trade gun ?

[chuck-ia]

I think I am going to have a problem rounding off the upper forearm on my trade gun. I have taken the wood to a little over 1/8" on the lower forearm and 1/16" on the uppper, right now about half the barrel is showing in the stock. I think the biggest problem is the 1/4" web, I should have tried to get it closer to 1/8" but chickened out, it was nice for drilling the front lock screw, but now presents a bit of a problem. Here is what I am thinking. Take more wood off the uppper forearm so maybe around 2/3 of the barrel is showing, deepen the rod groove thinning the web and then take wood off the bottom to reveal over half of the ram rod? What are your thoughts? Another question, how much barrel should be showing and how much ram rod? Hope all this makes sense. chuck

[B.Habermehl]

Sounds about right. Overly thick webs will really shoot ya in the foot when trying to slim down a forestock. I have one stock that I will probably scrap because the guy that machined the barrel chanel and ram rod groove did this to me for, of all things a youth sized trade gun. Plus another problem. It should have been no more than 1/8. To get decent architecture. I still get riled when I see the stock after 2 years. I should have sent it back with a note to say get your head........ 

[Acer Saccharum]

Your forestock is now in a delicate state, where it won't take much heavy work without support. The best fix would be to lower the barrel in the inlet a bit. You can glue pine strips alongside the stock to support it. Saw them back off later.

Thoughts on thinning the web:
If you do this, try not to have any abrupt transitions, as it will show looking at the gun from the side.

Ken Guy made a ramrod hole scraping tool. You might make something like this to work the web down from mid grip to the entry pipe, then with half round file, work the web down out to the muzzle. Just be careful that the wood on the grip doesn't end up too thin at the entry pipe.

If you have to leave the grip thick, but you thin the forestock down, that won't look right. In this case, it would be better to leave it as is.

[B.Habermehl]

Have to agree with Tom, I failed to see you were thinking of thinning the web while you were shapeing the forend.  OOPS

[chuck-ia]

The barrel is pinned in the stock, touch hole in, trigger in, trigger plate in, trigger guard on. Sure wish I would have thought ahead when inletting the barrel and drilling the rod hole, would have been easy to fine tune the web then, leave it to a beginnner. I think I am going to ponder on this a bit. I could be wrong but it seems to me about my only thing I can do is make the rod groove deeper, (thinning the web) then taking wood off the bottom of the upper forearm, I just measured the groove depth, it is over 1/8" the way it is now. I understand about not having an abrupt transition, I would allso take wood from the lower forearm rod hole, (will have to make a scraper) maybe not as much though. Thanks for the suggestions. chuck

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

I am not at all sure about a trade gun.... but Mike Brooks builds an awfully nice looking one and more than 1/2 of barrel and way more than 1/2 of ramrod is showing:
http://www.fowlingguns.com/carolinakit.html