Butt plate inlet

[Randall Steffy]

Based on the different approaches I have seen taken in fitting the butt plate to the stock, may I ask a question? Did the 18th century builders typically have crown in the wood beneath the plate and return which would better lock the plate in place and offer some support or was the plate fit against a saw cut? Just asking, as I have done this both ways but prefer HC. Is fitting the wood more thoroughly to the butt plate solely perfectionism or supported by extant examples? I recognize that the butt plate return or extension may require special inletting for some schools but many could be set against a saw cut with minor trimming with a chisel.

[Acer Saccharum]

I don't know what the PC/HC answer is.

But if I had sawed a perfect contour for the plate to sit, and there were no gaps atall, I'd screw it in place and be done.

But the fact is, I never saw a perfect fit, so as I inlet the plate, I end up with a dome-ish effect in some areas of the inlet.



Tom

[E.vonAschwege]

On a few that I've taken apart, both European and American, I've seen saw or rasp marks to indicate a flush cut, and then chisel marks for inletting another 1/16" of an inch or so deeper.  This leads to a bit of a convex surface, but I've never seen one that had contact the whole way across the buttplate. 
-Eric