DIY RokStok in maple

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Mtnmilsurp
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What i have done a few times is pre drill larger holes first right through then pour epoxy resin and then drill through for the action screws later

How do you make sure those screw holes are in the right place and trued up? I know there are some great tricks out there…
 

SloppyJ

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I love these types of projects. Can you share some places to source the wood? I might poke around and see if I can find a deal like you did to one day try my hand at it.
 
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Mtnmilsurp
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More inletting and a little trimming with the bandsaw.
f714aedc4caef457c6b8d0e9d18f0a12.jpg


I had intended to leave the bottom metal about .050” proud of the wood in front of the trigger guard to facilitate ease of floor plate removal/cartridge emptying but operator error resulting in too much material removal will result in about twice that, which is how the Ramline stock fit. The metal should still be flush with wood at the front and rear action screws. I’m also wanting the tang on top of the receiver to be about .050” proud of the wood so I don’t even have to think about bolt shroud interference. Won’t win any beauty contests! Those lines across the trigger guard area will probably be a feature of the finished product
7d61ac64eaf3af561f6f77cfed3f9250.jpg
 
OP
Mtnmilsurp
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I got the barreled action sunk to the desired depth. That sure feels like progress! Also a little more trimming up the forend and comb with a bandsaw.

a8dd67275d766878916001b874cde105.jpg


This slab started out 2 1/4 inches thick So there’s a lot to cut off to narrow it down to the desired 1.9” at the action, 1.6” at the recoil pad, and 1.3” at the tip. Grip will start out about 1.4” with a palm swell on the right side and I’ll reduce it until it feels comfortable. I tried a draw knife but that wasn’t working so I’m cutting a lot off with a handsaw.
15f2eb9a8bf98ee16dbc3634fc654e11.jpg


EDIT: you can see in the photo above that I bedded the recoil lug and last 1/2” of tang. I’m thinking I got the depth I want and want to keep that constant now. I plan to eventually bed the whole action and these points will keep the action where I want it when I remove a lot of wood to make room for the bedding compound everywhere else. This is my fourth bedding job but first time doing it like this in stages. It sure was easier to get the action out of the wood this way!

9406b99fe58ad11704e44636116cb2d6.jpg
 
Last edited:

Macintosh

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How do you make sure those screw holes are in the right place and trued up? I know there are some great tricks out there…
A trick to get your screw holes to line up, works if you have a drill press and if you know where you want the hole to enter and exit on both the top and bottom of the stock. It’s especially useful if you’re working from a funny shaped blank that may not be exactly squared up.
Take a sheet of plywood and cut a square about a foot on either side, and put a 16-penny framing nail from the bottom up. Put this on the table of your drill press, Position you board with nail in exactly the right place, so that the drillbit point lands exactly on top of the nail point, and use at least 2C clamps to clamp the plywood in place to the table. Now sit your stock so the point of the nail sits exactly on the bottom of where you want the hole to exit. Then start the top of the hole with the drill bit where you’ve marked the hole from that end and start drilling, but stop about halfway. Then flip it over locate the nail into the start hole so it sits exactly in the center, then start drilling from the Mark on the other end. This ensures that the two holes meet exactly in the center.
 
OP
Mtnmilsurp
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Larkspur, CO
A trick to get your screw holes to line up, works if you have a drill press and if you know where you want the hole to enter and exit on both the top and bottom of the stock. It’s especially useful if you’re working from a funny shaped blank that may not be exactly squared up.
Take a sheet of plywood and cut a square about a foot on either side, and put a 16-penny framing nail from the bottom up. Put this on the table of your drill press, Position you board with nail in exactly the right place, so that the drillbit point lands exactly on top of the nail point, and use at least 2C clamps to clamp the plywood in place to the table. Now sit your stock so the point of the nail sits exactly on the bottom of where you want the hole to exit. Then start the top of the hole with the drill bit where you’ve marked the hole from that end and start drilling, but stop about halfway. Then flip it over locate the nail into the start hole so it sits exactly in the center, then start drilling from the Mark on the other end. This ensures that the two holes meet exactly in the center.

That’s genius!!!
 

WoodBow

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Nice work. Where you drilled the large holes to remove the bulk of the material, if you use a drill press you can overlap your holes easily. This leaves just a bit of material to clean up on the sides. If you don't have a drill press, I suppose that doesn't help. I was removing material recently in the same fashion for an unrelated project. I setup a fence on the drill press, marked my start and stop locations, drilled the holes at each end first, and then I could just move the material back and forth against the fence and drill more holes until nothing remained. Drill press also offers the advantage of a depth stop for when not doing through holes.
 

Decker9

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A trick to get your screw holes to line up, works if you have a drill press and if you know where you want the hole to enter and exit on both the top and bottom of the stock. It’s especially useful if you’re working from a funny shaped blank that may not be exactly squared up.
Take a sheet of plywood and cut a square about a foot on either side, and put a 16-penny framing nail from the bottom up. Put this on the table of your drill press, Position you board with nail in exactly the right place, so that the drillbit point lands exactly on top of the nail point, and use at least 2C clamps to clamp the plywood in place to the table. Now sit your stock so the point of the nail sits exactly on the bottom of where you want the hole to exit. Then start the top of the hole with the drill bit where you’ve marked the hole from that end and start drilling, but stop about halfway. Then flip it over locate the nail into the start hole so it sits exactly in the center, then start drilling from the Mark on the other end. This ensures that the two holes meet exactly in the center.

I’ll be adding this trick to the tool box!!
 
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If you guys want to learn all the tricks of stock making and finishing, go over to https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?board=2.0

There's a bunch of 70-90 year old dudes that have been building masterpiece stocks for 30-50 years. They're incredible and share a lot of helpful tips on building stocks. Just peruse the gun building forum and you'll learn a ton.

That center drilling method is very commonly used there for drilling tang bolt holes, etc.
 
OP
Mtnmilsurp
Joined
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Messages
479
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Larkspur, CO
Nice work. Where you drilled the large holes to remove the bulk of the material, if you use a drill press you can overlap your holes easily. This leaves just a bit of material to clean up on the sides. If you don't have a drill press, I suppose that doesn't help. I was removing material recently in the same fashion for an unrelated project. I setup a fence on the drill press, marked my start and stop locations, drilled the holes at each end first, and then I could just move the material back and forth against the fence and drill more holes until nothing remained. Drill press also offers the advantage of a depth stop for when not doing through holes.

I have a milling vice for my drill press and I thought about getting a mill bit but didn’t want to risk it all spinning out of control. Ever tried that? I think I read some notes cautions and warnings against milling with drill presses.
 

WoodBow

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I have a milling vice for my drill press and I thought about getting a mill bit but didn’t want to risk it all spinning out of control. Ever tried that? I think I read some notes cautions and warnings against milling with drill presses.
I think the problem with milling with a drill press is they lack lateral rigidity. I think you could get by if you kept the spindle minimally extended and kept passes/lateral loading very light. You might even try a sanding drum used like a mill bit just to clean and true a bit.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk
 

Decker9

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Lookin good!! What kinda pad are you going with on this one?

I ordered a handful of pachmayr’s from Brownells at the end of February, they just came in yesterday lol. Going to replace the steel butplate on my .458 next days off, maybe I’ll get to find a black bear with it this spring :)
 
OP
Mtnmilsurp
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Messages
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Larkspur, CO
Lookin good!! What kinda pad are you going with on this one?

I ordered a handful of pachmayr’s from Brownells at the end of February, they just came in yesterday lol. Going to replace the steel butplate on my .458 next days off, maybe I’ll get to find a black bear with it this spring :)

I have a pachmayr ultralight grind-to-fit that’s been sitting in my shop a few years so I’ll use it. I was fingering the limb savers at Sportsman’s Warehouse yesterday and might like to try one of those some day.
 
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