Thick forestock

[Bob Gerard]

Just a little note to add; you don’t need to keep the brass end cap as it is when new from the supplier to be the determining factor for your forestock shape (namely the side wall height). It could be filed or worked to the shape you need it to be.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Jim, I think the picture is deceiving. The forestock is quite round.  I use your Woodsrunner hanging in my wall for a reference. I’ll get it finished up in a few weeks and post again. I think the iron nitrate and oil finish will show the definition a bit better. Again, thanks for all the advice.

[Steeltrap]

So I took your before and after pic's and placed them on top of each other. The top one is the after.

IMHO, it looks better that what you started with. But I still think you need to lower the wood on the top of the side flats. That said, it's somewhat difficult to determine this as the after pic does not have the RR inserted. So it's hard to tell if what you took off made a significant difference.

I'd also like to see a pic of the forend from directly above it....looking down to determine the width of your wood.

[Eric Krewson]

Before Jim said it I was going to add that the forestock in front of you lock appears to be slab sided which makes the area look taller.

You have plenty of room to lower the wood to half a flat or a little less in that area as well as drop the sides of the ramrod channel. This should allow you to round off the forestock more.

I lay out a center line on the barrel flat with a sharpie and work the wood down to this line. I use a sanding block that is called a "Sand Devil" to lower the wood along side the barrel in nice level even strokes, then I round of the forestock forward.



I use a contour gage to get the right roundness to the forestock wood. I work off a Track full sized plan and match my shaping to the cutaways they show on the plan. The plan is of a Haines kit, and my latest build.





Look at the above plan to see just how much of the ramrod is showing above the groove.

[Steeltrap]

You can make and use a contour gage if that's helpful to you. For my builds I use a straight edge. Generally either a 12" metal rule, or a 24" metal rule.

Lay the rule on the side of the forend and, using a light source from the rear, look at any "light gaps" that are appearing between the straight edge and your stock. Remove the high spots.

Once you have it even simply look at the stock from the front and that will tell you what shape your forend is in. If it's to fat....slim it down more.

Here's a pic of a half-stock I built when I was making and installing the nose cap. You can see that I already trimmed down the forend wood thickness to 1/8". After I installed the cap I then took my rasp\files and from the centerline of the stock, shaped the "roll" to the top of the wood by the barrel flat. Then do the same from that centerline to the bottom.

This will give you the round look and not the slab-side look. Again, use the straight edge during this shaping process as well. The straight edge won't lead you wrong.

[bluenoser]

That Sand Devil looks like it should be real handy.  Does the forward section ride on one ot two spring loaded pins?  Making one should be a straightforward undertaking

[Eric Krewson]

Yes, the block compresses on two spring loaded pins, the block locks in the compressed position so you can change the belt, a light tap and the block expands to hold tension on the belt.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Thanks again guys. Eric I think the pics are deceiving. The area in front of the lock panel is rounded. I think the light color wood makes the definition poor. It’ll be a few days before I get back out to my shop. I’ll try to take better pics.

[Eric Krewson]

Thanks, I have found the same when I post pictures, I usually have to explain that what appears in the picture is not actually not the way something looks.

For instance, this picture makes the comb of this TC look like a huge indention when it is actually a grain swirl in the wood.

[mikeyfirelock]

You are doing
A good job, ESPECIALY for a first gun!

Keep up the good work ….Now I know you are thinking about what to build next !
Let me know if you are around NW Indiana again and stop in.
Mike