How do I fix this?

[frogwalking]

This is not as critical as not being able to  use the flash hole liner, but you folks got me out of that one.  This is a little more difficult to explain.  I installed the cheekpiece inlay too far to the rear.  I must have only looked at where it appeared to fit the best, and did not notice how far off center it was.  The first photo shows how it is now.  The second is a ham fisted effort to photoshop the stock, showing how it would look if I cut the front of the cheek piece off.  What do you folks think? 




Thanks  in advance,

Frog

[iloco]

I like the full cheek piece.  If were me I would not worry so much about it being off centered.  How many would notice it.  just my opinion.
 

[tallbear]

I would shorten the cheek piece but not as much as you have in the second pic.There are many originals with shorter cheekpieces than you have in the first pic.There also many originals where the cheekpiece inlay wasn't perfectly centered.

Mitch

[JDK]

+1 for shortening as per your example.  Too me, it looks better, and not just in reference to the cheek star.  Enjoy, J.D.

[Ed Wenger]

What Mitch said...  Especially if you add some carving on the wrist to transition it some.

          Ed

[LIBERTY]

why not just leave it alone for a while and see what grows on you? I think it adds a little something the  way it is but that's just one opinion.

[PPatch]

First off - that is a nice inlay and will look good on your rifle. Second, consider shortening the cheek piece but not nearly so much, leave the inlay a bit off-center. No one will notice and if they do just tell them that is the way you liked and intended to do it. And Liberty is right by saying leave it for a bit and come back to it and then make your move. doing that always helps me with something like this. but then I mever Nake mistakes. 

dave

[Mark Elliott]

I am with Mitch on this one, and congratulations on thinking up a creative solution to the problem.   

[kutter]

I'd either leave it.
Or,,tip the angle of the cheek piece instead of just shortening the front.
Bring the front up just a bit, which will in effect shorten the edge a little.
Bring the rear edge down just a bit. That will give the inlay more room on the right side and not look
so boxed in and off center to you.
You'll have to reshape the cheek piece edge mouldings to match the new angle of course but it's not
going to be a drastic change. You will loose a small amount of height to the edge in this but it can be regained by careful reshaping & slimming up under and around the cheek piece.

Between the two very slight changes brought about by the angle difference, the inlay will appear more comfortably in place over the cheek piece edge, and you won't loose any great length to the edge in doing so.

[wmaser]

Definitely, shorten the cheekpiece.

[Acer Saccharum]

Like the shorter cheekpiece. Ease the transition with carving. You'll be fine.


Also, nothing is perfect, have you noticed?


perfectly symmetrical things are perfectly boring.

[bedbugbilly]

In your first photo, it appears to me that the inlay is pretty much centered between the butt and the comb - I really think that it looks O.K. if you look at it in that aspect.  After all, every rifle/smoothbore is an individual creation and over the years, I have seen a lot of rifles where inlays weren't necessarily "centered".

That said . . . . you second photo with the shortened cheekpiece looks good as well. 

I would say that it's up to you . . . forget about what other's think.  You've done a very nice job on it.  Before shortening the cheekpiece, how does the longer one feel to you when you shoulder it?  Is shortening it going to to change how it feels as far as you sighting and such?  If it isn't going to affect that, then it's your option to either change it or leave it.  Either way, you're going to have a nice firearm that you can be proud of.   

[Robby]

I would start paring away the front of the cheek piece, mindful of any carving I might include later, till it is pleasing to my eye. In your second picture I think you have gone too far. Good symmetry doesn't always require that a centerpiece be centered.
Robby

[Vomitus]

  bedbugbilly   vg name!

[LehighBrad]

To me, the vertical centerline of the cheek piece inlay looks pretty centered between the nose of your comb and the top back corner of the butt plate, so as far as eye pleasing to me, I'd just shorten the front of the cheek a bit and call it done.  With a good designed roccoco carving behind it and a nice wrist carved design it front, it'll look purdier than a runway model at popsicle eating contest. 

[Pete G.]

It ain't broke.....don't keep fixing it until it is.

[Long John]

I think the cheek piece was to long to begin with.  Like Mitch, Ed, Tom and the others have said - shorten it, put a little carving in front of it and tell folks it was custom made for a guy with a short neck.  Its your lie - tell it any way you want!

Best Regards,

JOhn Cholin

[Nate McKenzie]

Shorten as per your picture and put a little carving in front and behind it to draw your eyes elsewhere.

[Acer Saccharum]

It ain't broke.....don't keep fixing it until it is.

I'm keeping this quote, if I may. I'd like to use it in another world.

[Curtis]

It ain't broke.....don't keep fixing it until it is.

I'm keeping this quote, if I may. I'd like to use it in another world.

I'm with you on that, Acer!  Definitely a keeper!!!