Gunsmithing Hardening a Scratchbuilt Riflestock.

[DeepEastKilla]

A few months back I decided I would finally try my hand at making a scratch built stock for my savage MKII. I had a fairly good idea of what I wanted my finished product to be like and getting there took quite a bit of work and sawdust inhalation. After a week or so of steady work I had a 2x6 "custom" rifle stock. It actually works fairly well and for the price (really only paid for paint) its pretty damn good.

All that being said I do have a few issues. Firstly the paint likes to chip... easily. I applied it directly to the wood and then sprayed multiple clear coats over it. The clear coat definitely helped but it isnt as durable as id like it. On top of that, I think I would have benefited with a coat of black under the green to darken it up a bit and hide any wood that would peek through(the textured paint I used has a clear liquid that evaporates which tends to leave spots with no paint).

The main issue Ive had is that the 2x6's wood (pine?) is simply to soft. I dont really have any issues with bending of the forearm or anything but the wood itself is very easy to dent and gouge.

Id like to try my hand at making another stock later on down the line but id like to experiment with hardening up the exterior of this first trial stock. Ive thought of maybe using a coating of epoxy, but Im wondering if that would crack to easily or how well that would stick to wood in the first place. Another idea was fiberglass, but Im not sure how i would go about getting my hands on the materials to do it.

So anyway Im open for ideas and suggestions on what I could use. Ill add some pics of the rifle/stock the way it is now in another post.

Thanks for the help, Mike.

P.S. Not sure if this is the right section, but it seemed to be the most fitting.

 

[DeepEastKilla]

Re: Hardening a Scratchbuilt Riflestock.

 

[LowCountryCamo]

Re: Hardening a Scratchbuilt Riflestock.

Table top epoxy is very hard and several coats could help. HomeDepot or Lowes has it. Repainting with c-series cerakote is only slightly more difficult than spray cans. They sell metallic colors. Using ordinary paint on wood must have primer, then light sanding. I have seen dark primers. What tools did you use to make that stock? Nice!

 

[pd721el]

Re: Hardening a Scratchbuilt Riflestock.

I think it looks good! If you are totlaly unsatisifed you could take your stock to someone with a dupicator and have another copy done in walnut or a laminate blank. They normally don't charge that much to make the copy.

 

[kytrapper]

Re: Hardening a Scratchbuilt Riflestock.

layer of glass and epoxy...have to take it back to the wood first though....looks great!!!!

 

[Shortdraw]

Re: Hardening a Scratchbuilt Riflestock.

A marine supply store will sell a fiberglass repair kit with two part epoxy and woven fiberglass cloth. That's what it needs for durability.

 

[bigwheeler]

Re: Hardening a Scratchbuilt Riflestock.

Minwax makes a wood hardener

http://www.google.com/search?client=safa...-8&oe=UTF-8

Strip to the wood and use it before anything else. Any coating you put on over soft
wood is going to need a lot of flex agent in it to keep it from chipping when dented.

 

[DeepEastKilla]

Re: Hardening a Scratchbuilt Riflestock.

very cool. Ill have to look around and see what I can find locally. Id like to go the fiberglass route just to see what working with that is like and because I believe it would make it a bit stronger, but Ill have to look around to see if I can get the right supplies.

 

[Tripwire]

Re: Hardening a Scratchbuilt Riflestock.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: DeepEastKilla</div><div class="ubbcode-body">very cool. Ill have to look around and see what I can find locally. Id like to go the fiberglass route just to see what working with that is like and because I believe it would make it a bit stronger, but Ill have to look around to see if I can get the right supplies. </div></div>

Step one: Take it back down to raw wood with a course rasp, leave it rough, don't try to smooth it any with sandpaper. Don't worry about it, you need rough for the next steps to adhere.

Step two: Use white fliberglass cloth, and clear fiberglass resin, bought at any automotive store in the bodywork section. Apply a single layer of cloth with just enough resin to "wet" it down and make it stick to the wood. Use small strips of the cloth (2"x6") to make it easier, and overlap the edges. Do it as neatly as possible. Start at one end of the stock and work your way to the other. You can do it all "wet" if you think you can handle it and keep it neat, or you can let some of the strips harden up, then apply more. When you are done you should have as even a coat of cloth and resin as possible.

Step three: After it cures rasp the coat of cloth/resin to smooth out the overlaps, and to prepare it for another coat. Try not to eat through down to the wood.

Step four: Repeat another coat of cloth and resin just like you did the first one. Try to overlap your overlaps for more strength.

Step five: Rasp the second coat like you did the first one, after it's cured.

Step six and seven: do it all again.

Step eight: You should have plenty of "hardness" now in a nice fiberglass shell. Give it a once over with your rasp and try to make it all as even as possible. Look at the lines of your stock to make sure they are straight and true. Either rasp the bumps/high spots to straighten them out, or fill the low spots with some more cloth and resin.

Step nine: Apply a thin coat, or two, or three, of "Bondo" or lightweight fiberglass "filler", the grey stuff. Sand this after it cures and keep in mind that this is how you will obtain the "smooth" back on your stock. Don't fret if you get through it back to the resin and cloth, just do what you have to do to get a nice smooth true surface on your stock.

Step 10: Paint it, or take it one step further and sponge on a coat of Marine Tex for a nice texture, then paint that. I strongly advise a black primer under your paint so that if you ever bump it or scratch it the black showing through will be less bothersome than a gash of white bondo.

This process will add some thickness or bulk to the stock, so you may want to account for that when you first start and reduce the overall stock by 3/16" or so on all surfaces. Stop your cloth short of the edges where your action and barrel will be so that you don't have any "hair" or "frizz" sticking out to contend with in those areas.

 

[DeepEastKilla]

Re: Hardening a Scratchbuilt Riflestock.

thanks for the in depth process!

 

[LRI]

Re: Hardening a Scratchbuilt Riflestock.

Here's what I would do:

First I'm no expert on stock making. I do however fiddle with glass/graphite quite a bit as I dabble in giant scale radio controlled pylon racing airplanes.

I would begin with an epoxy based resin. Not a polyester. Most body shops that I see selling materials use poly. It wont last and the strength isn't there.

Next, get the right cloth. Id prolly start with .5oz twill weave as a grabber. Once this cures move up to 3 or 4 oz twill weave. Get some ribbon to gusset up the grip area. Pine is soft. It prolly wont crack as its fairly flexible but it doesn't hurt to be safe. It wouldn't be a bad idea to drill a hole down the grip from the bottom and epoxy a 3/8" piece of all thread rod to act as a pin. It'll go a long way to preventing the grip from ever cracking on you in the event of a hard drop or prolonged recoil over the years. You can fill the hole with resin and rasp/file/sand it back to blend with the heel of the grip.

Also. I hope your pine has the right moisture content. If its green you may run into problems later in life. Generally stock wood is around 5-10 percent.

Surface prep:

Id sand it to 80 grit and stop there. Rasping will make application a nightmare. It will snag/pull on the cloth as you attempt to lay it down. Pine is plenty porous. It will soak up the resin like a sponge.

Also, as dumb as this sounds, give yourself a little manicure before starting. Seriously. If your hands are calloused up like mine are every little hard piece of skin or split fingernail will catch/snag/hang up on the fabric and make applying it a royal PITA. Especially with the light weight stuff as it's about like a see through nighty that a hottie wears to bed.

Buy yourself a few boxes of playing cards. They make awesome disposable squeegees for wringing out resin and laying cloth.

The idea is to use as little resin as possible. Lay your fabric on the stock dry. Pour some resin on and begin using the cards to wick it into the fabric/stock. It'll start to stick and lay down rather well.

Once cured, scuff again with sandpaper (80-120 grit) and build from there. It'll get worse before it gets better. Don't be obsessive over pinholes and bubbles. Work them as best you can and sand them out before going to the next laminate. If you have pieces that hang over or are razor sharp, don't try to trim with a knife. It won't work. Just sand them smooth once the resin cures.

Epoxy from West Systems is a good source. Any well equipped boat shop will have it. Get some micro balloons too. Mix with resin and you have a much better alternative to bondo. Bondo again is polyester base. It shrinks and is very very weak. It has zero strength. A feathering agent like "microfill" will last the duration. Plus you can mix to taste. Use a bunch with a little resin for "bondo" applications. back it off and make it "wet" for areas that need to wick into a void or pin hole.

Sand everything smooth to 220 grit prior to priming. I'd start with a light color primer as any little holes/voids will show up nice and bright before you go laying paint. If you use a filler/primer you can go back and dab some in the holes with a q tip and sand smooth once it cures. Scuff with green scotch brite and your ready for color.

This works well here in my shop for stock repairs and it holds up to 240+mph 25lb airplanes pulling an excess of 30G's while cornering. I have to think it'll work on a gun too.

Good luck

C.

 

[LRI]

Re: Hardening a Scratchbuilt Riflestock.

Correction: 1/2 ounce twill, not 5 oz.

 

[Beef_Supreme]

Re: Hardening a Scratchbuilt Riflestock.

I was concerned with moisture when I started reading this. Last 2x material I purchased frome Lowes was almost pliable from the moisture still in it.
Next one you try it might not hurt to try laminating some laminate together for your foundation, doesn't rasp worth a hoot, but you would be resining (Is that even a word?) over it and sanding to resin so it won't make a difference.
Neat project anyway!

 

[DeepEastKilla]

Re: Hardening a Scratchbuilt Riflestock.

moisture was not to bad being it wasnt a peice purchased to use for the stock. it had dried out over a year or so in out of the elements.

Once again, thanks for the help so far, Ill try to document it when I do finally go about doing it. In case you were interested I do have a video on it. Its fairly boring, but I simply made it for myself so I would have visual documentation of how I did it.

 

[Tripwire]

Re: Hardening a Scratchbuilt Riflestock.

The "right" stuff is at O'Reilly's, or Advance, or NAPA.....no need for any more cost than that.

fiberglass cloth......

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">same high-strength polyester resin that is used to build most boats. Can be used alone or with fiberglass tape, cloth or mat to repair damaged fiberglass boats, snowmobiles, jet skis, bathtubs and showers.</div></div>

Mmmmm.....interesting.

Careful, though, it might shrink, be very very weak and have zero strength, etc.

Resin.........

Don't fret the rasp, although a hoof rasp might be overkill. A rasp will cut quicker than sandpaper, cut cleaner than sandpaper, keep surfaces "straighter" than a sanding block, and provide the perfect surface for the next coat of resin. Save the sandpaper for prepping just before paint.

Cut up an old cardboard box for spreaders, cheaper than buying out the Dollar General's supply of playing cards.

If you texture the stock with Marine Tex, pin holes are a non issue......