Buttplate screws and planning a wooden patchbox

[Elnathan]

Well, I finally swaged a half-way decent buttplate and got it inletted. Now I need to install the screws. It is an acanthus leaf type, with the final based on RCA 2 and 8. Standard operating procedure with squared-off tangs is to make the top screw a draw-bore one, but since this plate was inletted straight down and cannot move either forward or backwards, I was thinking of making the screw near the toe a draw-bore instead. Anyone ever tried this?

Second question: Do you guys, when first shaping a stock, plan for the flat place under a future wooden box? All the instructions I have seen sound like one initially shapes the stock as if there was going to be no box, then rasps a flat area. Last time when I tried that, I ended up with a flat that stretched into my carefully defined wrist almost to the lock panels, the final result of which being that the flat which runs from the toe to the trigger is no longer centered under the wrist. How do you guys deal with that?

Thanks,
Elnathan

[Dave B]

Elnathan,
I think that you should stick with the shaping out of your butt stock like there is no sliding box like you describe. The important thing is to only flatten just the area of the box no more. So from the inlet of the dove tail you will only have about 3/8" of flat on the sides and a 1 1/2" at the tip of the finial I like using a hand plane for shaping the patch box side. this will help keep things flat for the most part. On very early guns you must keep the butt stock thicker than the later ones. So you will need to make the sliding lid slightly narrower to keep it looking right. The other thing I like to do is use a soft pencile to shade across the area so I can clearly see where I am removing the wood and stop when I have reached my final desired location. Remember you will also need to flatten the butt plate at the over lap. You alread knew that I bet but the first one I did,  :-[I didnt till I saw the gaps at the back of the lid when in placeand had to make a whole new lid after flattening the butt plate the width of the sliding lids over lap.

Dave B

[Stophel]

For the buttplate, just put the screw straight in.  It will draw the buttplate up to the endgrain of the wood.  With the screw down, "persuade" the brass to meet the wood wherever there are gaps.

When flattening off the stock, and it looks like it's going to end up with the flat running too far forward, change the angle of the flat.  Lean it towards the back just a little bit.  I plane the flat off with a little block plane.

I have never really had a problem getting the surface flat and having it run well up into the wrist (and it needs to be FLAT by the way.  "flattish" won't do!).  If the gun has good cast off, and if it is a relatively "early" gun, it should have plenty of cast off, the right side of the stock will be curved from the tail of the lock to the buttplate, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem to get the side flat without going much further up than the front of the box lid is going to be.