Thanks Howie. Craig

[howie1a]

To make a stock having only the action gets a little harder you have to work out just what is needed to make the inletting work I have made a few like this and it is not easy but can be done , I made a stock for the B40 one time and that was a little hard, It's in the picture in my profile now and the last owner was Pineydog 2000. I also made one from the old stock and that one was a large cal PCP and the inletting had to be done before gluing the 2 half's on the stock together. Howie

[LeadHead]

Geez you guys are definitely very impressive. I am jealous but then again we all have our talents. Good job!

[Tarheel]

Howie,

Incredible work, incredible skill, incredible write-up . . . Did I mention that it is "incredible" ?

Dave

[ray in wi]

Howie
Fantastic write up and I loved the pictures. When I have the time, I am going to give a try at making a stock for my WFH. Your generosity has given me the confidence to go for it. Thank You
Ray

[Rickey]

Really nice Howie I set here thinking of what my 34 would look like with a nice stock like that or maybe a thumb hole.  Really sharp.  Rickey