Wreck of the ole # 1 part 2

[Nordnecker]

Sorry for keeping you all in suspense.  I managed to get around the entry pipe area and moved on. I decided last week that I would install the touch hole liner and put on a front sight. I figured after all this futzing around and hard (enjoyable) work, That I wanted to hear the gun go BANG. So we shot it on Saturday with no problems. I'm still undecided on the rear sight, but we managed to put all 4 balls that we shot into a standard sized napkin stapled to a board at about 25 yards.

So. I've been fiddling around with blueing/browning metal scraps and finish sanding the stock, polishing the brass, etc. I happened to have the stock upside down in the vise, and stood back a ways. What's this I see? Looking down the fore stock from the muzzle end, the stock is crooked. I mean like a snake, crooked. Nobody noticed this on Saturday.

My stock blank is probably about 15 yrs old, so it should be pretty dry and stable. The off cuts from the side of my fore stock are still straight, so it wasn't internal stress in the wood.

What happened? When I installed the barrel lugs, I didn't check 'em with a straight edge. They "looked" straight enough. I can't help thinking that the lugs pushed/pulled that fragile eggshell stock this way. Yes, I inlet them into a centerline on the stock, but if they were a little off it would certainly put a little pressure on the wood. The barrel will go in or out easily, with no felt resistance.

Got any suggestions?

[rich pierce]

I don't think it's a problem at all.  The fore stock is just a means of holding the ramrod on.  If the barrel flits in just fine it will straighten the stock which is just a sheath.

[bama]

I agree with Rich, I don't think it's a problem. Once the forearm is shaped down there is very little wood left. When the barrel is out of the stock the forearm may move to it's natural position with the grain flow of the wood. If it looks like a snake with the barrel in then you probably have uneven wood down p each side of the  fore stock. When I get to the final shaping I hold the rifle eye level and sight down each side of the fore stock. Then I take down the high spots until I get a nice even surface.

if your lugs are pulling your stock out of alignment then your lug inlets are out of alignment. If this the case just make your inlets wider, do this until things line back up. Then if you wind up with some really wide inlets you can glue some wood into the offside of the inlet.

I hope this helps.

[kaintuck]

Like commented......the forestock is only barrel dressing......and with no barrel IN the stock sometimes it will be crooked.....as long as it's right when the barrel is IN......then don't worry...
Marc

[Nordnecker]

Thanks for your responses. I wasn't very clear in my description. The stock was crooked with the barrel in. Not crooked sideways, but up and down. As I said, the off cuts from either side of the forestock are still straight. I marked the stock with a straight edge and planed off the high areas and it looks fine. But it's a little puzzling as to why this happened.

I know the old saying " you can't see the forrest for the trees" is true sometimes. IOW, you can concentrate on one aspect of something so hard that you don't see the big picture. I'm glad I noticed this before I started staining and finishing. Three different people held and shot this gun last week and none of us noticed this up and down crookedness. Oh, well. It's behind me now.