Food Living Outside Play Technology Workshop

Building a Custom Rifle Stock

by jwilliamsen on December 16, 2011

Table of Contents

Building a Custom Rifle Stock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Intro: Building a Custom Rifle Stock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Step 1: Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Step 2: Prepare the Original Stock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Step 3: Prepare the Laminated Blank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Step 4: Glue Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Step 5: Cutting the Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Step 6: Scuplting and Shaping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Step 7: More Sculpting and Shaping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Step 8: Adjustable Buttplate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Step 9: Fore-end Rail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Step 10: Adjustable Comb (no, not that kind of comb) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Step 11: Paint Prep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Step 12: Color Me ... Green . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Step 13: Final Touches - Hardware and Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Step 14: Complete! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Custom-Rifle-Stock/
 Author:jwilliamsen
I am a perpetual student, researcher, and hopelessly dedicated skill collector. I hope that you can find something inspiring or useful in the instructables I
publish.

Intro: Building a Custom Rifle Stock

On a side note, this instructable is entered into the ShopBot Challenge - so vote for me if you feel so inclined :) If I were to win a ShopBot, I can see myself using it to
produce a lot of the furniture designs I've got rattling around in my head, sculpting some of my CG character designs, as well as custom lighting, computer cases, dog
kennels.... man, the list just goes on and on. I'd probably have to be reminded to eat and breathe every now and then - lol.

Author's Note: There are concepts in this instructable that go beyond their application to gun stocks - including general woodoworking, sculpting, and finishing - so even
if gun stocks aren't your "thing" you may still find something useful here.

Introduction:

I recently picked up a Russian-made Izhmash "Biathlon Basic" in .22 WMR and although I was extremely impressed with the accuracy of the rifle "out of the box", the
stock was another story. I was definitely underwhelmed. The original stock wasn't very comfortable for me, and was more appropriate for hunting than the target shooting
that I typically do, so I decided to build a new one.

Goals for this design:

1) As light as possible
2) Somewhat adjustable
3) Symmetrical to accomodate weak-hand shooting
4) As simply constructed as possible
5) Keep costs down while keeping quality/function reasonaly high

There are a lot of target stock designs out there with more adjustments than I would know what to do with - but that "adjustability" adds complexity, cost, and weight to
the stock. I also knew that once I had the stock set up for me, I probably wouldn't need to adjust it again, so I decided to sacrifice speed of adjustment for simplicity. I also
chose a rather... uh ... "unique" way of building this stock - namely, I took the original bedded stock, cut away all the parts I didn't want, and built the new stock around
the skeleton of the old one. Why? Because "inletting" (machining the stock so that it holds the action of the rifle) is one of the more complex and time-consuming parts of
building a stock and I knew I'd probably just throw the original stock in a closet and forget it forever (and be annoyed every time I had to move it out of the way) ........
aaaand I was feeling lazy.... but mostly because I was feeling lazy. I don't think I'd use this technique on a higher-powered center-fire rifle, but in this case I wasn't
worried about the small compromise in structural integrity between this method and machining the stock from a solid piece.

This is the first "from scratch" rifle stock I've built (besides the inletting) so I planned on painting it from the outset - thus making the building process a *little* less
stressful since mistakes can be corrected (filled) without it being as obvious as it would be on a natural wood stock.

Materials:

Rifle stock blank (laminated blank from Boyd's - boydsgunstocks.com) - $40

Fillers (Epoxy-Sculpt and Bondo) - $10 if you don't already have some
Primer (Epoxy-based catalyzed primer in a can) - about $22
Paint (Duracoat paint and overcoat) - about $43
T-Trak aluminum rail (in leiu of a "genuine" Anchutz Rail) - $20
Threaded insert (1/4-28 threads) - $.50
Knock-Down pins (used as alignment pins on the adjustable comb) - $3
QD Sling Mounts (mfg by Uncle Mike's - 2 sets) - $32
Small piece of Brass for the butt-plate slider
Allen-head Cap Screws - 1/4-28 x 1" and 1/4-28 x 2 1/4" - $2
Various #8 screws, epoxy, urethane glue, sandpaper, etc.
Pachmayer recoil pad - grind to fit - $20
Total: ~ $195

Total time: ~50 hours over 5 weeks.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Custom-Rifle-Stock/
Step 1: Design
Design:

I spent a lot of time looking at other stocks, and although I really like the look and feel of thumb-hole stocks, the action of this particular rifle (a "toggle-bolt") is better
suited to an "open saddle" type design - so after a lot of sketching and thinking, I decided to model the stock on the beautiful Sako TRG 22 (which was also convenient
since a friend of mine owns one and was kind enough to lend it to me for a while to use as reference. Thanks, Mike! :)

The design was mocked up in Photoshop based on some pictures I took. In the image with the 3 rifles, the top is the Sako, the bottom is the original stock, and the middle
image is the offspring of their union ;) The Sako's action is shorter top-to-bottom and the magazine well sits in a different location, so while I could take styling cues from
the Sako, I couldn't *copy* it, per se. There were also a few details I wasn't in love with on the Sako - namely how "fat" it feels - so I knew I was going to change that as
well on my design.

Once I was happy with the look and layout, I used the "Find Edges" filter in Photoshop to make it into a line drawing, then printed it out at 100% scale and made a
template to work from.

Image Notes
Image Notes 1. Printed out on A3 paper, cut to match and taped together
1. Sako TRG 22
2. Standard Biathlon Basic
3. Biathlon Basic in custom stock

Image Notes
1. Checking "fit" on the new stock blank

Step 2: Prepare the Original Stock

Prepare the Original Stock:

Note: Anyone doing their own inletting can skip this step..... ;)

As I mentioned before, "inletting" a rifle stock is the process of cutting out the appropriate spaces, holes, and grooves into which the rifle barrel, receiver, and trigger
group will drop into and be securely supported. This can be a complex shape, or, a relatively simple one depending on the rifle mechanicals in question - but it's precision
work and can be tedious when you are working with a relatively unknown rifle (like this one), and no inletting diagrams are available.

I built a "sled" to help keep the stock oriented and well-supported as I shaved off the sides of the original stock. The sled was indexed off of the magazine well and the
barrel channel. Once the sides were trimmed away, I cut away the parts of the fore-end and grip that I didn't need, leaving me with a rather stumpy stock - and firmly
pushing me past "The Point of No Return"..... now, I was committed .....

http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Custom-Rifle-Stock/
 Image Notes
Image Notes 1. Just a vertical "handle" to help guide the sled past the blade
1. Now, there's no turning back...

Image Notes
1. This block was cut with a friction fit in the magazine well

http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Custom-Rifle-Stock/
 Image Notes
Image Notes 1. A half-dowel served to keep the fore-end from drifting.
1. I left this part of the stock on initially to act as a built-in "push stick" - it was
removed later.

Image Notes
1. After about three 1/8" passes taken off each side

Image Notes
1. After trimming away most of the unwanted parts

Step 3: Prepare the Laminated Blank

Prepare the Laminated Blank:

I ordered a standard brown-laminate stock from Boyd's Gun Stocks ( http://www.boydsgunstocks.com ) and with a little maneuvering got my template to fit perfectly. I
planned to to split the laminate stock open and "sandwich" the old stock in between laminate outer "skins" about 3/8" thick. The thickness of the inner "core" of the
laminate was determined by the thickness of the shaved down stock. I measured this, and sawed the outer skins off using a bandsaw. I tried to pay attention to where the
laminations and glue lines were, and placed my cuts so that I could hide the seam in the laminations when things were reassembled. The middle piece was cut a bit
thicker than I needed and planed down to it's final dimension using a thickness planer. The outer panels were also cleaned up with the planer - again paying attention to
laminations again so that the final assembly would be seamless.

After clean up and before cutting away the profile, holes were drilled to reproduce the arcs of the trigger guard, magazine well, and front stock bolt.

The middle "core" of the stock was cut away to accommodate the old stock, a floating mortise and tenon was fabricated to reinforce the junction where the rear of the old
stock met the new laminate section, and the front and rear of the laminate sections were bonded to the old stock using polyurethane glue (Gorilla Glue - my preferred
brand) and a sturdy straight-edge to keep things aligned during glue-up.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Custom-Rifle-Stock/
 Image Notes
1. Drilling the hole for the back arc of the trigger guard
Image Notes
1. Outer panel
2. Inner "core" piece
3. Outer panel
4. Cut-down original stock

Image Notes
1. Drilling the hole for the fore-end mounting bolt

Image Notes
1. Checking the alignment of the hole for the fore-end mounting bolt - not
perfect, but it'll work ;)

http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Custom-Rifle-Stock/
 Image Notes
Image Notes 1. Straight-edge clamped to glue-up assembly
1. Checking the fit of the laminate to the old stock

Image Notes
1. A floating tenon reinforces this joint

Image Notes
1. Trigger guard "arc" made by drilling the hole and extending the tangents of the
hole to create "wings" - if that makes any sense...

http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Custom-Rifle-Stock/
Step 4: Glue Up
Make Me a Sammich! (OK - You're a sammich....):

Once the "core" part was cured, any voids were filled with a putty made by mixing 5-minute epoxy-and sawdust. The sides were cleaned up on a belt sander once the
epoxy had cured. The side panels were then glued on with polyurethane glue - but - I was especially careful to stop the glue line just past the grip area since I knew I'd be
wanting a narrower buttstock and comb. By not gluing this section of the panels to the core, I was able to later just grind through the thickness of the outer panels at those
spots and pop off those areas of the sides of the buttstock area. It sure beat having to grind off about 3/4" of material later on. Once the glue was cured, the squeeze-out
was removed (with a sharp chisel), any voids were filled, and the rough shape was cleaned up with a belt sander (just to have a clean edge to work with).

Image Notes
1. You can see where the glue stops along this line - I didn't want the side panels Image Notes
glued on pas this point since I was going to have to remove this material anyway 1. Straight-edge again to keep things aligned
to achieve the thin buttstock I wanted.

Image Notes
1. Barrel channel matched up
2. These areas will need to be cleaned out and filled with Epoxy Sculpt

Step 5: Cutting the Profile

Profiling:

Next step was to trace the profile onto the blank in preparation for cutting out the profile. In the pictures, you'll notice I left a little "wiggle room" around the magazine well
area - I wanted to mark the final shape with the magazine and action installed so that the protective "wing" shapes were properly placed.

The piece for the adjustable comb was cut with a lot of "slack" and shaped later - this made cutting the buttstock a lot less stressful (as opposed to trying to cut it out and
make perfect cuts on a bandsaw)

When cutting concave radii, I found it was easier to cut shy of the line and use files to clean up. Most flattening of areas was done with a coarse mill-cut file, and in tighter
areas, rat-tail files were used. Broad convex areas were smoothed with a flat or half-round file. Concave areas were smoothed with a half-round or round file (rat-tail file).

Once the profile was roughed in, I glued two strips of birch on the fore-end to provide material for the "finger swells" on either side. One the glue was cured, I trimmed the
gross excess with a handsaw and then used a belt sander to sand the bottom edges flush to the existing fore-end.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Custom-Rifle-Stock/
 Image Notes Image Notes
1. Glue cured, cleaned up, template traced, ready to cut the profile 1. Profile roughed out on the bandsaw.
2. Note the comb is still in place

Image Notes
1. A quick test-fit of the action Image Notes
1. I needed to see the magazine in place to make sure the final profile was lined
up correctly

Image Notes Image Notes

1. "Filler block" epoxied in place to create the front "arc" of the magazine well 1. Epoxy Sculpt fills in small gap at the back of the trigger guard arc

http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Custom-Rifle-Stock/
 Image Notes Image Notes
1. Gaps filled with Epoxy Sculpt and roughed to profile with a MicroPlane rasp 1. Filed smooth with a mill file

Image Notes Image Notes

1. Need to extend this cove back like the original stock... 1. Cove extended with a half-round file

Image Notes
1. Notice the material left in this radius cut - getting a clean cut on the bandsaw
is very difficult - so cut shy of your line and use files to refine the shape.

Image Notes
1. Comb rough-cut from stock body

http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Custom-Rifle-Stock/
 Image Notes Image Notes
1. The cleaned up radius 1. Comb fit to the stock profile
2. Notice I've ground through the side panel and removed it from this point back -
good thing it wasn't glued on ;)

Image Notes
1. Gluing on the bulk material for the finger "swells"
2. It's a little hard to see, but I stapled these in place to keep them from drifting
as the glue cured. The staples were later removed.
3. I "pre-coved" these pieces on the belt sander - much easier than trying to do
it with them attached to the stock

Image Notes
1. This extra material was cut off with a hand saw, and the rest was sanded flush
with the profile of the stock

http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Custom-Rifle-Stock/
Step 6: Scuplting and Shaping
Sculpting:

Tip: I break up projects into "mini-tasks" and make task lists - this helps me be efficient and focused and keeps me from feeling overwhelmed or getting burned out. This
also allows me to put in just 15 or 20 minutes (enough to complete a task) and still feel like I'm making progress.

You've GOT to have a flexible and secure way to hold on to your workpiece - without it, you'll triple your effort just wrestling with the piece - and quite possibly damage it.
I use a Zyliss vice that I bought years ago at a woodworking show (also sold as a Z-Vice and Grip-Master) but a pattern maker's vice (Tucker or Emmert) or gun stock
vice would be awesome. Hey, I can dream, can't I?

A strong light source positioned at the height of your workpiece (natural or electric) is extremely valuable for checking contours and finding flaws.

Microplane rasps are similar to rasps in that they cut very quickly, but unlike a rasp they leave a fairly smooth surface. The downside is that they get dull more quickly
than I'd like, are easy to bend, and are a bit expensive - but they make up for those shortcomings with speed and ease of use - and I still buy them.

Surform tools are a little too hard to control for this kind of work (IMO) so I don't use them - though they might be useful for heavy rough-in work if you don't have a Holey
Galahad ;)

I use a Holey Galahad on a 4" angle grinder for most of the rough-in work I do - it's an *amazingly* useful and rugged tool. It's very controllable, leaves a decent surface,
and removes material extremely quickly (and that's the *fine* version) - well worth the money (about $70).

If you don't have a file card or a wire brush, GET ONE and use it often. Using files and rasps without having a file card to clean the teeth is very frustrating and counter-
productive. A clean file stays sharper longer - and you should always clean wood dust from files as it can hold moisture which leads to rust thereby shortening tool life.

If you have dull files/rasps - buy new ones - the extra expense will pay off in accuracy and saved time and frustration.... and you'll have them for the next project ;) Dull
files can be useful when doing final smoothing of an area, but they cut too slowly for shaping work.

Let the tool do the work. This applies to pretty much every tool out there - even power tools. Pushing harder than necessary rarely makes a tool work better and can
actually dull them more quickly. Even sandpaper works better and lasts longer with light to moderate pressure.

Patience is a virtue - especially when carving/sculpting. If you find yourself wanting to rush, find something else to do for a while until the feeling goes away. Rushing
leads to mistakes that will cost MORE time to fix and/or substandard results..... I know this because I'm a chronic "rusher" - lol.

Some general concepts here:

Refine shapes progressively throughout the entire stock - don't let one part get close to finished while other parts are rough - keep moving around and keep the
overall shape in mind.
Remember that all curves can be broken down into a series of straight lines - rounded edges into a series of "flats".
Leave sharp contour edges as long as feasible - they're your landmarks when doing general shaping. Wait until shapes are just where you want them before
smoothing things out.
Half of your shape checking should be done with your eyes closed - by feel - and the other half visually. It's surprising how many shape flaws *look* perfectly fine,
but feel "wrong" and vice versa. Find a spot that feels wrong, put your finger on it and open your eyes - you'll be surprised how often it's NOT where your eyes
would tell you it would be.
Pay special attention to where your hands go - does it feel smooth and flowing? Are there uncomfortable bumps or swells in the wrong place? Does an area need
to be filled out more? Does your hand grip the stock naturally with no pressure points?
Use power tools where they make sense, but don't go out of your way to *make* them work. Often times, a few minutes with a hand tool will do the work just as
well - and there's something very "Zen" about hand tools - it's like meditating ;)
Check from side to side often. Draw projection lines across to make sure you're keeping symmetry (if you're going for symmetry, that is).

Image Notes
1. I'm a serial marker.... Spacers attached with double-faced tape so that the Image Notes
sides stay parallel against the router-table fence 1. First pass with a 45 degree bevel bit in the router table cuts the top bevel in
the "finger swells"
2. This side is awaiting it's turn...

http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Custom-Rifle-Stock/
 Image Notes
Image Notes 1. Bottom round-over roughed in with a router
1. Both sides done - now to clean up the edge with a straight bit
2. This thin strip will be taken off with a straight bit in the router table - this will
create the shadow line that runs down the body of the stock

Image Notes Image Notes

1. Roughed in round-over 1. Plenty of reference lines

http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Custom-Rifle-Stock/
 Image Notes
1. Strategically placed vacuum hose with Loc-Line modular hose keeps the dust
under control

Image Notes
1. The amazing Holey Galahad - man this thing can take material off. The holes
allow you to see what you're doing as you grind which is very nice.

Image Notes
1. Lots of wicked little Christmas trees - lol

http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Custom-Rifle-Stock/
 Image Notes Image Notes
1. Roughed in with a rasp 1. Contour "target" lines added

Image Notes Image Notes

1. Material removed back to the contour line 1. Finger groove roughed in

Image Notes Image Notes

1. More contour targets... 1. "Saddle" or "Wrist" of the stock roughed in

http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Custom-Rifle-Stock/
Step 7: More Sculpting and Shaping
If a picture is worth 1000 words, this Instructable has about 175K words - so I'll let them do the talking.... ;)

Image Notes Image Notes

1. First pass - bevel to the tangent of the rounded edge 1. Next pass, bevel the sharp edges of the previous bevel

Image Notes Image Notes

1. Repeat beveling edges until you have a rounded edge... 1. Using the "beveling" technique to refine the shape of the saddle

Image Notes Image Notes

1. A bit of "blow out" that will need a little bit of fill - I mark the area so that I 1. Still refining the grip area
don't miss it...

http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Custom-Rifle-Stock/
 Image Notes Image Notes
1. Light from a doorway (or other light source) helps you to see contours more 1. I screwed the comb into place for the main shaping process. This makes sure
clearly that everything matches up nicely

Image Notes
1. Hmmm - shape isn't quite right... needs more love....

Image Notes
1. My Zyliss vice was invaluable on this project - I can't imagine doing it without it.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Custom-Rifle-Stock/
Step 8: Adjustable Buttplate
The buttplate of this stock adjusts up and down about 2-1/2". The buttplate rides in a cove cut into the back of the buttstock. This cove acts like an alignment track and
keeps the sliding portion from rotating around the length-wise axis of the rifle (when the bolt is snugged down). This is really nice because just one bolt needs to be
tightened or loosened to move the buttplate, and once it's snugged down, it's very secure.

The buttplate is made from hard-maple - simply because I wanted a finer-grained material for this part of the stock.

Image Notes
1. The cove was roughed out with multiple passes on the table saw

Image Notes
1. ... and refined using a piece of sandpaper wrapped around a length of PVC
pipe...

Image Notes Image Notes

1. The slot that will accept the length of rail is laid out.. 1. This is a mortising jig I built for my router

http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Custom-Rifle-Stock/
 Image Notes Image Notes
1. Stop-blocks control the length of the slot.... 1. Test-fitting - width looks good

Image Notes Image Notes

1. ... and depth looks good, too.... 1. The remainder is cleaned out with chisels

Image Notes Image Notes

1. Final track piece tested for fit - the nut in the track is there so I can get the 1. Contour of the sliding buttplate
piece of track back OUT of the stock (by threading in a bolt to use as a handle) -
it's a snug fit....

http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Custom-Rifle-Stock/
 Image Notes
1. First cuts made on the table saw

Image Notes
1. Bevel to tangents with a hand plane

Image Notes
1. Nearly final profile - fine work done with a block-plane

http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Custom-Rifle-Stock/
 Image Notes
1. Further "flats" planed to refine the curve

Image Notes
1. Test fit - looking from the top to see if I can see light between the matching
surfaces - and correcting where necessary...

http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Custom-Rifle-Stock/
 Image Notes
1. Lookin' pretty smooth...

Image Notes
Image Notes 1. Sanded to shape - now to match the recoil pad to the buttplate
1. Shape laid out with a circle template and a french curve

http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Custom-Rifle-Stock/
 Image Notes
Image Notes 1. Recoil pad matched to the buttplate - sanded to shape on the belt sander
1. It's hard to trace on to black rubber - so - I held the buttplate in position and
gave it a quick shot of primer - perfectly traced shape ;)

Image Notes
Image Notes 1. Small slits cut in the rubber to feed the mounting screws through. There is
1. Test fit - hmmm - I think I'm going to take about 1/4" of thickness out of the another one in the center of the pad which is where the buttplate adjustment
buttplate... screw is accessed

Image Notes
Image Notes 1. I had to transfer the position of this hole to the buttplate - easiest way to do it
1. Screw to mount the recoil pad to the buttplate was to "scribble trace" it, flip it face down and center punch it. I love it when I
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 2. Recess to clear the head of the buttplate mounting bolt - I had to drill this. don't have to measure - lol.

Image Notes
1. Allen-head cap screw that threads into the "slide-nut" in the t-track.

Image Notes
1. Temporary slide-nut in place. Also note that the sides of the buttstock have
been tapered and rounded

Image Notes
1. Drilling the hand-made slide-nut in preparation for threading

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 Image Notes
1. The extreme lower position of the buttplate - it will provide the same amount
of offset on the upside.

Image Notes
1. Test fit the bolt and slide-nut in the track

Image Notes
1. Middle position of the buttplate.

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Step 9: Fore-end Rail
Some target rifles have an "Anschutz rail" on the front - it's a versatile way to mount accessories like bipod mounts or fore-grips. The problem with "genuine" Anschutz rail
hardware is that they are pretty expensive - so - I substituted a section of T-Track which for my purposes will work just fine.

Image Notes
1. A screw into the bench top makes an expedient clamp ;)

Image Notes
1. Roughed out with a router

Image Notes
1. Refining the groove with chisels

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 Image Notes
1. Solid areas are chopped out in "steps"

Step 10: Adjustable Comb (no, not that kind of comb)

The steel pins you see are just knock-down hardware alignment pins you can pick up at just about any big-box hardware store or on the net. They were screwed into the
holes left by the screws, and the heads were ground off.

This design requires spacers to change the height (as opposed to locking columns) - but I can live with that because - like I mentioned before - once I have the stock
adjusted where I want it, I probably won't touch it again. I can live with a little inconvenience to save weight and complexity that I don't need.

Image Notes
1. Notice the shoulder down there - I'll probably end up making a metal insert
later, but this works ;)
2. Hole where the screw that held the comb on the stock during shaping went -
filled with Epoxy Sculpt and sanded flush.

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 Image Notes
1. A really slick way to put in threaded inserts - they love to get misaligned without
some way to hold them plumb while they're being installed - so a bolt threaded
into them, held in a drill press with a locknut is a great setup. NOTE: TURN THE
CHUCK BY HAND! DON'T TURN THE DRILL PRESS ON!

Image Notes
1. Nice, straight, threaded insert
Image Notes
1. Screw-in KD (Knock-Down) alignment pins with the heads cut off.

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 Image Notes
Image Notes 1. A tiny bevel added to the stock and the comb gives a nice finished look, and
1. Testing for fit makes an edge that's harder to damage than a non-beveled edge

Step 11: Paint Prep

A good paint job is determined more by the prep work than any other aspect - so - take your time.

One of the interesting things about working with laminates is that the laminations provide nice visual feedback regarding the contours you're creating. As you remove
material, the laminations take on a "topographical map" look - and it's easy to see where you're getting off course because the lines will no longer look "fair" (a term used
to describe smooth flowing curves). The downside of the laminations is that they will do a pretty good job of hiding the *smaller* flaws that will stand out like a sore thumb
once painted - so - a few techniques are used to ferret out those annoying little dips, scratches, bumps, and lines. Too bad it doesn't work on skin - lol.

Image Notes
1. A quick, light sanding brings out dips like this one...
Image Notes
1. A light dusting of primer to bring out the rough areas
2. Notice how this edge is still sharp - I leave smoothing off edges until I'm happy
with everything else around it - I don't want to lose my landmarks :)

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 Image Notes
1. A screw-eye and hanging by a bent coathanger in preparation for priming -
crude but effective :)

Image Notes
1. First full coat of epoxy primer

Image Notes
1. The primer really shows how NOT ready for paint this is

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 Image Notes
1. Nice strong side-lighting and a pencil - find those flaws and call 'em out...

Image Notes
1. It's a good idea to circle the flaws - it's very easy to miss them when you're
applying filler.
Image Notes
1. Notice how most of the primer and glazing compound are removed - this is
what you want at this stage - just enough left behind to fill the flaws.

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 Image Notes
1. After about 3 passes of prime-sand cycles, it's ready for some color

Image Notes
1. Body filler was used to get a nice small-radius filled along this shadow line.

Image Notes
Image Notes
1. After a bit of file and sandpaper work, it's much smoother and nicer to touch
1. The trigger guard was pretty ugly - sharp edges and molding flash - and I
didn't want something like this to scream "CHEAP!" - so a little attention was
pointed it's way to clean it up

Image Notes
1. After spraying it with Duracoat

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Step 12: Color Me ... Green
Finishing:

I used an epoxy-based primer that comes in a rattle can. You can buy this kind of primer in epoxy or urethane-based formulations at most places where professional
automotive paint supplies are sold. These primers contain the catalyst/hardener in a capsule inside the can - you place the provided plunger head over a valve head on
the bottom and give it a good "whack" - this breaks the capsule internally and you shake the can to mix the hardener into the paint. This primer is hard when cured, builds
extremely fast, and dry-sands very well - which is a huge bonus when working on a wooden piece. It's always a good idea to use a primer that's as close to your final
color as possible. Unfortunately, they only had a light beige when I bought the primer - not a dark grey, black, or green like I wanted - oh well :)

The process of finishing should be familiar to anyone who's done automotive painting - it's basically 1) Prime, 2) Fill, and 3) Sand - repeat as necessary to achieve a
smooth surface while trying to keep the thickness of buildup to a minimum. It's important to realize that paint has thickness - and if you have parts that fit closely, you can
ruin that fit pretty quickly with too much primer/paint.

I used both "spot putty" (basically really thick primer) and polyester body filler as filler materials and did most of my sanding with 220 grit stearated sandpaper. Stearated
sandpaper has a coating which helps prevent clogging.

The color coat is Duracoat applied with an airbrush. Duracoat is a brand of catalyzed urethane specifically formulated for firearms by Lauer Custom Weaponry
(http://www.lauerweaponry.com). It's a bit finicky to apply, and it's not cheap, but once fully cured it's extremely durable. I applied three coats over three days with some
light wet-sanding in between coats - using black for the adjustable butt plate and "AUG Green" for the body of the stock.

Image Notes
Image Notes 1. The slit used to access the adjustment bolt is almost invisible - wish I could say
1. Buttplate all painted and lookin' good the same for the pad mounting screws... grrrrr....

Image Notes Image Notes

1. First color pass 1. Wet-sanded with 400-grit between coats

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 Image Notes
1. Final paint ... or should I say, FINALLY painted... :)

Step 13: Final Touches - Hardware and Assembly

Final Touches:

Now it's time to make the comb spacers and mount the rest of the hardware. This is actually the fun part as things are starting to come together and it's beginning to look
pretty nice. Still, you have to be patient as these are the details that make or break a project...

The fore-end rail and butt-plate track are actually T-Trak - a type of aluminum track that's generally used to make shop jigs - a 48" track cost about $20. The great thing
about using this is that if I should somehow damage the one that's installed, I can just cut another piece and make a new "Anschutz rail" for a few dollars and under an
hour's time. A small 7-slot polymer picatinny rail made by Magpul slides into the track and can be adjusted and locked down to accommodate installing other accessories
(like a bipod) - or removed completely to reduce weight and clutter.

The comb (cheek piece) can be raised about 3/4" at 1/8" increments using spacers I made from aluminum stock I had lying around. I also made a 1/2" wooden spacer
that's a lot lighter just to have around. The aluminum spacer stock was rough cut to size on the table saw and then double-face taped together into a "block" that was
shaped using the belt sander and drilled on the drill press. The final finish on the aluminum was achieved by wet-sanding with 320, 400, and 600 grit wet/dry paper. The
pieces were then peeled apart, cleaned up and re-stacked on the alignment pins on the adjustable comb.

1/2" holes were drilled in the fore-end and buttstock using a Forstner bit, and Uncle Mike's QD (Quick Detach) sling mounts were installed with epoxy. QD mounts are
great as they don't leave behind anything to get snagged on when you remove your sling.

Image Notes
1. Counter-sinking the holes for the fore-end rail mounting screws.
Image Notes
1. Adjustable buttplate hardware ready to install

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 Image Notes Image Notes
1. 1/2" hole drilled with a Forstner bit to accomodate the QD sling mounting cup. 1. Quick-Detach sling mount
The mounts are epoxied into place.

Image Notes Image Notes

1. Aluminum and wooden comb spacer stock 1. Double-faced taped together and sanded

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 Image Notes
1. Sharpie markers work pretty well in the absence of Dykem :) Dyken (for those
that don't know) is a dye used to "stain" the metal making your scribe marks nice
and visible.

Image Notes
1. Polished by wet-sanding

Image Notes
1. Oops - needs more attention here...

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Step 14: Complete!
That's about it! I'll probably update with a range report when I get the chance. I hope you find something useful in this instructable and feel encouraged to do your own.
Thanks for taking the time to slog through it - lol :)

On a side note, this instructable is entered into the ShopBot challenge - so vote for me if you feel so inclined :) If I were to win a ShopBot, I can see myself using it to
produce a lot of the furniture designs I've got rattling around in my head, sculpting some of my CG character designs, as well as custom lighting, computer cases, dog
kennels.... man, the list just goes on and on. I'd probably have to be reminded to eat and breathe every now and then - lol.

Image Notes
1. The Sako TRG 22

Image Notes
1. "Base" configuration

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