Austin_Michael
Well-Known Member
ROUND 1 - Target / Bench Rifle
After 10-12 years of shooting aluminum chassis and stocks made with some sort of composite, I felt it was time to get back to wood.
Maintaining the form, fit, function of more modern stocks was important, but I wanted to gain the warmth, feel and beauty of wood.
I looked around and didn't see what I wanted, so I decided to make it myself.
The Process:
- Source curly maple blank
- Carve (rough pass) with router
- Contour and smooth (fine pass) with router
- Cut the inletting (action, bottom metal & barrel channel)
- Sand... there was a lot of sanding!
- Fit recoil pad with belt sander
- Add picatinney rail for bipod (drill and counter sink t-nuts)
- Drop in pillars (checking action/bm fit, alignment & feeding from magazine)
- Epoxy bed action & bottom metal
- Apply tung oil finish (2 coats cut 1:1 with mineral spirits for deeper penetration, 4 full coats)
The Results:
After 10-12 years of shooting aluminum chassis and stocks made with some sort of composite, I felt it was time to get back to wood.
Maintaining the form, fit, function of more modern stocks was important, but I wanted to gain the warmth, feel and beauty of wood.
I looked around and didn't see what I wanted, so I decided to make it myself.
The Process:
- Source curly maple blank
- Carve (rough pass) with router
- Contour and smooth (fine pass) with router
- Cut the inletting (action, bottom metal & barrel channel)
- Sand... there was a lot of sanding!
- Fit recoil pad with belt sander
- Add picatinney rail for bipod (drill and counter sink t-nuts)
- Drop in pillars (checking action/bm fit, alignment & feeding from magazine)
- Epoxy bed action & bottom metal
- Apply tung oil finish (2 coats cut 1:1 with mineral spirits for deeper penetration, 4 full coats)
The Results:
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