The problem with precarves

[Paddlefoot]

Here's the problem. I got myself a really nice and highly figured curly maple stock that was pre inlet for the swamped barrel and lock. Though the forestock was basically left the size of a blank it has warped to the point that it is very difficult to get the barrel into the inlet. I have done as much inletting as I dare at the breech end and the muzzle but it still takes a series of stout clamps to  get the barrel down into the whole length of the barrel channel. With the barrel smoked to show the contact points I still have no contact along the bottom flat or the two angles up to the sides. There are considerable areas of contact along the sides but since the pressure is so heavy due to the warpage I really don't want to remove material there until I feel that I can get the barrel seated a little better toward the bottom of the channel. There seems to be a bit of wind in the forestock too and this appears to make the contact different from the left side to the right. I've been considering wetting the stock and clamping the barrel firmly into the channel for a few days to see if that will allow it to relax some and straighten out. Anyone have a better suggestion or a personal experience with this sort of problem.

[coutios]

  If you have not allready done so remove as much waste wood along the barrel channel as you can at this early stage. That should allow the stock to flex alittle easier.. If it still resists you can wet the wood set the barrel into it the best you can and set it aside to dry.. Do something to prevent the barrel from rusting.. Once the barrel channel is cut you should not leave the barrel out for long periods of time..

Best of luck...Dave

[Paddlefoot]

Thanks Dave. I was about to that conclusion. Im a bit hesitant to thin it more right now but I sure don't see many other options. Just so some raw beginners get some benefit here, I know better than to leave the barrel out of the stock. This was warpage that occurred during shipping of the component set. Since the breech area isn't able to accept the end of the barrel, the stock is shipped without anything in the channel. The machining of the channel relieves the internal stresses of the wood and exposes more surface to the open air and this causes the wood to move. It would really be easier to start the inletting of the barrel from the smooth top of the stock blank. It's one of those cases of going the easy route sometimes isn't really easier.
I have the barrel clamped in place right now and I think I'll leave it a couple days and see if it helps anything. If nothing else the stock might be a bit straighter when I undertake thinning those sides.

[Acer Saccharum]

That big section is providing all the muscle behind the resistance. Pare it down, and you may still find that the wood will continue to move. More inletting may be in order, so don't spend any more time on getting a perfect fit.

Here is a a barrel inlet from an original rifle with an octagon barrel. I doubt the barrel even touches the bottom of the inlet. Once the stock goes past the first pin, it's the BARREL that is the structure that supports the stock. The stock is nothing more than a thin sheath over the barrel to carry the thimbles and ramrod. And maybe it serves to keep your hand from sticking to the barrel in the dead of winter.

[JB2]

I had one that was twisted to the point that one of the oblique flats in the barrel channel was almost lined up with the bottom flat of the barrel, at the muzzle.  Lots of attempts at wetting/clamping with barrel in place didn't do anything, the stock just kept springing back when the barrel came out.  Plus I was fighting rust on the barrel.

I finally had to clamp the lock end of the stock upside down to the bench, without barrel, then used door shims under the tip end to put in almost 1/8 turn extra twist after wetting.  I also gave it a few minutes of steam from a wallpaper steamer, just for good measure.  I let it dry for a week, also for good measure, and when I removed the clamps I really expected it to spring all the way back just like before.  IT DIDN'T!!  I was thrilled.  It wasn't perfect, but it was a WHOLE lot closer, and much easier to work with.  the barrel would seat with just light finger pressure, and the pins held everything in place with no issue.

Don't know which direction yours is warped, but I think the trick on mine was going past 'straight' so that when it did spring back, it was 'almost' straight.  I have also heard more recently that steam actually helps wood flex so that it will take a set after it cools and dries.  I didn't know that at the time, but it worked. 

[Paddlefoot]

Mines not as bad as those examples so I think I'm going to take a page out of the guitar repair book and set up a steam tube to get some heat and moisture down in between the barrel as it sits, just to see if I can persuade it to line up a little better. The worst twist seems to be in the last foot or so at the muzzle end. I suppose that taking the sides down a bit would make it easier to get it moving so that's on the list too. I think the inletting will be closer than I thought once the pressure is off the sides a bit. I also noticed that the wood is thicker on one side than the other so I think I will thin that side first to see if that helps get things shifting in the right direction. See I was trying to do this all textbook and keep things square until I got the loops and pins drilled correctly. Always an adventure.

[Paddlefoot]

Well that really went well. I thinned each side by MAYBE a 1/16'' and slopped a good bit of water inside the barrel channel and let it soak a couple minutes. The barrel went in fine with light clamping to keep things seated and seemed to pull that twist right out of the fore stock. Dad always said the worst part of any job was the dread of doing it. I guess this proved it.
  If it stays reasonably straight after drying then  its on to inletting the tang and installing loops. Thanks for the advice and moral support.