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Gunsmithing Forearm of Bell and Carlson A2 stock??

keith jones

Full Member
Full Member
Minuteman
Sep 14, 2010
407
3
45
Bulls Gap,TN
I have had this stock for a while I really enjoy shooting it,even though it not a mcmilliam or manners. The thing that is starting to bug me is the forearm. Has anyone done anythingto modify theirs. Thinking about taking belt sander to it but kind of skidish about that. Any info????
 
Re: Forearm of Bell and Carlson A2 stock??

Are they a hard shell over softer inner , or can you grind away quite a bit ?

(i have one showing up soon and wanted to make it more like an A4)
 
Re: Forearm of Bell and Carlson A2 stock??

I don't have one yet, but one is on it's way. What is it exactly you don't like about it? When mine gets here I can compare and either agree or disagree.
 
Re: Forearm of Bell and Carlson A2 stock??

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Pat M</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Are they a hard shell over softer inner , or can you grind away quite a bit ?

(i have one showing up soon and wanted to make it more like an A4) </div></div>


it's solid. nothing soft inside, at least not in mine.
 
Re: Forearm of Bell and Carlson A2 stock??

I thinned down mine. I screwed the stock to a piece of ply to hold it solidly and then used a router for most of it.

It had a lot of air bubbles in the glass that I needed to fill, I finished it off with a random orbital sander then a coat of primer and some textured black.

It only took 3 hours from start to finish and is much nicer to hang on to.

Cheers,
Greg

Pics below:

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Re: Forearm of Bell and Carlson A2 stock??

Mine is in process right now. You will definitely need to fill in a bunch of pores, but its a non issue with rigidity as there is a full length block in them. You can go as far in as you want, but watch it on the bottom, the aluminum is not very far off the bottom (at least on mine it wasnt).

Ill post up some before and after when Im done. Belt sander worked great for me if you have a bench model.

Filled in the pores with Acraglas, have to sand tomorrow, then paint, then texture.
 
Re: Forearm of Bell and Carlson A2 stock??

I thinned down the pistol grip a touch too, for me it was a bit too fat. You will have to trim off some dags of glass that hang out but it's not much of a hassle.

Also, wear some disposable overalls or similar and some kind of dust mask. The glass goes everywhere using the router and I itched for a few days afterwards.
 
Re: Forearm of Bell and Carlson A2 stock??

Man that looks sweet!! Goanna order me another one here soon and do the same modification...
What did you fill the voids in with..(regular old fiberglass?) and what paint was used for the finish?

Thanks...
 
Re: Forearm of Bell and Carlson A2 stock??

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: VAJayJayPunisher</div><div class="ubbcode-body">there been some pics posted on here of guys that have done this, and they turned out great, maybe they will chime in</div></div>




boltripper Laughs.........WHO WANTS TO HAVE SEX WITH THIS CANOE OAR ?
 
Re: Forearm of Bell and Carlson A2 stock??

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: wards75</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Man that looks sweet!! Goanna order me another one here soon and do the same modification...
What did you fill the voids in with..(regular old fiberglass?) and what paint was used for the finish?

Thanks... </div></div>

I sanded mine down too. It had almost no air bubbles, but I textured the front with Devcon and it covered any blemishes from the sanding. Then Kryloned the whole thing. I used a simple Black and Decker mouse sander and it worked well.
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Re: Forearm of Bell and Carlson A2 stock??

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: wards75</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Man that looks sweet!! Goanna order me another one here soon and do the same modification...
What did you fill the voids in with..(regular old fiberglass?) and what paint was used for the finish?

Thanks... </div></div>

I just dug them out a little and filled them with 2 pack spot putty. The paint is some underbody sealer I had here, it may be a little soft, time will tell.

Cheers,
Greg
 
Re: Forearm of Bell and Carlson A2 stock??

Mine's not as fancy as some of the others. I just took a rasp, file and some sandpaper and gave a little larger radius to the edges of the forend. Just enough to knock down the sharp, square corners. I wouldn't have minded taking some off the sides of the forearm. It is a little too wide for my application. But it is supposed to work well with a bag and front rest.

After the sanding, I just coated the area with a little thin boat-builders expoxy to take care of the exposed fiberglass and lightly sanded the epoxy when cured. Still haven't gotten around to painting it yet. It was a tan/black spiderweb and the black from the stock doesn't stand out too bad.

Sometime I might go back and thin the sides of the forend, but for now, this it what it looks like.

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Re: Forearm of Bell and Carlson A2 stock??

I also slimmed my forend down. Started with an orbital sander and that was actually taking to long. I then opted for a belt sander, to knock everything down so the forend was flush. I applied some bondo glass netting and resin. Then finished it up with the orbital sander and some spot putty, turned out great.
 
Re: Forearm of Bell and Carlson A2 stock??

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: CL1KKL4C</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I also slimmed my forend down. Started with an orbital sander and that was actually taking to long. I then opted for a belt sander, to knock everything down so the forend was flush. I applied some bondo glass netting and resin. Then finished it up with the orbital sander and some spot putty, turned out great. </div></div>

did you do the same thing as gregt above and do you have pics? i'm really thinking of doing a fore grip reshaping to my B&C A2 but want to see as many options before i try.