stock blank too thin?

[Chrisweiler]

Finished up my first pistol build (pictures soon), now in the mood to build another rifle.

I'd like to try to make as much of the hardware from scratch as possible (armed with a champion forge, 175# anvil and a House Brothers knife class under my belt) from scrap iron around the farm. Maybe try to make set triggers if there's a good how-to somewhere?

My boggle is that I would like to use a piece of curly maple from the home farm (Butler, Ohio) that grandpa and I cut 12ish years ago, its been kiln dried in stacked in the barn since then. BUT when he rough cut it on the old sawmill, all the pieces were 2" max thickness.

I know that is barely wider than the buttstock on my Lancaster style build, I'd like to make something in the woodbury style built around an A-weight .40 cal swamp barrel and a bailes/manton style lock if I can get a good/fast sparker in a lefty.

I'll call Mark Weader and see what he can work around, but looking for thoughts/suggestions.

thanks!

[Dennis Glazener]

SMR's usually will work with this thickness. Probably most rifles without cheekpiece.
Dennis

[Joe Schell]

You could build something like this with a 2" blank without any trouble

[Nordnecker]

One of my rifles is a .40 Rice squirrel Bbl with a Bailes lock. It is only about 1 3/16 wide at the lock and panel. It has castoff and a cheek piece. 2" wide stock is no problem for a rifle like this.

[Chrisweiler]

Nordecker would you have pictures of the rifle by chance? Very interested to see

Which make of bailes lock did you use?

Thanks!

[oldtravler61]

  Mighty fine rifle Joe. But a two inch thick stock would work fine for a Soddy with cheek piece.  Just my p pion.  Oldtravler

[Nordnecker]

girl to boy name generator
I'm trying to hold the yardstick flat to the side plate so you can see the castoff.

[Jim Kibler]

You ought to be able to make a gun with a 1 3/4" buttplate with that wood if you layout very carefully and are okay with a modest cheek piece.   Many tend to make cheek pieces over sized today.

[Mr. Bubbles]

You can get a little help on the PB side with the thickness of the metal for the PB, or slightly more than that if you go with a wooden one.  If you have to splice in a little extra width to get your thickness, it's not a big deal, because the only place the glue line would ever show is when the PB is open anyway.

If you build in some cast-off you can get a little help there by angling the blank a bit too.  As viewed from the top of the blank;, the muzzle positioned on the far right, breech on the far left, and BP on the far right again.

[Chrisweiler]

Nordnecker,Jim,joe/Bubbles really appreciate the feedback. I like a little cast on in my rifle (I’m a lefty) so appreciate the technique. I’m considering taking the plunge and trying to inlet the barrel/ramrod hole myself, I suppose worst case I ruin a chunk of wood if I really screw it up.

Joe schell have always admired your work since I got into this a couple  years ago, the profile of your gun would be a southern mountain rifle correct?

Since I have so many experts here, one rifle I’ve always loved the architecture on was Hershel houses “Spears rifle”, it pops up if you google it, but curious what profile that would be? Seems SMR-ish? Possible out of the wood I described?

Again thanks much everyone

[Top Jaw]

I have done this to a couple of precarves.  But you could lay out the gun straight and work the stock down to a point where you could then heat the stock and bend it to put in some cast off before final finishing.