Shaping the forearm

[Hangfire]

This is my first build and I was wondering what you guys that have built a few rifles are using to keep the contour/shape of the forearm from the muzzle back to the RR entry hole. Are you using rasps/files to shape it or scratch stock scrapers, etc? I'm pretty handy at making things that I can see so if anyone would like to share their techniques I would be grateful.

[rich pierce]

From a blank I start making sure the thickness is right all along the fore-end and that things are square to the barrel.  Then I draw some lines with a pencil along the for-end that help me slab off the general shape I intend to achieve and I do that with a plane and spokeshave.  This transitions the fore-end from a square shape to multiple bevels that approximate the end result.  Those bevels or flats get trued up using files or rasps lengthwise to get rid of ripples, then I use files or rasps to achieve the final shape.

[KentSmith]

I put a long straight edge next to the barrel and draw a pencil line parallel to the barrel.  The straight edge is 1/16" thick so it becomes a little more than a sixteenth.  I drop down about a quarter inch from the top of the stock and draw another line parallel with the top of the forearm and another an eight above the ramrod channel.  I use these a guides for my planing, and rasping.  When I have 3 fairly even flats I blend these with files, even up the ramrod channel and follow with 80 grit paper to finish the rounding and blending of the flats.  Gives me a nice straight line.  I make more flats depending on the school..

A couple years back Don Getz suggested a 10" piece of wood backing 80 grit sandpaper to tru3 up the ripples and slight variations left by the rasps and files.  Works well for me.

[flehto]

The forestock is sawn leaving 3/16" along the bbl and seeing I use swamped bbls, a 2" lg piece of 3/32" thick  brass is slid along the bbl w/ a pencil marking the outside of the brass. The wood is then  taken down to this line.  Depending on the size of the RR pipes, a "scratch tool" which rides in the RR groove marks a line usually 1/16" outside the RR groove. Then  2  lines, one  1/3 down  and another 1/2 way down  of the forestock height are drawn in for an elliptical forend shape. If it's a "V" forend, then  2  lines, one  3/16" and another 5/16"  down is drawn . Seeing not much wood has to be removed, I use a "Surform" , then a #49 Nicholson rasp and finally a double cut file.  There are probably faster ways to shape a forestock but I don't do this for a living. To me, leaving very little wood after bandsawing is a real time saver. Normally I start w/ a blank but the same procedure is used on a precarve.....Fred

[Hangfire]

Now I'm starting to see how to do this easier. The measuring and drawing of lines down the stock shows me how I can keep things running true while removing the unwanted stock material. Thanks guys for getting me thinking in the right direction.

[FALout]

I usually use a scraper that I made out of a piece of "L" shaped wood and a small hand plane blade (what I had laying around).  I just ground the steel to the shape that I liked, the blade is held by 2 bolts.  Scrape it down, then use files and sandpaper.  My current project, the scrapers don't work, just tears the wood, so I'm using files pretty much for the whole shaping thing.

[mjm46@bellsouth.net]

The forestock is sawn leaving 3/16" along the bbl and seeing I use swamped bbls, a 2" lg piece of 3/32" thick  brass is slid along the bbl w/ a pencil marking the outside of the brass. The wood is then  taken down to this line.  Depending on the size of the RR pipes, a "scratch tool" which rides in the RR groove marks a line usually 1/16" outside the RR groove. Then  2  lines, one  1/3 down  and another 1/2 way down  of the forestock height are drawn in for an elliptical forend shape. If it's a "V" forend, then  2  lines, one  3/16" and another 5/16"  down is drawn . Seeing not much wood has to be removed, I use a "Surform" , then a #49 Nicholson rasp and finally a double cut file.  There are probably faster ways to shape a forestock but I don't do this for a living. To me, leaving very little wood after bandsawing is a real time saver. Normally I start w/ a blank but the same procedure is used on a precarve.....Fred

I follow this procedure also,  but I also find that this is a great time to make sure that the sides are square to the barrel and the top edge of the stock is square and even to the barrel. You don't want to get one side of the stock higher on the barrel than the other.

[keweenaw]

I do almost all the shaping of the forestock with a very, very sharp low angle block plane and only have to switch to rasps and files in the transition area to the entry pipe.  The plane is run at an angle to the wood so following the swamped contour isn't a problem.  It's very fast to do it this way, the plane cuts very cleanly even on highly curled wood and if I'm careful and the the cuts are very fine I can achieve a nearly finished surface.

Tom