Gunsmithing Stock idea and design-where to go?

[sharpshooter08]

I hope this is in the right section. Im hoping the members of SH can help me with a bit of a problem and can help or point me in the right direction.

I have had an idea for a stock design for a little over a year now and not to sure on how to go about moving forward with the idea. I'm no engineer or machinist or have any mechanical background so you can see my hesitancy on taking the next step.

My main concern is giving up to much information about the stock design that it ends up as a stolen idea. Is there way to protect myself on that notion or am I being to paranoid?

But aside from that I do have some general questions on stocks.

What is a better stock mold? Fiberglass or polymer?
Which works better when forming and or attaching to aluminium?
Are there drawbacks when combining the two?

Where could I go about drawing up specs for the stock design? Where for creating molds? I have a friend of the family that could create the aluminum part of the design but having a back up won't hurt.

I'm sure other questions and issues may come up but any help with pointing me in the right direction is greatly appreciated.

 

[Micdalen]

Re: Stock idea and design-where to go?

As far as protecting your idea, I have no clue. I have manufactured parts over the years for lots of custom boats, only to see my design slightly changed and used again, or copied completely. The same applies to firearms. Although some ideas are patented eventually they are copied and duplicated in one form or another. Look at the similar designs on many of the stocks on the market. They key is to make your design to where no matter who copies it their product will not match yours.

I work almost exclusively with epoxy on one off molds made from fiberglass or wood. There are alot of suppliers that have tutorials on making fiberglass molds. Epoxy has excellent bonding characteristics and allows different materials to have excellent adhesion. It will all depend on your design and how stress is placed on the stock.

Here is basic on making a fiberglass mold. It can be applied to any fiberglass part someone could make.

http://www.cstsales.com/tutorials/fiberglass_mold.pdf

Over the years I have bedded aluminum, steel, stainless and various other metals in fiberglass parts and never had failures due to design. I had aluminum material break loosed one time , and that was due to someone going gorilla on tightening instead of the specified 25 ft lbs.

Product design is a hard road. It is full of obstacles. I wish you luck, and hoped this answered a few of your questions. Maybe someone will chime in on a way to protect your design.

 

[sawman556]

Re: Stock idea and design-where to go?

Draw it up on a piece of paper and make a rough prototype out of wood to see if it's worth going further.

 

[Jhnmdahl]

Re: Stock idea and design-where to go?

Unless you manage to get a patent on whatever aspect of the stock is novel, people will copy it if it's a good design as soon as it hits the market anyway.

 

[blksno]

Re: Stock idea and design-where to go?

agreed with jhnmdahl...unless you've got a BOAT load of money to not only patent your design, but protect it in court, there really isn't a point in pursuing the patent.
You've gotta be able to afford to protect it.

It's not hard to change something 10% so if someone does rip off your idea, consider it "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" and use it as a marketing concept.
Get plenty of images or proof of sales transactions on specific dates to prove your idea came first. That's about all you can do.

If it can be proven that you're idea came first, (TV commercials or even a YouTube Commercial advertisement) you'll have a better chance of making an intellectual property rights claim later...regardless of a patent.

 

[sharpshooter08]

Re: Stock idea and design-where to go?

Thanks for the quick heads up and info guys, much appreciated!

 

[FLASH1976]

Re: Stock idea and design-where to go?

Sent you a pm.

 

[uscbigdawg]

Re: Stock idea and design-where to go?

I took a POS take off remington/B&C stock and filled every orifice with Bondo. From there, I've ground on it to a rough shape of what I'm looking for. In the end, even I didn't like it, but the point is that you could that and then take it to a stock builder.

Rich

 

[Dracozny]

Re: Stock idea and design-where to go?

as any sort of inventor will tell you, its your obligation to make use of a non-disclosure form. that way any information pertaining to your idea can be protected. have the person you are going to show the design to sign the form and then you can show them.

 

[Burton]

Re: Stock idea and design-where to go?

I second the non-disclosure form. I've seen several cases where a non-disclosure form has saved the day. It should hold up in court. Might want to have one professionally drafted by a legal office, if it does not cost too much that is.