stock suppliers

[ottawa]

just got off the phone with Pecatonica for a plain maple full stock inleted for barrel and ramrod shipped cost $103 to have lock inletted all to gether about $122 total cost is this a good price or are there  better ones I've missed? this is my first purchase of something like this I'm not going with a practical school this is for the PINK rifle thanks for any help
Ben

[Sam Everly]

I don't know of any place else you could get one at a better price. There quality is always been nice , to me any ways. 

[T*O*F]

is this a good price

Price is relative.  Wood is graded by several features to include figure, density, and cut.  Even in unfigured wood there are variations.  Your cheapest cut is light, plain, slab-sawn sapwood.  The most expensive plain wood is a dense, quarter-sawn piece.

The first piece is fine for a plain gun, but will defy your attempts at detailed carving.  Make sure you get a barrel in your piece asap and keep it in if you are going to store it for any length of time, otherwise it will warp.

[ottawa]

thanks for that barrel tip didnt know that that could have been a big prob

[Roger Fisher]

thanks for that barrel tip didnt know that that could have been a big prob

Yes, some will warp or gap open after cut from the blank (there is a fix)
So get the barrel set in and at least wrapped tight with surgical rubber or some such.  I would suggest you inlet your own lock.

[ottawa]

yes the lock im doing its a rifle from parts i have from poduction ML that I'm scavaging i have the parts so for my first build im trying to keep cost down  soif i  mess somthing beyond repair im not out to much and my daughter is helping so till we both learn. we are having fun she has named her rifle (Barbie Buster ) not bad for an 8 year old

[TinStar]

Roger,

Having never built one, except a CVA mountain rifle, I was wondering why you suggested that he inlet his own lock over having Pecatonica do it? I'm doing a ton of research before I build mine; that's why I read much, post little.

TinStar
Soli Deo Gloria!

[rich pierce]

Why not get a pre-inlet lock mortise?  This can be a blessing or a problem, depending on your needs, abilities, and how things work out.

It can be more difficult to inlet a lock into a pre-cut mortise than to do it from scratch.  Stock suppliers have to make the plate inlet undersized a little else the lock plates would be loose in the inlet (customers usually file and polish lock plates; they are castings, not 100% uniform).  When inletting into a pre-cut mortise, things can get tippy.

Next potential problem with a pre-cut lock mortise is the barrel and touch hole alignment with the pan.  If the mortise is pre-cut, you have no leeway.  Maybe the barrel has a longer or shorter breechplug, etc.  Maybe you want to thin the stock even more and want to set the barrel in 1/16" deeper.  Can't do it.

Last, you have no leeway to really customize things.  Maybe the build you envision or the gun you're copying had the lock tail at a certain angle to the wrist, etc.  Or maybe you want to customize the lockplate shape, etc.

[gibster]

I've ordered a couple of stocks from Pecatonica and have been pleased with each of them.  They were preshaped stocks, inletted for the barrel and ramrod channel.  They also were the plain maple full stocks and they all had some figure in the wood.  The wood was rather soft though and not suitable for carving.  But for a plain rifle, they were fine.
Gibster

[Birddog6]

Yes, some will warp or gap open after cut from the blank (there is a fix)
So get the barrel set in and at least wrapped tight with surgical rubber or some such.  I would suggest you inlet your own lock.
[/quote]

I suggest ya let Pecatonica do the lock inlet, at least for the first 3-4 builds.  You finish  inletting the lock & then move the barrel back to where ya need it to go to align properly with the flashpan.   
After you have built 3-4 rifles, then start doing your own lock inlets.

[LynnC]

If you using a salvaged production ML lock, Pecaitonica will not likely be able to inlet that particular lock unless it's a Chambers or L & R..

Are we building flint or percussion?  It makes a difference in the approach to setting in the barrel and lock

Either way, I would inlet the lock yourself.  Learn as much as possible on the econo project.  Inletting a lock is not hard, just time consuming.  You'll be surprised how good it'll turn out if you take your time.

BTW - Do you have any gun building books on hand?  Real helpfull to have.

Just my 2 cents worth...........................Lynn

[Stophel]

I do not like Pecatonica's wood.  Exceptionally soft.

[dogcreek]

That's in line with the price of a precarved plain maple stock I got from TOTW.

[California Kid]

Pretty sure that Pecatonica supplies TOW with their wood

[Stophel]

I think TOW gets wood wherever it can get it.  I ordered a blank from them years ago, and it originally came from Dunlap.

[California Kid]

Maybe they just do the carving for them. I'm not sure.

[ottawa]

i do have the Pennsylvania rifle by Dixon and some other resources to check on  and luckily i have done a little inleting before but its been eons ago