Wooden underib

[Scota4570]

I am going to make one on a swamped barrel.  I was planning on using maple to make the rib.  Then pin it to the lugs.  Then pin the pipe to the rib.  Stain the rib with tannic acid and AF. 

No reason to glue it to the barrel?  Any reason to use  a really tough wood?  It is not HC but Ipe is easy to get kinda looks like walnut. 

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Scot

[JeffG]

I put a wooden under rib on a .50 build that I did. I wouldn't use longer grain wood like maple, because it might tend to crack. Gluing it to the barrel might be a good idea. Tapping the pins through the thimbles and tenons is the challenge.

[okawbow]

I made a maple under rib but made it bigger than a normal rib for strength. It is milled to fit around the barrel a little ways and also has a shallow groove for the ramrod.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Why not Osage? None meaner.

[Bill in Md]

Why not Osage? None meaner.

I second this idea....Quarter sawn would give the best combination of strength and grain exposure.

[Bob Roller]

Not common but not unknown.I have seen wooden ribs on old rifles that may have been full stocks when new but badly damaged by
We may have glues now that will keep them on the barrel and screws might split the wood when tightened.
Bob Roller

[Scota4570]

I bet a split stave of osage or hickory would be excellent.  Unfortunately out here in California my choices are limited.  Any ideas on where to get some and have it shipped to me?

[PEARL DRUMS]

Give me a size with room for you to fiddle with.

[Scota4570]

Give me a size with room for you to fiddle with.

31" x 1/2" x 1/2".  The 1/2" could be bigger to make it easier to grab for the initial squaring up. 

My plan it to make a shooting board and work it with planes. 

[Daryl]

Here are two. I did the red oak on the Seneca and Taylor did the curly maple on the longer gun.

[PEARL DRUMS]

I should be able to get that made up for you in a day or three. I will keep it around 5/8 square, but not smaller. Safer for my fingers running it through the bandsaw.

[Hungry Horse]

Scota4570  Try Madrone its very fine grained, it works well, and accepts stain readily. Weatherby uses it on their lower grade guns that don’t have a lot of figure in the wood. It can be made to look like straight grain walnut, or cherry. It makes a very convincing cherry, so much so that a tradegun I built from it nearly caused a fight with a know it all that insisted that I didn’t know what I was talking about, and that stock was definitely cherry. I got the wood from Calico hardwoods in Windsor California.

Hungry Horse

[Scota4570]

Madrone is interesting wood.  It is quite beautiful with wild grain structure.  The madrone in my area tears itself apart when drying.  I have tried to use it for projects.  The burls are full of figure and voids.  It was also not hard or dense.  I bet it would work great for the epoxy submersion technique. 

A generous person has volunteered me some suitable wood. 

[Hungry Horse]

 Calico autoclaves it to make it more stable. I built my first trade gun out of it because it was cheap, and Weatherby was buying most of Calico’s production of it. I was very skeptical of it at first but the plant manager laughed at me, and said Weatherby will put a madrone stock on a seven mag, and you’re afraid to put it on a trade gun.
  I’m building a rifle out of parts people have given me over the years now, and guess what the stock is Madrone.

Hungry Horse

[David Rase]

I did this little Ambrose Lawing rifle with a hickory under rib.  I dovetailed tenons into the barrel and pinned the under rib and thimbles to the under rib.

[chris laubach]

Wooden under ribs are mostly found on New England half-stocks and were usually hickory.


CL

[longcruise]

I think hickory is the logical choice.  I don't forsee doing one but think ebony would look good.

[Daryl]

I agree, Mike. Ebony with a rust blued barrel.

[okawbow]

I’m making a halfstock with a swamped barrel. Using hard maple for the under rib. I shape the rib by routing a shallow channel for the barrel on a board. I then saw the rib out, keeping close to the channel. I mill the lug cut outs on my drill press and attach the rough rib to the barrel lugs with 1/16” pins. I mark the depth of the rib and ramrod channel and saw and mill to finished thickness. I then bevel the sides on a belt sander to final shape. The ramrod tubes are pinned on the same as if it were a full stock.

[Ky-Flinter]

I put a cherry rib on a Plains rifle years ago, just because I liked how it looked.  The rib is attached to the barrel with screws.  The pipes are pinned to the rib.



Ron

[Realwarrior]

I tried maple on a half stock SMR and it cracked. I settled on hickory.

[okawbow]

I’ve made a few ribs from hard maple, and they all did well with no cracks. I do have to grind and sand to shape though, as the curly maple doesn’t plane well. I’ve also made some from hickory which  works very well, but my favorite is persimmon, which cuts and planes really well, and is a tough and good looking wood.

[Pukka Bundook]

I thought abaut doing a wooden rib years ago, and didn't know they were ever made originally.
Never got at it, but my idea was to use an iron fitting at both ends.  these would be chamfered wider at the lower edge to hold the rib in place, and a pin in the middle through a hidden lug.