Mr. Dabney's new rig.
Tyler likes his guns to be "unique". He's certainly not afraid of the reloading bench.
We started this one with a L/H Stiller/LongHorn action.
Barrel has helical flutes compliments of Mr. Kenyon
Our fitting
Our Stock work
So it begins!
Stock inlet was pretty straight forward. Same as we normally do it. Were building this one as a single shot with a removable follower. I'll focus this thread on how I went about doing this portion of it.
A single shot trigger guard from Sunny Hill just happens to have a hole location that allowed me to use the brass ferrule for dual purpose. The top side will hold down the back of the follower in the stock. The bottom side will serve as the front guard screw register. I've never done it this way before as I've not yet converted a short action to single shot this way. Historically we've only done this to long receivers with big cartridges.
The front guard screw escutcheon is the next step. Over the last year I've begun to do this very differently.
Most stocks (aside from true prone stocks) are built with a 2.5-3.0 degree draft angle. Meanging the bottom of the stock isn't parallel to the show line edge. It's at an angle. 2.5* isn't much, but it's enough.
An scutcheon should be made to fit flush with the bottom of the stock. They just look better this way. However now it creates a problem. If the part is flush how does the guard screw lock up onto it evenly at the head? It can't. Doesn't matter if the head is squared off or at the typical 82* used on a great number of guns.
Big deal? I think so. If were imagining this as its tightened we can visualize the back side of the screw loading on the escutcheon first. As the screw head attempts to tighten it'll begin loading on the back side more and more. This will make the screw want to pull forward towards the muzzle as it does this. I could potentially pull the recevier forward in the bedding. At the very least it will bind the screw, making a good torque value near impossible.
So, what to do? If we just rotate the stock so that the pillar is square to the mill it'll work, right up until the escutcheon rotates in the stock and skewers everything. I have to make it so that it can't rotate, yet still be removable.
A 1/8" dowel pin provides the answer. As the photos illustrate the pin is installed in the stock along with a mirrored hole on the bottom side of the escutcheon. This way the new countersink stays put and doesn't rotate. Holding it this way allows me to machine the countersink at a right angle to the pillar while still keeping the escutcheon flush with the belly of the stock.
Not rocket science by any means, but kinda neat.
Installing the trigger guard is pretty straight forward. Just mill the pocket till it slips in and allow for some additional clearance once we apply the paint. This used to be a real chore. Guessing just how much to allow for the painter. Now that we have it all in house I can manage this much, much better. It's a not issue these days.
Life does get better sometimes. . .
Here's the pics:
Tyler likes his guns to be "unique". He's certainly not afraid of the reloading bench.
We started this one with a L/H Stiller/LongHorn action.
Barrel has helical flutes compliments of Mr. Kenyon
Our fitting
Our Stock work
So it begins!
Stock inlet was pretty straight forward. Same as we normally do it. Were building this one as a single shot with a removable follower. I'll focus this thread on how I went about doing this portion of it.
A single shot trigger guard from Sunny Hill just happens to have a hole location that allowed me to use the brass ferrule for dual purpose. The top side will hold down the back of the follower in the stock. The bottom side will serve as the front guard screw register. I've never done it this way before as I've not yet converted a short action to single shot this way. Historically we've only done this to long receivers with big cartridges.
The front guard screw escutcheon is the next step. Over the last year I've begun to do this very differently.
Most stocks (aside from true prone stocks) are built with a 2.5-3.0 degree draft angle. Meanging the bottom of the stock isn't parallel to the show line edge. It's at an angle. 2.5* isn't much, but it's enough.
An scutcheon should be made to fit flush with the bottom of the stock. They just look better this way. However now it creates a problem. If the part is flush how does the guard screw lock up onto it evenly at the head? It can't. Doesn't matter if the head is squared off or at the typical 82* used on a great number of guns.
Big deal? I think so. If were imagining this as its tightened we can visualize the back side of the screw loading on the escutcheon first. As the screw head attempts to tighten it'll begin loading on the back side more and more. This will make the screw want to pull forward towards the muzzle as it does this. I could potentially pull the recevier forward in the bedding. At the very least it will bind the screw, making a good torque value near impossible.
So, what to do? If we just rotate the stock so that the pillar is square to the mill it'll work, right up until the escutcheon rotates in the stock and skewers everything. I have to make it so that it can't rotate, yet still be removable.
A 1/8" dowel pin provides the answer. As the photos illustrate the pin is installed in the stock along with a mirrored hole on the bottom side of the escutcheon. This way the new countersink stays put and doesn't rotate. Holding it this way allows me to machine the countersink at a right angle to the pillar while still keeping the escutcheon flush with the belly of the stock.
Not rocket science by any means, but kinda neat.
Installing the trigger guard is pretty straight forward. Just mill the pocket till it slips in and allow for some additional clearance once we apply the paint. This used to be a real chore. Guessing just how much to allow for the painter. Now that we have it all in house I can manage this much, much better. It's a not issue these days.
Life does get better sometimes. . .
Here's the pics:
