Recoil pad fitting

O

OTIS

New member
What is the proper way to fit a Pachmeyer magnum recoil pad to a shotgun. Any tips are appreciated.
Thanks OTIS
 
I don't know the "proper" way, and have always hated to fit recoil pads. But we do alot of them over the years in our shop. I remove the old pad, install the new one, trace the inside of the pad with a scribe, or sharp pencil, remove the pad, and sand it.
You could use a belt or drum sander. You will have to keep the factory angle or it won't look right. You may want to put it back on a couple of times to reconfirm the fit. Go slow, and remove a little at a time when you get close. Use a Scotch Brite pad to remove the sand scratches when you have a good fit. That is about it! You will be covered with black rubber, and will hope you never have to do another! Good Luck!!
By the way, If you have to refinish a stock, it makes it alot easier, just leave it on the wood. You only have to remove it when you stain/finish the wood. This is very easy, and fits the best! I wish they were all that easy!!
CJB
 
Brownell's sels a pad-fitting jig made by 'B&R', that I have been using for a year now with great success. It mounts to the table of a stationary belt sander. I've fitted five pads so far with it and the results are fabulous...doesn't matter if the stock is finished or not because the shaping is done off the stock. This thing works unbelievably well, and at $50 is well worth the price, especially if you have a few pads to do...

Item no. from Brownell's is #610-100-000

[This message has been edited by weegee (edited March 03, 2000).]
 
Do yourself a favor though. Cover the stock with a heavy paper up to the pad, so when you are removing material from the pad towards the end, you do not remove material from the stock wood... been there, done that...

[This message has been edited by Desert Dog (edited March 04, 2000).]
 
Otis,
When you are approaching final fit, use masking tape on the stock. This will let you know how close you are to hitting wood.
 
I use the same method as cjb.When you are shaping the pad on a belt sander be sure that you let the belt do the work and do not use to much pressure. If you do the softer part of the pad will compress and not cut to the same shape as the hard backing plate.Be sure that you buy a pad as close to the rite size as possible,it will save a lot of grinding,and some pads have a metal backing plate that you will grind into if you try to go to deep.I would never grind a pad on the gun even if I am refinishing sanding marks left by the belt running cross grain are to hard to fix,and if you make a slip and really gouge the wood you can't fix it.Im sure some of the jigs available are great but if you are like me and only do one or two a year for yourself you can do as well without one.
 
Thanks all,
Would an orbital sander work as well as I don't have a belt sander yet. Time spent is no problem.
 
I tried using an orbital sander once, to do a bit of final "refining"--found it wouldn't cut at all. The orbital action apparently just grabs the surface and "moves the rubber around in circles". (Kind of hard to explain.)
 
Hi. I put a Pachmayr Decelerator pad on a Rem. 870 Express two years ago. This was my first pad installation and I followed the directions that came with the pad. One layer of masking tape around the butt and use a sanding block until it fits. Worked fine, looks good, but what a hassle. It took forever. Unless you're still snowed in and have a lot of time to kill do yourself a favor and buy a belt sander or pay someone. Best of luck. BTW, the original pad on the 870 Exp. consists mostly of a hollow hard plastic liner and a thin layer of rubber. What a difference!! John
 
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