Author Topic: Saw in the cheekpiece? (Read 12593 times)

rich pierce · « **on:** February 27, 2009, 09:42:13 PM »

I have the buttplate in on the latest build and now and ready to shape the buttstock. The wood is dense stump walnut with swirly grain (bummer, I know, all those pretty colors to deal with). I am thinking of using a backsaw to rough in the cheekpiece on this blank. Have you done it? My other choice is the gouge but that's going to be touchy with this grain going every which way.

Lucky R A · « **Reply #1 on:** February 27, 2009, 10:52:51 PM »

Rich. I use a hand saw to cut in all my cheekpieces. I saw in the bottom line and if the grain is running the right way, and the planets are properly aligned I just split out the most of the bottom chunk down to the bottom of the stock. I then finish it up with a hand pushed extra long flat chisle. When the grain isn't running correctly I use the hand saw to cut out the the bottom piece. It is a lot easier than trying to rasp out the extra wood. I have seen a number of originals that still showed evidence of the bottom cut on the cheekpiece being cut with a hand saw.

t.caster · « **Reply #2 on:** February 28, 2009, 12:33:23 AM »

I saw it in too. Then a combination of chisels, scrapers & files.

northmn · « **Reply #3 on:** February 28, 2009, 01:12:16 AM »

In rough shaping I don't much care how the chips hit the floor. I use a sawpretty much as described above. Not only for under the cheeck piece but behind it as well. I have had some problems with trying to split things out so I tend to saw both ways.

DP

J Shingler · « **Reply #4 on:** February 28, 2009, 01:44:56 AM »

Rich,
I try and take the big chunks off well in big chunks. Some areas I band saw some I hand saw. Of course the Nicholson 49 Comes into play big time. My all time favorite file.
Jeff

rich pierce · « **Reply #5 on:** February 28, 2009, 02:03:00 AM »

That's what I'm talkin about!

Red Owl · « **Reply #6 on:** February 28, 2009, 02:11:19 AM »

I'm sort of a beginner at this. This there any rules of thumb in laying out the cheek piece? Right now I was just going to copy what I have on some other rifles. Any tips on this part of the job appreciated.

Rich · « **Reply #7 on:** February 28, 2009, 03:51:05 AM »

The Gunsmith of Granville county has a chapter on it. It works pretty well. I too use a saw. Just make sure you don't saw all the way to the finish line on the sides or else you won't have room for the wood to slope. I understand that on earlier rifles, the slope (from the butt plate to the back of the cheekpiece) was greater than on later ones. Another decision is whether the underside of the cheekpiece is going to be sloped or square.

Dave B · « **Reply #8 on:** February 28, 2009, 05:57:29 PM »

If any of you have not seen the Gunsmith of Williamsberg where Wallace Gussler goes after the butt stock with a hatchet to rough profile, makes my toes curl. I use my band saw to rougn out the top profile and follow that up with a gouge and flat chisel. I had not thought to use a hand saw but it has less chance of going wrong like the bandsaw can. I find that when I first started doing this stuff I was using alot of power tools(router, belt sander, dremel) and now I use them with less freqency. In fact my last rifle was shaped with hand tools once profiled with the band saw.

Benedict · « **Reply #9 on:** February 28, 2009, 06:21:41 PM »

Mark Silver's Video shows him shaping the cheek piece with hand planes. Very little if any of it is done with saws.

Bruce

D. Taylor Sapergia · « **Reply #10 on:** February 28, 2009, 08:23:24 PM »

I do it both ways - saw or gouge - depending on the grain of the wood and my whim at the time. I prefer the gouge because I can see it taking shape better with control, and it is pleasant work. You young guys are always in a hurry. I finish up with rasps and files after the chisel work is to my satisfaction. Here's the saw used on the Rupp rifle I brought to Dixon's in 07 and the gouge used on the Kuntz I'm bringing this year.

It seems the computer doesn't want to display the Kuntz ...must be wanting it to remain a mystery. I'll try again.

D. Taylor Sapergia · « **Reply #11 on:** February 28, 2009, 08:27:44 PM »

Here's the gouge work on the Kuntz I refered to previously. You can see the rasps I used to finish up on the bench.

rich pierce · « **Reply #12 on:** March 01, 2009, 05:43:00 AM »

Now that's a real workbench!

Lucky R A · « **Reply #13 on:** March 01, 2009, 03:26:51 PM »

Darn, Taylor I think you snuck into my shop and took a photo of my work bench. Much the same vice, same set up. I did go to the trouble of making a drawer for that open space you have beyond your vice. Heck, I even set my other guns that I am working on at the same place. I occasionally spend a half hour looking for a screw or pin that "I know I laid right there!"

Roy S. · « **Reply #14 on:** March 02, 2009, 03:56:18 PM »

I do the most of the shaping using a band saw..

rich pierce · « **Reply #15 on:** March 02, 2009, 06:45:04 PM »

I don't have any power tools like that. I have basic carpenter handyman stuff- a hand drill and a circular saw.

Roy S. · « **Reply #16 on:** March 02, 2009, 07:52:00 PM »

I have been thinking about making a frame saw.. that would work where I use a band saw..

Acer Saccharum · « **Reply #17 on:** March 02, 2009, 08:01:22 PM »

Frame saw...the downfall is BLADES. find a good balde, and you got it made.

Let me know if you find anything, or do I make one out of bandsaw stock? Most of the framesaw blades are quite wide, which does not work on a stock contour.

Benedict · « **Reply #18 on:** March 02, 2009, 09:03:46 PM »

I made a frame saw out of 1 inch band saw stock. It has been a while since I used it but I should have gotten one with fewer teeth as it cuts pretty slow. I was using it to slab off the sides of the barrel rather than cutting the cheek piece. I would think that a thinner blade with about 4 TPI would work well.

But for my current build, I cut the cheek piece with hand planes and gouges. The work went quite fast and did a good job.

Bruce

Stophel · « **Reply #19 on:** March 02, 2009, 09:40:56 PM »

I very quickly cobbled together a crooked frame saw some years ago. I used a piece of bandsaw blade. Just annealed the ends, drilled a hole, and used the ends from a hacksaw to hook the blade and tighten it up. It worked quite well, and cut quickly, though it cut crookedly....but that's because I didn't exactly build the saw with care. It was just an experiment.

Roy S. · « **Reply #20 on:** March 02, 2009, 10:16:20 PM »

I was thinking of using a band saw blade.. years ago all of my Grandfather's gun stocks were shaped using a frame saw. He started in the late 40's and don't think he got a band saw untill sometime in the late 60's early 70's. Should be sort of fun to make one anyway..

Stophel · « **Reply #21 on:** March 02, 2009, 10:30:21 PM »

It's four sticks of wood, a blade, and blade hooks/tensioners. Not much too one.

rich pierce · « **Reply #22 on:** March 02, 2009, 10:55:31 PM »

I use the woodcrafter's frame saw when it's the right one for the task. For this I'd use a backsaw.

George F. · « **Reply #23 on:** March 02, 2009, 11:24:07 PM »

Blades for a frame saw can probably be made from band saw blades, cut down and holes drilled for tensioning points for your frame saw. ...Geo.
Now that I read several other answers, I see mine wasn't the only one with the idea.

Stophel · « **Reply #24 on:** March 03, 2009, 12:04:39 AM »

For the cheekpiece, also cut it with a backsaw (for those that are relatively flat and square underneath). I now, finally, have a couple of nice long paring chisels, which I have yearned for lo, these many years, and they are exactly what I need for chiseling off under the cheekpiece. I also have a small bullnose plane that can come in handy for this area. In fact, this is the only thing I ever use this plane for.

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Author Topic: Saw in the cheekpiece? (Read 12593 times)

northmn

J Shingler

Red Owl

Roy S.

Roy S.

Roy S.

George F.