** UPDATE** Possibility Of Starting A Side-Gig Involving AG's?

[jonnnyboy]

That is a fine looking rework of what is almost universally agreed to be a "fat stock."  I'm very interested in how this turns out.  Please give us lots of pics and even a price quote if possible.  Looking forward to a beautiful outcome.

joe

[Nail Gun]

Joe, Thank you.  PM inbound

[Gertrude]

I'm Thinkin' someones pretty HAaaaaaaPPPPPPP YYYYYYYY! ! !
 I didn't have it together for 2 hours, and she drilled her first rat with it from 33 yds !

 The girl's got some game ! She dropped a FATTY Rat !

[darren]

Cam,
not sure if the tramp is the most stable shooting platform..

love the new stock.

zap some rats

enjoy

[stathisk]

i am like you i can do anything i dont have time any more i run 2 businesses, if you want to to run this hobby as a bushiness you should re work a couple of different stocks for the most popular AG. you will have to learn a lot tho for finishes  and other options

[Gertrude]

Ok,... I just gonna dump a whole bunch of pics for the finished stock.
 that way, you'll get various angles.









































 

[Bicycleman]

For Dave - very nice work.  You are on target!

For Ron - it looks like you are very PROUD of that new rifle stock and that little shooter too.  You have done well with the comparison pictures.

[oneied]

Ok Guys,

Nailgun (Dave), has sent me an update on the progress of the reworked / reshaped factory Mrod Stock.
Just thought I'd give you all an update here.
 After the (previous) last pic, he was handling the stock some more to check for it's natural feel and ergonomics. He was unhappy with the feel of how the grip turned out in the final pic you saw. He felt it was not a natural feel, and not what he wanted to turn out.
 He felt it was too up-and-down and too far back from the trigger. SOooo,... he decided to rework it some more, and is in the process of building it back up, re-shaping and re-attacking the ergonomics.
 (remember,... this is the first time he has ever "touched a Marauder stock", and he does not even have the complete gun).
 He ONLY has the stock, and has never handled or fired a Mrod. This is truely a "flying by the seat of the pants" project. Hahaha.
 
 All is well on my end, as we entered into this project completely blind and unassuming.
 This is a full-on R&D / Experiment, and a "figure it out as it goes along" kind of thing.
 He has full "artistic license" and I'm completely fine with Whatever he does with it, Whatever/however it ends up as, AND Whenever he has the time. In other words, there is absolutely no expectations or time constraints with it at all.

 Dave very much wants to get it right and have this be an impressive and quality job.
  In his own words, " I refuse to turn out anything less".  That shows to me that he holds quality workmanship in a high regard.
 You gotta love a guy for that, Right ?

It doing the rework and additional material removal, he feels it was necessary to reinforce with fiberglass.  This also allowed for more material removal behind the grip.
 In doing so, he reports the grip feels MUCH better... and has allowed for more material removal in the palm area similar to what you see on a Challenger Stock.  Looks pretty darned fine to me !



reply here, and let him know what you think of it, and it's progress.

When can he do mine? How much? I likey!

[palonej]

Hey Ron!!! Stock looks awesome bro!!! Cam can flash a smile!!!! Love the pics!!!
That is some great work Dave!!!

[gene_sc]

Hey guys this has been a great thread and I have read every post here. Great looking projects and ideas. Thanks to all of you who have posted here.
 
Just Great Stuff in my opinion.
 
Thanks
Gene

[Nail Gun]

Wow!  I just got back from a camping trip with the kids in an area with ZERO cell reception and found this!  Thank you everyone for the kind words and support. Thank you Ron for the great pics and for letting me do this. I really enjoyed working with you. I'm glad Cameron likes it and has such early success!

For anyone that is curious, i reinforced the grip and the scallop behind it with fiberglass. The finish is Bedliner spray. I also removed a bunch of wood from inside the forearm to reduce weight.

I will be thrilled to do this for anyone that is interested. Regardless of what stock it is, well, I prefer not to hack walnut...  Price depends on what you want me to do. I'll be happy to discuss via pm. Also, please bear in mind, this is a hobby that supplies beer money. I will make every effort to get a reasonable turnaround but it will not be immediate. If you're ok with that, please reach out to me via pm.

Again, thank you everyone. This has been a blast!

[Gertrude]

Oops,...

In my haste last night to get 2 or 3 threads updated,  I apparently dropped the ball on the hollowed out forestock.

Hahahaha,.... Yesterday, the stock had come in, and I did an "unboxing video that I will share with you guys. I snapped a bunch of still pics, and was trying to get it on her Mrod and the phone kept ringing and interupting me, then I was trying to do a "thank you video, for Dave" with Cameron,... and my wife kept calling her in for dinner was ready,.... then while I was trying to download the videos,... the Dang Ding Donger kept going off like there was a Radical Rodent Rat Parade and Party going on at the Smorgasbord Bait Buffet,... I wanted Cameron to get her first Perforated Pest,... and she was getting excited to do so with her newly customized  Mrod that she has dubbed " The BLACK WIDOW  " ! LOL ! (She has a solid gloss black Fender acoustic guitar she has named " Black Beauty ", so I guess it's a trend thing), hahaha.

Hey,... wait a minute,...
 Isn't a Black Widow's characteristic trait,... to be the Dominate Female Assassin,... who literally DESTROYS and DEVOURS her insignificant male counterpart ? ? ? (I think I may be in for some trouble here guys) !

 Then trying to download the video's,.. my 'puter locked up on me twice,... and each time the donger started singing, Cameron was  like a big game hunter,... target in the crosshairs,... with a frozen trigger finger. by the time she was calmed and ready, it was gone.
 You've heard of a "Cat and Mouse" game ? well,... this was a "Cameron and Rat" game... and she wasn't going go give up.
 "Patience Honey,... Patience.... You'll Get Him,..."
 DANG IT ! ! ! 'puter just crashed again ! GRRR ! ! ! start working on that, and the Donger starts up again ! hahaha !
What a night !
 SOOoooooo,...... in all the chaos, I failed you guys... and I failed Dave.
 I forgot to get some pics of the hollowed area he did in the forestock, and he certainly deserves to have that shown here.

 I will take some pics later today, and get them posted up.
 (that is,... if Cameron will allow me to touch The BLACK WIDOW) HAHAHA !

BTW- She DID end up winning the game, ... and very effectively converted, a "Furry Bait Sucker'..., into a "Limp Lead Stopper" !
 Check it out, it's a Fatty Ratty, and measures 16" nose to tail !



If you want to see more on that, check it in the Hunting Gate a little later on tonight.
 I'll get some more pics/vids up.





 
 

[michaelthomas]

That's cool!

[Gertrude]

[Nail Gun]

That's pretty neat. I think your Blaster stock is safe Ron;)
I'm absolutely thrilled she likes it!

[oneied]

That is so awesome.  Nice work Dave.  GTA is such a great place to be

[Gertrude]

For the benefit of many new members and Mrod owners, I am adding another post here.

 (OK,.... well maybe it's also a little for the benefit of Dave too,... who did such an AWESOME job on this project) 

I have received a few different emails and PM's from various members asking for some more details on this stock project.
 So for those guys who may have not seen this thread, or may not be comfortable hacking away at their own stocks, here ya go...

This is a copy/paste of a response I sent to one of the inquiries about this project. I hope it is not too redundant.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello XXXXXXXX,

 Thanks for the compliment.

 My Daughters rifle is actually an original Benjamin Factory WOODEN Stocked Mrod, that has been re-shaped by another member here (Nail gun), aka Dave Edson. He did a fantastic job on it, and will offer up his services for a very reasonable fee.
 The WOODEN stocks on the original Marauder's are generally viewed as being quite "fat" in the grip area, and rather big and bulky/heavy overall. Most Mrod owners will agree that it is a bit uncomfortable, with a very "Un-natural feel", and MANY have done their own sanding, cutting, and re-shaping to try to get it to feel better, and lose a little weight in the process.

 The Big Difference with what Dave does to the factory wooden Mrod stock, is he re-designs, cuts, fills, and shapes the grip area and ANGLE to be much more comfortable and "ergonomic" to the position of the shooters hand, similar to the grip angle on a Crosman Challenger Target Rifle.
 This gives the shooters wrist and trigger finger a much more natural position, and is MUCH more comfortable.
 (I actually like the "feel" of her stock BETTER than my Boyds Blaster Thumbhole stock !)
 It takes a bit more work to do and requires a bit more effort that just whipping out your belt sander and going to town on it. The area just BEHIND the grip area is quite heavily carved out to give a "Quasi-Pistol grip", allowing for the heel of your hand to wrap around much better. this also created a concern on the remaining strength of the buttstock, so it requires the opposing side to be fiber glassed, to restore the strength of the buttstock, and prevent it from cracking or snapping completely off.
 That is the reason you can not just re-stain and re-finish the stock to show a natural wood grain finish, thus requiring the Sprayed Black Truck Bedliner finish.
(certainly another option would be a Camo, or Hydro-wrap graphics finish).

The red accents were just a little touch I added after we got it back from Dave / "Nail gun".
 On the white buttpad spacer, I simply used a Red Sharpie Permanent  Marker pen... and on the Cheek Plate Risers, I used some Red Transparent Tape. It is actually some Tail Light Lens Repair Tape available from any Pepboys or Auto Parts store.

Here is a link to the original thread, from when the project was in process.

 http://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=52232.0

 This was all done before Benjamin ever even released the newer "Syn-rod", but apparently the guru's at Benjamin felt the same,...  ... evident by the fact that the new Syn-rod's grip angle is now re-designed with a shape almost identical to what Dave has done with my Daughters stock.
 The irony now, is that some of the new Syn-rod owners are reporting that their Syn-rod's are not shooting as well as their wooden stocked Mrod's !
 This is apparently due to the harmonics of the Synthetic stocks as compared to the natural dampening effects of a wooden stock.

 SOoooooo,.... I guess I got the best of BOTH worlds, in having Dave re-work the original Benjamin Factory Wooden stock ! YAY ! 

[Nail Gun]

Ron, Thanks for posting.  The red looks absolutely amazing!  I may have to go that route going forward.  It's funny you posted this because this bad boy is days away from being posted for sale (yes, the pic stinks and does not do justice):

[Gertrude]

WOW ! That looks FANTASTIC !

 I must say there Dave,... Err,.... Nail Gun, You absolutely NAILED that one on the HEAD !
 That is Gorgeous. I REALLY like the Branch Hook Butt, and the Two-Tone Black and Wood is Beautiful !
 I'm Jealous.

No doubt in my mind that you will have buyers competing to get it. Wow, again !

 I'm guessing one of the first questions they are going to ask is "How much does it weigh compared to the original ?"
 I'm also guessing that as soon as the design guys at Benjamin see it, they will be copying your idea.

Once again, you gave gone Over the Top, and Hit it out of the Park !
 You have taken a rather Plain Jane and Mundane stick, and turned it into a beautiful piece of furniture !

Get ready for those phone calls,... they be a comin' fer shuure.

[Nail Gun]

Thanks Ron!  Actually, it is lighter than the one you got from me. It is SIGNIFICANTLY lighter than the factory stock.