Author Topic: Rifle Stocks (Read 11506 times)

Eric Smith · « **on:** January 10, 2012, 03:23:08 AM »

Excuse me, but I'm a green horn and have about a million questions +. Where have you had the best experience buying stock material for new guns, be it stock blanks or precarved? if precarved, to what degree and whats your preference?

tallbear · « **Reply #1 on:** January 10, 2012, 03:30:35 AM »

Most of my best wood has come from Freddie Harrison.Lately i've gotten real nice wood from Tony Clark who posts here on the board.

t.caster · « **Reply #2 on:** January 10, 2012, 03:42:03 AM »

I agree with Freddie Harrison, and also Dunlaps Woodcraft. Some of the guys who do inletting have some nice wood for sale too...like Dave Keck at Knob Mnt. for example. I find a great piece at a gun show occasionally too. You shouldn't spend much on your first build....you should be able to get a plain blank piece of hard maple for under $60.

docone · « **Reply #3 on:** January 10, 2012, 03:43:28 AM »

I am a greenie also. I have just ordered a stock from Track of the Wolf.
The stock, is profiled, with barrel channel, and ramrod hole. I prefer to inlet the lock rather than use preinletted. The ones I have done before did not work well. The last one I used a non-inlet stock. Actually less work then pre-inletted.
I have been pleasantly suprised with the stocks I have gotten so far. Next one though, I do plan on using one of us for the wood. I found out about them after I ordered.

Long John · « **Reply #4 on:** January 10, 2012, 05:32:57 AM »

I like to build from a blank. It gives me the freedom to design the rifle I want. That freedom can get you into trouble but building rifles is a lot like riding a bicycle - you can't rewally learn how to do it by letting some one else ride - you have to climb on and do it in the first person. By that I mean that you really learn about rifle design when you have to design it yourself, in the first person.

I get most of my blanks from Tigerhunt when I go to the Fair at Dixon's each summer.

Best Regards,

JMC

Cory Joe Stewart · « **Reply #5 on:** January 10, 2012, 07:00:35 AM »

Eric,

My stock came from Dave Keck at Knob Mountain. I was not confident enough to shape the whole thing, but I wanted to inlet the lock and major parts. When I got it the barrel was inlet and the ramrod hole was drilled. The shoulder areas was roughly cut out. It does limit yourdesign, but I research a lot and picked a pretty close precarve and have adjusted it some with shaping.

This is what it looked like when I got it.

Coryjoe

whitebear · « **Reply #6 on:** January 10, 2012, 07:44:18 AM »

I have had really good results with Freddie Harrison. The stock is squared out resembling a rifle and the barrel channel and ramrod hole are done. You do the rest.

whitebear · « **Reply #7 on:** January 10, 2012, 07:46:30 AM »

Welcome to the forum Eric and Docone.

elk killer · « **Reply #8 on:** January 10, 2012, 02:57:29 PM »

for precarves,,i fail to see why someone just wouldnt go directly to pecatonica,,
thats where all of the stocks for that Track place come from..
plus they are a whole lot nicer,,,

i know ill be in trouble..!!!!

The other DWS · « **Reply #9 on:** January 10, 2012, 03:20:20 PM »

I've done it both ways, pros and cons for both. I personally was less than pleased with the last TOW pre carve. barrel fit was excellent but the lock, side plate (fancy french type D), trigger guard and buttplate inletting was off and very hard to correct. Maybe with less elaborate furniture it might have been better. But the lock-pan/barrel breach placement was off enough I was afraid I'd have to forgo a touchhole liner until I did some serious rework of the pan cavity.

having a basic pre carve with the barrel and rr milled out is a huge time saver, though getting a real good barrel fit is great practice for scraping and detail fitting.

My most recent project is from Randy Heil (FKA TVM) and involved a swamped Rice VA barrel with some custom touches and he did a great job stocking the barrel and insetting the lock for me I'm very pleased with his work and products.

FlintFan · « **Reply #10 on:** January 10, 2012, 04:16:16 PM »

Quote from: elk killer on January 10, 2012, 02:57:29 PM

for precarves,,i fail to see why someone just wouldnt go directly to pecatonica,,
thats where all of the stocks for that Track place come from..
plus they are a whole lot nicer,,,
i know ill be in trouble..!!!!

Because not "all" of TOW's stocks are only from Pecatonica, they have many that are unique to them. Plus Pecatonica will run out of a particular stock from time to time too, and you have to find one someplace else...been there done that...

Frank · « **Reply #11 on:** January 10, 2012, 07:34:47 PM »

Quote from: Coryjoe on January 10, 2012, 07:00:35 AM

Eric,

My stock came from Dave Keck at Knob Mountain. I was not confident enough to shape the whole thing, but I wanted to inlet the lock and major parts. When I got it the barrel was inlet and the ramrod hole was drilled. The shoulder areas was roughly cut out. It does limit yourdesign, but I research a lot and picked a pretty close precarve and have adjusted it some with shaping.

This is what it looked like when I got it.

Coryjoe

I have to also recommend Dave Keck. Many precarved stocks do not have the barrel fully inletted, and leaves some tedious work for the first time builder to get the barrrel fully inletted, often times resulting in noticable gaps on the side between the barrel and stock. Dave fully inlets the barrel and it is a very good fit. I have made over 25 rifles and bought stocks from at least 6 different suppliers. The only ones who did it right were Fred Miller and Dave Keck. I just bought my first from Dave Keck at Dixon's last July, a Lehigh Valley stock and had Dave inlet a Rice Barrel. I will be buying all of my stocks from Dave in the future.

Dphariss · « **Reply #12 on:** January 10, 2012, 08:24:53 PM »

Quote from: Eric Smith on January 10, 2012, 03:23:08 AM

Excuse me, but I'm a green horn and have about a million questions +. Where have you had the best experience buying stock material for new guns, be it stock blanks or precarved? if precarved, to what degree and whats your preference?

If you are working on a first build a good precarve can be a good investment.
But keep in mind that all precarves are oversized to some extent and usually have issues.
If you have someone with experience in the local area making one from a blank is doable but requires a lot more work and some instruction/supervision so that the stock does not become firewood.
I use blanks. But have built some decent guns with precarves.
The problem with buying precarves is that the description of drops etc is not always accurate and sometimes the inlet may be a little loose.
I have a couple of of friends who just got some stocks in from Knob Mountain but I have not talked to them about them and they have not started teh build since I have not finished their breech plugs.
Dan

LRB · « **Reply #13 on:** January 11, 2012, 01:21:05 AM »

I have used three of TOW's Lancaster precarved stocks, the one made for a 44" barrel, and they all turned out very well. But all three were over inletted for the barrel in the midway area of the fore arm, requireing glass bedding to close the empty space under that portion of the barrel. If pulled up tight to the barrel, the RR groove would curve noticably, following the swamp of the barrel. As a side note. The L&R Queen Ann round faced lock can be fitted their lock inlet. I have done it twice at any rate, but unfortunately, the Chambers version cannot be fitted to their inlet. Their frontal cut is too wide for the Chambers. I would also add that the TOW maple stocks are just a tad on the soft side. Not real bad, but softesh.

Eric Smith · « **Reply #14 on:** January 11, 2012, 02:08:54 AM »

I am working on a TOTW precarve now, a first build. Its the least expensive one and I bought it to learn on. But I have spent too much money on tools to let this be the last one. Besides, I am enjoying this a lot. I just wanted to get some opinions on wood. I will probably be purchasing some more soon just to let it acclimatise, I live in the deep humid south, before I begin. The next one probably wont be precarved, maybe the barrel, that would be a step up.

Dr. Tim-Boone · « **Reply #15 on:** January 11, 2012, 05:42:52 AM »

Eric, What part of GA do you live in?

Eric Smith · « **Reply #16 on:** January 11, 2012, 01:36:18 PM »

About 15 Miles south of Augusta.

Don Getz · « **Reply #17 on:** January 11, 2012, 05:04:44 PM »

Some info on precarved stocks. Both John Bivins and Jim Chambers used pre-carved stocks. Jim basically got the kit business started when he made a pattern for his early lancaster rifle. His stock pattern was developed around a
standard Dickert barrel and had a lock inlet for one of his locks, plus the stock was completely shaped and inlet for all the
parts. We initially did the same thing with the Isaac Haines kit, which was done before Jim's work. A fellow by the name
of Bob Lepley bought his first Don Allen stock carving machine and had it set up in our barrel shop, and my brother Dick
was responsible for developing the method of carving the whole stock, including the forend. Up to this point, no one had
done that before. I build a lot of barn guns based on a generic lancaster pattern which has a butt shape, barrel inlet for
a 44" swamped barrel, and a siler lock inlet. Forend is still square. Having something like this really gets you off and
running to build a plain, or fancy gun...........Don

Bob Roller · « **Reply #18 on:** January 11, 2012, 05:21:03 PM »

Of all the Long Rifles I have seen pictured here,the one that shows up on the Website every time I come on this forum is my favorite.
Good lines,apparently good workmanship,no distracting inlays anywhere. My kind of rifle.
Is it real or a computer generation?

Bob Roller

b bogart · « **Reply #19 on:** January 11, 2012, 05:47:03 PM »

I have a picture around here somewhere that shows Cecil Brooks (Mike's Uncle

) with stocks in various stages of completion in his shop. One of them in the stack is clearly a precarved. Most likely done to his personal pattern, but nonetheless a precarved. I believe there are more rifles built from those precarves than most realize.

flintriflesmith · « **Reply #20 on:** January 12, 2012, 01:33:12 AM »

Quote from: LRB on January 11, 2012, 01:21:05 AM

...But all three were over inletted for the barrel in the midway area of the fore arm, requireing glass bedding to close the empty space under that portion of the barrel. If pulled up tight to the barrel, the RR groove would curve noticably, following the swamp of the barrel. ...

There are many builders who would say that the web thickness between the bottom flat of the barrel and the ramrod groove is supposed to be the same from beech to muzzle. Many original rifles are that way. That would of course mean that the ramrod groove was required to curve to conform to the barrel profile.

Gary

Dennis Glazener · « **Reply #21 on:** January 12, 2012, 01:44:39 AM »

Quote

Of all the Long Rifles I have seen pictured here,the one that shows up on the Website every time I come on this forum is my favorite.
Good lines,apparently good workmanship,no distracting inlays anywhere. My kind of rifle.
Is it real or a computer generation?

Bob Roller

Bob its real. Mark Elliott, previous owner of ALR, made that rifle. Here is a link to better photos http://www.markelliottva.com/wordpress/2011/07/rifle-5-fully-iron-mounted-southwest-virginia-rifle/

rich pierce · « **Reply #22 on:** January 12, 2012, 01:45:02 AM »

Thanks, Gary! I learned something important today. I assume one makes a straight ramrid groove for drilling the ramrod hole then adjusts the forestock and groove to achieve this?

Jim Kibler · « **Reply #23 on:** January 12, 2012, 03:56:24 AM »

With a big breeched fowler barrel, a ramrod groove following the barrel is a must if you don't want the forestock to be a mile wide.

Bob Roller · « **Reply #24 on:** January 12, 2012, 06:51:15 AM »

MIGHTY FINE work. We have sunk our discretionary money into our now 109 year old house-new walls,bathroom with walk in shower and exterior painting plus redone front porch and all major appliances and more. The $3500 for that iron mounted gun is reasonable when considering that $3500 has the life expectancy of a @$#% in a hurricane and that rifle should still be here when our grandchildren are old and feeble.

Bob Roller

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Author Topic: Rifle Stocks (Read 11506 times)

docone

The other DWS