I'm confident enough with my woodworking skills to remove the recoil pad, and install the limbsaver I purchased. The only question I have is it says to take the rifle to a gunsmith if the pad is glued on. Looking at it, it could just be really old and look like it's glued on, or it could be glued on. Why do they suggest taking it to a gunsmith? Is it just the added headache of the glue, or were the models with a glued on pad somehow different and require sophisticated work?
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Installing a Limbsaver
- Thread starter JimDandy
- Start date
Jim. I've never removed a pad from a rifle that was glued on. I've only ever done the ones held on by screws, so I can't tell you the answer. However there certainly exists a greater chance to damage a stock removing a pad that is glued on. Getting the opinion of someone who has actually removed a pad from the exact type and vintage of the rifle you are working on would be prudent. I would love to know the answer after you find out.
Is your stock wood or plastic? I presume it's wood since you mentioned your woodworking ability. Does the pad have holes in it threw-which screws could have been installed? If it does I'd check to see if it's screwed on and remove the screws. Then I'd see if I could remove it by hand. If there are no screws it's probably glued on. In that case I'd take a thin blade knife (fillet knife) and carefully work it between the stock and the pad. If it has no screws and is glued on you'll have to drill the stock (so it doesn't split/crack) to install the screws for the LimbSaver.
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FWIW, I make stocks, and install a dozen pads or more a week. To do it correctly, you need to use a jig- I use one by Miles Gilbert- to set the comb and toe angles of the stock for grinding the correct angles on the pad.
You could try to "eyeball" it, I suppose....but you're likely to end up with something less than a professional-looking installation.
You could try to "eyeball" it, I suppose....but you're likely to end up with something less than a professional-looking installation.
oldgunsmith
New member
On some pads the screw holes are hard to see at first. Sometimes you have to stretch and pull around on the rubber about where the holes should be and look for a small slit to appear in the surface. The slit is cut at the time of installation and if the screw and driver are both properly greased the slits close up and "disappear" when you're done.
I got lucky. I decided to just get started, and find out if I was worried about nothing. Turns out, I was. the pad is supposedly contoured for my rifle, and it's not BAD, but its not as good as I'd like either. The taper isn't quite right, but for a multi-rifle fit, I guess I'm being too nitpicky.