New Richards stock on Ruger Hawkeye

Well I tried doing some scraping on mine and I am making progress slow tho it is. it's still better than what I was doing before. I don't have a clue what I'll do with the contours around the cheek piece and pistol grip which is the roughest part of it but I guess I'll worry about that when I get to it. Right now I'm happy with the way it's going.
 
Well I tried doing some scraping on mine and I am making progress slow though it is.
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When working with wood one of my favorite wood working tools is the scraper. . A few of my scrapers go back to before 1900, and then there are sanders. One of my sanders weighs 100 lbs+, that tool makes saw dust.

And then there is the sanding block, when making saw dust it is important to keep everything straight and level.

F. Guffey
 
I think the stock looks very nice. I hope it is very comfortable for you. Will you put any attention into the slight decline in accuracy? From what I understand it used to do 5/8 groups, and now does 7/8. Still good, but did the stock mounting cause the 1/4 inch change?

I am not being critical of your work. I am just trying to understand this for myself.

Nice work

Rich
 
Thanks, Rich, for the compliment. The final coat of Truoil is far from perfect, but it suits me. I made some mistakes along the way, and a couple of them are obvious up close.

The first thing I need to do is spend some range time with the gun. Now that it is mounted in the stock and has been shot about 50 times at p. dogs, I have it cleaned and ready for a range test. The 5/8 "group was one group, and the 7/8" group was one group. 1/4 inch isn't much, given my inability to be consistent with my form etc. The weather is looking good for Monday, so if my range is open then maybe I can give it a good tryout.

When the gun was newer (by about 1700 rounds) I took it out and shot 50 or so rounds at the range, trying different COL, looking for that magic distance off the lands. Turned out the load book spec was the most accurate, and that was off the lands about 0.080" IIRC. That day I shot 4 groups of 3 that were all under 1/2" and a couple were in the 1/4" category. Still have the targets downstairs. :D I have never been able to repeat that. Statistically, an individual group, even of 6 or 10 rounds is not definitive.

So, this range trip will be a look-see how the gun is doing in the new furniture. I am not a bench rest or F Class shooter, I shoot prairie dogs. So extremely tight groups are nice and somewhat comforting, but a group of 10 under an inch is really ok with me. Missing a shot or three at a prairie dog is not something to get butt-hurt over IMO.
 
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I found the perfect thing for taking out the tool marks. A Magic Stone grill cleaner. It's a light weight very porous block about the size of a foam sanding block. It wears down really fast but conforms to the contours and is a real time saver on taking out the deep tool marks. I actually have hope of finishing this thing now.
 
You will enjoy that a lot when you finish. My first two stocks were laminates. What is the one you are working up, Hawg?

I miss working on a stock, since the weather has been wintery. Next winter there will most likely be another new piece of wood making me wonder why I do things like that.
 
When I get it far enough along I'm pretty sure I won't screw it up I'll try to figure out what to do with the barrel channel. Maybe I'll just have my barrel lathed down to fit. :D:D:D:D

 
I do not know of a smith that does not have a small carbon lamp. these lamps do not burn efficiently thus the carbon. When fitting the barreled receiver to the stock they simply black the barreled receiver and then check the fit; any place on the stock that has a carbon transfer requires work.

F. Guffey
 
I do not know of a smith that does not have a small carbon lamp. these lamps do not burn efficiently thus the carbon. When fitting the barreled receiver to the stock they simply black the barreled receiver and then check the fit; any place on the stock that has a carbon transfer requires work.
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I have a couple of kerosene lamps that will work. That's a good idea. I was going to steal some of my ex's lipstick for that.:D As for the scraper it's a Mauser barrel so I would have to have two but I haven't worked since Oct so will have to come up with something else. I have free floated barrels with sandpaper wrapped around a dowel but that's not going to work for this. I'll think of something. I have a ways to go yet.
 
That's a beautiful piece of wood, Hawg. Sometimes I do better if I am losing interest and it seems to be taking forever to finish sanding, to lay it aside for a few days or weeks. The energy to keep going always returns.

When you are approaching the final sanding, every scratch and ding in the wood needs to be sanded out, so the surface is nice and smooth. If there are scratches, when you apply the finish they will really show up. Amazing how I have thought everything was all set and nothing would be improved by more sanding and then do the first coat and there are these damned little sanding marks.

Here are a couple of links I found interesting along the way.

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...2B310D853C5F98BABB372B310D853C5F9&FORM=VRDGAR


https://issuu.com/birchwoodcasey/docs/refinishingguide

I don't know how much wood finishing you have done, but I was (and still am :D) a pretty rank beginner. So looking for coaching along the way I watched quite a few YouTube videos and read about gun stock finishing at various links. If you keep us current on your project, I will try to keep up and maybe share a couple of my experiences.

Are you planning on using Truoil or some other product?
 
I have refinished a lot of stocks and used to be an auto painter way back when so I know all about scratches showing. But the older I get the less I care about a few faint scratches.:D I would prefer to use tung oil but I have boiled linseed oil on hand so will probably use that. This is the last stock I did.





Did this one about 30 years ago.



 
Nice work! Heck--you could probably give me some tips! :)

Took the rifle with the new stock to the range today. After half a dozen fouling rounds (its like me---takes a while to get going) it produced a 3/4" group of 6 at 100 yards, then a 1 3/8" group of 6 at 200 yards. That tickles me pink. Going to the grasslands as soon as the scheduler lets me loose again.
 
Nice work! Heck--you could probably give me some tips!
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I doubt it.

Took the rifle with the new stock to the range today. After half a dozen fouling rounds (its like me---takes a while to get going) it produced a 3/4" group of 6 at 100 yards, then a 1 3/8" group of 6 at 200 yards. That tickles me pink. Going to the grasslands as soon as the scheduler lets me loose again.
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Cool Beans!:cool:
 
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