Blank Thickness

[grabenkater]

I was just gifted a nice piece of well figured maple that's about 5'X14" X2". Would this be thick enough for a late 18th century rifle stock?

[Sidelock]

I have built Tenn. rifles from 2" boards, I prefer a little more width but you can get a rifle out of that.  You will be limited in what you can fit in there however, look for a rifle style with a butt plate I would say no larger than 1 3/8" wide, and an "A" wt. barrel down in the 13/16" area of width at the breech.  With parts of these sizes you may even have a little left over for a bit of cast off if you like.   

[Mark Elliott]

That depends entirely on the style of rifle, the barrel, lock, butt piece choice, and your skill.   If you have to ask the question, then I would say probably not; at least at this time.   Most stock blanks are 2 1/2" - 2 3/4" which is thick enough for most styles.    A 2" thick blank is workable for a good number of Golden Age rifles , but there is little room for error.    If you are not experienced enough at laying out a rifle to know if you can do it or not,  then I would say it is not likely, unless you get in person help from an experienced builder.  

[EC121]

You would have to look at the measurements of the barrel at the breech and the lock you want to use to see if it will fit.  Won't be much extra wood.  Then look for stock profile with a skinny butt plate and a low cheekpiece.  You didn't say what style you want for a rifle.  Since it is a free piece of wood, what's the worst that could happen?  Lay out a center line, do some measuring, and give it a try.       

[okawbow]

I recently finished a Tennessee squirrel rifle using a stock blank that was only 1 3/4" thick. However; the barrel was only 3/4". 2" will work for a 15/16" barrel.

[b bogart]

This is a (supposed to be) Bucks Co style rifle built from a blank that was 1 7/8" thick. I gort it cheap, and I sweated all the way thru the build about the width, but came out OK by me. C weight .40 caliber Colerain barrel and Siler lock. If as hack like me can do it so can you.

[grabenkater]

I'm thinking I'd like to build a "Schimmel" or a poorboy style rifle.

[sqrldog]

Another way to get more out of your blank is to offset the muzzle 1/8" off center to the lock side and the breech 1/8"  to the cheekpiece side this moves the centerline of the bore and gives you the ability to get more castoff. If you don't feel comfortable doing this one of the guys that routinely inlets barrels can do it for you. Their info can be found on this site. While you're at it you might want them to precarve a poorboy for you. Don't have them inlet the lock. Just works easier that way. Tim
By the way later period rifles had little or no castoff. As the stocks got skinnier it wasn't necessary
By the way many later period rifles had little or no cast off as they got skinnier.

[Tim Crosby]

 Bruce, Glad to see you posting.

  Tim C.

[David Rase]

The way I approach laying out a rifle on a blank is to start with the buttplate width.  If building a right hand rifle, layout the width of the buttplate on the far right hand side of the stock.  Give yourself 1/16" of room from the edge of the stock to the edge of the buttplate.  Next, from the center line of the buttplate, layout your castoff.  In other words, if you want 1/4' of castoff, make a mark 1/4" to the left of the buttplate centerline.  Now take a straightedge the length of the stock and place one end of the straightedge on the castoff mark and the other end of the straightedge in the center of the width of the stock at the muzzle.  While holding the straightedge on these two points, place a mark where the breech of the barrel would be.  Remove the straightedge and see if there is enough width for the lock and side panels.  If not, place the straightedge back on the castoff mark on the butt of the blank and pivot the straightedge at the muzzle to one side or the other about 1/4", remark the breech and check for enough width again.  Continue the above until you have a layout that works or determine that your blank will not work.  Very rarely have I not been able to get a 2 1/4" wide blank not to work with a 2" butt plate.  A later period gun with a 1 1/2" to 1 3/4" wide buttplate would be a slam dunk on a 2" wide blank.
David

[Dennis Glazener]

I once built a mountain rifle from a 1 3/4" thick maple board. It had a 1" straight barrel. The flat on the cheekrest was the outside flat of the board. I had a little cast-off to allow a thin cheekrest. Not a spare bit of wood, good part was not a lot of surplus to take off!
Dennis

[sqrldog]

Thanks Dave you said it a whole lot better than I did. Dave also inlets barrels and drills ramrod holes for other folks.  So there you go.