'94 Winchester Stock Templates

R

Rorik

New member
I was just curious if anyone knows of anywhere online I can find templates for an 1894 Winchester stock. Was thinking about buying a nice piece of mahogany or walnut (or possibly a blank) and making one custom. I don't have a receiver or a rifle to go off of currently so I'm going about it blind. Would be nice to have a template with dimensions that I can use as a reference for making one custom. Google didn't turn up much - I really just need an average length and some direction as to what cut outs to make so it will fit up against the receiver.
 
Do you still have the original stock? If so, that's what I'd use for the pattern. I'd use a wood blank slightly thicker than the final stock thickness, and then I'd bandsaw to the basic shape and then begin removing wood to work down to the final shape. Sounds easy, huh?:)

You did say it was a lever action, didn't you. I don't think I'd even try to make a full gunstock for a bolt action. That's just too darn much work.
 
Yeah its a lever action - I haven't bought one yet, I really want to restore one. Have an uncle out in Raton, New Mexico that pretty much builds them from scratch as well as black powder rifles and such. Sent him an emial but I don't think he checks it often.

I don't have a stock to work from, or a rifle. I just need a project to tie me over until I can afford to buy one to restore. Have a gun show coming up, I guess what I could do is just buy a beat up old stock from a 94 Winchester lever action and use that as a template for the new one. I really want to try out checkering and some hand engraving/carving of scroll work on the stock.

Appreciate the feedback. :) Sounds a lot easier than it is going to be I'm sure haha.
 
Go check the pawn/LGS's and find a good "Project" gun. Practice making a stock for it. You ought to be able to find an inexpensive project gun fairly easily that would work. I had a friend years back that made rifle & shotgun stocks, he said there was a lot more to it than most people thought. Back in the late 80's he made a set of walnut stocks for a savage 22/410 I had. Beautiful stocks he made, much nicer than the tenite/plastic ones than came from the factory. $330, if I remember correctly, and that was in the late 1980's. Just an idea to think about. :D
 
Awesome, thanks for the feedback. After looking at some Walnut blanks, really nice/more exotic woods are about $1,000 and up per blank. So practicing on some older stocks is definitely a good idea. Looking into buying some machinery and putting a shop together, but starting small and cheap and working my way into something nicer is probably the best idea. Hopefully I will be able to pick up some loose parts/receivers this next gun show. Now that I've got the whole "tactical" ACR/AR-15 bull**** out of my system, I can start working on the fun stuff :)
 
If you are going to practice making stocks, I would suggest getting some good files and rasps, not machinery. If you are planning on going into the business, I would suggest buying a duplicator.

I am not sure where you are looking, I buy pre-carved stocks for lever actions all the time. Haven't seen any $1,000 lever action rifle stocks. Last one I bought was a XXX Fancy feather crotch blank for a 1886 and cost $375. Plain utility-grade walnut precarved semi-inletted stocks cost about $100 or so depending on the rifle. Most of the money is in the handwork to fit and finish the stocks. For the 1886 stock, I billed out about $1,000 in labor by the time it was finished and checkered.
 
I am no stockmaker (as some folks will gladly tell you), but I know enough to know you don't start carving the outside of the stock. You start with the hard part, inletting the stock to the right fit with the gun. And that is impossible without having the gun to work with.

After you get the inletting right and the screws fit right, then you can start on the exterior work. But the inletting is the hard part and the easiest part to mess up, so you don't want to do a lot of exterior shaping and finish work then mess up the inletting and have a costly piece of firewood on your hands.

Jim
 
James K and Sch. are right about stockmaking
But the OP also stated he wanted to try craving and checkering
Some my suggestion on any old stock.
 
Did some more reading and it pretty much stated the same about inletting. I was so caught up in the actual carving and checkering that I didn't even think about fitting it to the rifle before doing all the other work. Definitely a good idea though, would be horrible to spend hours carving it and getting it looking exactly how I want it just to screw up in fitting it to the rifle.

I might pick up some books on Winchester lever actions as well as general stock making and so forth. Eventually I would like to make some custom wood grips for a few pistols I have and possibly some other projects. The shop machinery is more for other projects I would like to work on that involve metal working.

Does anyone have any suggestions on specific book titles dealing with general gunsmithing, Winchesters, or stock making? Also, would the NRA gunsmithing classes down in Susanville, CA at Lassen CC be worth taking? This is a hobby I am just starting to get into, so I will read anything I can get my hands and take whatever classes to help me progress.

@ Scorch - as to the blanks I was looking at, I found them on this website: http://www.oldtreegunblanks.com/
 
For stockmaking, just go on Amazon and do a search on "stockmaking". And while you are there, pick up a copy of Roy Dunlap's classic "Gunsmithing". It is pretty dated, but the basics don't change. Later you might want to pick up gunsmithing books in whatever areas you are interested in.

Jim
 
Thanks James, appreciate it. Mostly looking into WWII era firearms and the 1890's Winchester lever actions for now. Will probably broaden the spectrum later on down the road. Saw that gunsmithing guide on amazon, had good reviews but wasn't sure about it due to the date it was printed. Definitely good to know it is one to pick up.
 
Oh yeah. Old Tree. I would pick another source if I were you. If you feel a need to buy blanks, try Special Trees Industries or go to a woodworking store.
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Oh okay, that was the first place I came across online, just assumed that was the general price for those exotic woods. Luckily Oregon has a lot of places in the area that sell exotic wood. My roommate also has a contractors license, which usually gets him discounts. I will have to look into that website as well. Nice to know it won't cost me t he price of the actual rifle to buy a stock blank haha.
 
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