The scariest stock blank cut

[rich pierce]

I always dread cutting the upper forestock for the ramrod groove after I’ve got the barrel inlet. No matter how many times I measure and reassure myself it looks thin. I know, thin is good, but..... still scary!

[Daryl]

YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Clint]

Rich,
I have a 14" band saw with a two horse moter, but I always use a Henry Diston rip for these long cuts. I actually layout cut lines on both sides of the stock and flip the plank every few inches. Slightly out of square saw tables taught me long ago , just how fast I could ruin a stock.
Clint

[rich pierce]

Clint, I’m with you.  I cut outside the line, then re-square things up.

[flinchrocket]

Don't give up, your almost there.

[Pukka Bundook]

It's when you see those rip teeth showing in the bottom of barrel channel you need to worry, Rich!

[kudu]

Well should be" old hat " for a pro such as yourself.

Now as far as what appears to be gas meter in the basement i haven't seen that in years. Friend of mine worked in fraud recovery for Consumers Energy the things he saw and found over 30 years are amazing.
Not implying anything hear just remembering his stories.

[Scota4570]

That makes my shoulder ache just thinking about it.  Rotator cuff injury....

[EC121]

If the blank is fairly level, I use a Bosch hand router.  I leave a bit on the edge to support the router and file it off later.

[Fly Navy]

How did it come out ?

[smart dog]

Hi Rich,
I did the exact same cut yesterday but with a 15" band saw. 

dave

[Tim Crosby]

 What's that thing sticking out of the stock?

    Tim

[flehto]

Haven't seen a gas meter inside the house in a long time.....mine was replaced 2 weeks ago under a state mandate...it was fine but 4 yrs ago the gas meter leaked and was promptly replaced. Good thing that it was outside.

When first starting to build, I took the stock down w/ a Skillsaw and as my wife was watching , she remarked that she won't look at it being done and went upstairs.....too scary.  Shortly bought a good bandsaw and replaced the original  plastic blade guides w/ ball bearing  guides which enable me to saw "on the line" and leave a minimum of wood.....using a  bandsaw is the fastest way to remove wood.

You must be good w/ handtools...what others do you use ? Looks like you're moving right along and when finished, it must give you a lot of satisfaction?.....Fred

[Long John]

Rich,

I guess I have a lot to learn about this gun-making process.  Once I let in the barrel I install the lugs and then pin the barrel before I do any cutting on the forestock.  I make sure the barrel is installed and supporting the forestock for the rest of the build.  I use a hand saw just like you are doing for all the cuts along the barrel.  My little 8" table-top band-saw doesn't stabilize the blade enough to use on a forestock.  A better band saw is on my list of things to get but I haven't found one that is NOT MADE IN CHINA, yet.

Best Regards,

JMC

[WadePatton]

With a sharp and well-set saw isn't such a terrible task, but I didn't have enough experience or enough lines drawn the first time I did it like that and, well it shows-and reminds me not to do that again-do it more accurately.

Makes using the new-to-me bandsaw even more scary.  But Alex Snodgrass (youtube-highly recommended) taught me to square up the table (no measuring), and how to set my guides and tension properly (one of which I had to repair and pray that it holds). New guides cost 3x what I paid for the saw.

Stock of wood, nerves of steel. floor of dust...

[rich pierce]

John, good to hear from you. I think you’re doing it right but I don’t like to drill pins for underlugs through thick wood. Just a preference. Maybe I should get some longer drill bits!  Other thing is I often inlet the barrel not parallel to either side of the stock blank. Sometimes to follow the grain and sometimes to get cast off and a decent cheekpiece. So if I drilled when the blank was full width I’d have angled pins. Maybe not enough to worry about.

[alacran]

A lot of guys have trouble with band saws. Mostly they try to cut hardwood with too narrow a blade. Use the widest blade the saw will handle . I use 1/2 inch wide with 3 teeth per inch hook. If your blank isn't  planed flat you will not get a square cut regardless of how your table is set.  The less perfect the blank is, the more outside the line you need to leave.

[Scota4570]

My larger bandsaw is from a Shopsmith.  The adjustments are simple.  The blades are a weird size.  The saw body was $5 at a garage sale. It works fine for me.

[WadePatton]

A lot of guys have trouble with band saws. Mostly they try to cut hardwood with too narrow a blade. Use the widest blade the saw will handle . I use 1/2 inch wide with 3 teeth per inch hook. If your blank isn't  planed flat you will not get a square cut regardless of how your table is set.  The less perfect the blank is, the more outside the line you need to leave.

Yes, often a blank is far from square, or only has one flat side. Excellent point.

[Craig Wilcox]

Used to have a Shopsmith, with bandsaw.  Handy thing to have, and I've been regretting selling it for many years.

I cut out a pistol stock the other day on my neighbor's bandsaw.  Took me about an hour to square everything up, adjusting the blade bearings and all.  After I was all done, he got some scrap wood and cut out a design, and told me he had been fighting that "crooked blade" for over twenty years.

[577SXS]

I'll be doing the same thing soon. I thought of using a piece of drill rod in the ramrod hole to make sure I didn't go too deep. I thinned the sides with bandsaw but the ramrod side is a little harder to do.

[mikeyfirelock]

Hmmmm......I make that cut oversized with a frame saw, then use a plane  to bring it to dimension and square up.  Then cut the ramrod groove. The frame saw is easier to keep vertical I feel.  Also cuts very quickly with less effort.  Takes a while longer than a bandsaw, but mistakes “happen slower”.    Also takes longer....but I’m retired.
Mikeyfirelock

[rich pierce]

Mikey, I’ve got and tried a frame saw. My rip saw really rips and for me, the wide blade tracks better. But I was never trained in anything so could be using the frame saw wrong. Or maybe I just haven’t mastered it.

[A.Merrill]

    In all my year's I have never been able to saw a straight line with a hand saw. It doesn't matter if it's a 2 inch cut or a 10 inch cut.   Al

[bob in the woods]

I have a band saw , however for cutting out stocks etc, it's often just as easy and fast to use my hand saws.  Best advise for a straight cut is to let the saw do the work.