Stock Making

T

the rifleer

New member
I'm interested in making a stock for my .22 Marlin 925r rifle. I need something to do for the next month and i think this would be a good project.

I have a dremal and basic hand tools, no power machinery other than a drill and a circular saw.

My idea was to make a laminated stock out of thin walnut and draw a pattern on 5 or 6 sheets, then cut them with a compass saw and glue them together using pins and glue. Then use a router (which i either need to barrow or buy) and cut the barrel channel. then for the action i will just make a square hole that the entire action fits into, then use epoxy to glass bed it into the stock. then sand and finish.

I have a lot of time, but cost is defiantly to be taken into consideration, I'm not going to but a bunch of tools just for this one project. Preferably less than $75 total.

Has anyone else done anything like this? Will it work?
 
Rifleer: It'll work. You can do it with hatchet, chisel, a rasp and elbow grease if you put you mind to it. That used to be the only way to do it.
 
Monte Kennedy wrote a good book,I believe it is "Checkering and carving Gunstocks"

He begins with an oversize blank with the sides squared and centerline marked.An example of tools he might use:Once the guard is inletted,etc,to get a clean line on the barrel channel,he has some light,flexible angle iron drilled for small screws.on the top of the blank,he flexes them,tight against the barrel and screws them down.They cover the wood to be kept,and between them is the wood to be removed.I dont recal if he used a hacksaw blade or something a bit thicker,but he made a hook shaped grooving chisel he could draw toward him,along the angle iron.This cut a precise,clean line at the appearrance edge of the barrel channel.

There is an old Foxfire book where a a gentleman named Herschel House does a step by step build of a muzzleloader with simple tools.

Ned Roberts"The Muzzleloading caplock Rifle" is another eye opener about making things with simple tools.

These old guys made their own barrels with blacksmith tools,then shot real good groups at 40 rods(220 yds)
 
stock making

There are some threads with pics for 10/22s and I think Marlins over at rimfire central. Laminating and inletting ideas check it out.
 
You should research stock making a little bit before you try it.

You COULD do it the way you have explained, but it will involve a great deal of work and MORE money than you may think.
It would be cheaper to just get a semi-inletted stock and finish it.

If you do what you describe, and laminate 5 or 6 pieces of thin walnut together, it is going to cost you some money.
First, to get walnut like that, it will have to be re-sawn and finished on both sides for proper glue adhesion ---that is labor and will cost you over and above what you'll pay for the walnut.....even very plain grain utility walnut will be very expensive once you add in the sawing and finishing.

You don't need to use dowels to glue it together just a high quality water proof wood glue will work fine.
You'll need to either buy, rent, or borrow about 14 or 16 clamps to clamp it all together properly.
You'll need to purchase at least a few good hand tools to inlet and shape the stock, and a router is only going to very slightly rough in your barrel channel...and you will have to build a fixture or something to hold your stock while you use your router...or at least get a decent vise to hold your stock while you inlet it....it all adds up.

Not trying to discourage you, but you could spend 2 or 3 times as much money making a stock as you described over the cost of buying a semi-inletted stock and going from there.
If it is your first stock ( and I am guessing it is), semi-inletted is the way to go.
Doing it your way, you may just end up with a pretty ugly handle that turned out to be expensive.

If you want to do it your way, that's fine but once you price it out, I think you'll be surprised at the expense.
 
There is no need ot go to a lot of trouble and hassles, Richards Microfit inlets stocks for the Marlin 985. Go to Richards Microfit at http://www.rifle-stocks.com and order a factory second in plain walnut for about $55. Lead time is about 12 weeks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top