Bonewitz gets bent

[coopersdad]

A week or so ago I was whining on here that my new Bonewitz rifle was a cheek smacker.  I'd miscalculated the drop at comb and heel., and I was considering rasping wood off the comb, or just restocking it.   Taylor Sapergia suggested I try bending the stock to obtain more drop, as he had done that with success and posted some excellent photos a while back.  While searching for that I found David Rase had done the same, and had some great photos of his setup as well.  So why not try?

I bent it beyond what I wanted to get, anticipating springback after it cooled and the jig was removed.  It sprung back more than I'd hoped (almost half of what I'd done).  I added a bit over 1/8" at the comb and a bit over 5/16" at the butt, bringing those measurements on the gun to about 3" at the heel and 1 3/8" at the nose of the comb.

The only minor issue I experienced with the process was the wrist where the oil was poured on the cloth turned very dark.  I feared I'd scorched the wood, but but it appeared to be the finish, as  I was able to scotchbrite and steel wool the finish a bit and things lightened back up enough to look OK for more finish.  I probably caused it, since my hotplate would heat the oil to barely 250 degrees, and took a long time doing that, so I used a heat gun on the pot to get it hotter.   I was worried the stock was cooling too much due to that time, so a couple of times  I played the heat gun over the cloth, thinking it would keep them hotter - never for very long, but after a couple of times I decided that was probably not wise. I won't do that again.

I thought it may need to be bent more, but decided to shoot it first. I spent a pleasant morning at the range shooting some groups and plinking some steel, mostly to get a feel for it before I get into serious load workup. I fired about 40 rounds, and no cheek smacking! 

So I am VERY happy!  Thank you Taylor and David for your generous advice! 

[smylee grouch]

That sounds good. Did you take any before and after photos?

[smart dog]

Hi,
I did the same to the Edward Marshall rifle during construction.  I added 3/8" more drop at heel.




dave

[coopersdad]

Smylee, there isn't a lot of noticeable difference in the angles I can see.  Here it is before and after bending:

Before:



After:




Here is the stock just after bending, showing the darkening I removed: 







The cheekpiece side is still a bit dark, but looks better in person than in the photo:

[coopersdad]

Smart Dog, dumb question, did you use heat or just bend it like that?

[davec2]

David,
How did you heat the wood ?  Wet ? Dry ? Oil ?  Taking a cue from watching a cooper make a barrel*, I tried it dry with a heater tape and a rheostat to keep the temperature at ~ 250F for a couple of hours.  The wood (oak in this case) bent very easily.  I unplugged the heater tape and let the whole thing cool down slowly still in the rig.  Very little spring back.....maybe about 10%.

* He heated the barrel staves by burning the shavings from making them in an iron frame inside the splayed barrel with only a hoop on one end.  When the flames went out, he flipped the barrel over, put a tourniquet on the splayed end and easily pulled all the staves together.  All done with dry heat.

[smart dog]

Hi,
I heated canola oil to almost smoking.  I wrapped the wrist with an old sock.  Placed a metal tray under it al to catch any excess oil and poured the hot oil on the sock wrapped around the wrist.  I let it sit for 10 minutes and then cranked on the pipe clamp. This is my version of what British gun makers did to adjust stocks.  It worked very well, thank you Kit Ravenshear.

dave

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Great results!  I'm so pleased for you.  Taking a rasp to a finished rifle...yikes!!  A rifle that pretty should be fun to shoot, and now you're there.

[smylee grouch]

Kind of a coincidence but a friend built a left hand Bonewitz rifle for his oldest son. It too was a face slapper.  About a month after he finished  it the stock broke almost all the way through the wrist. We used white glue to put it back together then a 1/4 inch steel rod through the wrist for extra support. It worked great and you can't see the repair but it's still a face slapper. I'm thinking that you would not be able to bend that stock now that the steel rod is in there from breech to the comb drop off. Any one do this?

[coopersdad]

I certainly appreciate this group of folks. Any time I've hit a wall with a build and thought I'd failed, someone has always helped me out of it. 

[Daryl]

I can't "see" how a steel rod reinforced wrist could be bent, Smylee G. The steel would have to stretch while not
 breaking it's "glued" bond to the wood, or not damaging the wood it's glued to in the process. Can't "see" it.
But then, I'm not much of a builder.

[smylee grouch]

Daryl, I think your right. The guy that built the gun used a B weight 50 cal 42" long with a dense piece of sugar maple. I don't think he got any cast off because it was a left handed gun and he didn't account for that. A combination of those types of factors means the stout farm boy will have to put up with a little discomfort but he does well, getting about a dozen deer with it so far.

[Curtis]

Nicely done, Mike!!  The slight darkness on the wrist just adds a little character.  I bet it will feel much better now while shooting.


Curtis

[coopersdad]

Thanks Curtis.  It is a pleasure to shoot now.

[Bob Gerard]

Even attempting that on such a finely finished rifle such as yours would, without a doubt, give me a heart attack.
You have guts and a whole lot of skill.
Congratulations!

[Top Jaw]

I put some cast off into a couple of pre-carved stocks several years back - Using boiling water,  a wool sock, and a heat gun. These were the type without the lock cut out yet.  Both took and held the castoff after finishing. As stated, you have to go farther than you want to allow for some spring back. 

[coopersdad]

Bob, I was a nervous wreck while doing it, anticipating a sickening Craaaacccckkk!  But it worked and now I have another skill learned. 

[Bob Gerard]

Coopersdad, I can only imagine. I still cant imagine how you did it. I bend very thin wood for instruments which isnt that daunting. But bending a stock, with the lock mortise, trigger hole and all the other cavities in that wood without it cracking is beyond my wildest dreams. But you did it. You're like the Marines of stock crafting