Murder on gunstock row...!

[oldtravler61]

  Looking for good advice. Years ago when I was starting to build from a blank. I cut out a couple of stocks using a pattern for a Lancaster style. After inletting the barrel an doing the ram rod hole. I noticed that at the end of the forarm where it meet the ram rod channel is mighty thin...Real screw up on my part. Well I set the stock aside an marked it off as a big learning curve.
Anyway the other day I was looking at it an thinking is their away to save it...it's a real pretty piece of curly maple..! So I'm
asking for some advice on idea's that might just save it..without making the fix real noticeable...any help much appreciated.
  Oldtravler
M

[smallpatch]

We need photos.

[JTR]

How thin is Mighty Thin?

[J. Talbert]

Assuming it is TOO thin as is, and hopefully it is still squared up, you could glue a slab to the bottom and proceed.
Hopefully you can match up a piece with similar grain structure and orientation.

Jeff

[heinz]

You can do one of those long decorative plates on the bottom of the forearm.  I suspect they usually appeared when needed to cover a drilling error

[oldtravler61]

 Da will post pictures tomorrow...Should have done that...
  Oldtravler

[Ezra]

Photos would be awesome.

Ez

[Hungry Horse]

 I agree with Heinz, put a wear plate on the forearm. Back in the day, a gunsmith had way to much time invested in a gunstock to pitch it just because he made a error in the early construction, of uncovered a bark inclusion, or a mineral streak. I own a percussion half stock that was in my possession for a lot of years before I discovered that the gunsmith that built it uncovered a bark inclusion in the buttshock sometime during its construction, and made such a nice matching plug for it that it remained his secret until the finish cracked a little bit around the plug, a hundred and fifty years later. Back then it was called craftsmanship, today its called finding a workaround.

  Hungry Horse

[oldtravler61]

  Thanks for the replies...will get pic up tomorrow..was out of town today..Oldtravler

[mikeyfirelock]

If I understand your description correctly I encountered sort of the same thing a while back in a trade gun kit I did for a friend.  The Ramrod hole was drilled “uphill” and the wood thickness in the barrel channel was paper thin in the lock area.  There was just enough wood on top of the stock to salvage this, so I cut a tapered piece about 12-14 in. Long , opened up the barrel channel , and glued it into the barrel channel. Then re-inletted the barrel. Gave me just enough wood there to put the forward lock screw through without interfering with the ramrod. Maybe something similar would work for your situation ?
Mikeyfirelock

[oldtravler61]

  Here's the pictures of the forearm ramrod hole area.
 

[rich pierce]

If it’s thicker than that toward the guard I’d glue a piece on 1/8” thick extending back most of the way toward the guard. Then inlet entry thimble, shape the fore end and design a wear plate to completely hide the patch. Looks like too good a piece of maple to give up on.

[oldtravler61]

  Rich thanks it is a real curly piece of maple. The pictures don't do it justice. I did get lucky. Because I found the piece i cut off.
So I will do what has been suggested... Thanks again..

Oldtravler

[Bob Roller]

How thin is Mighty Thin?

Something that's so thin there is only ONE side to it .
Bob Roller

[t.caster]

Mike, how far from the breech is the transition now? If the web is thicker toward the breech, I wonder if you couldn't move the transition back an inch or two and be good.