Gunsmithing making my own stock!! a little help please

[Matt_3479]

I am a 17 year old that has a construction class in highschool. I have full permission to make a rifle stock so i would really like to take the challenge. I would like to make a configuration of a A5 stock. Something like the ones Russo makes. I say one of his exotic wood stocks, looks like a cherry wood colour and really liked it and was hoping to try to make one like that.

i was wondering what kind of wood should i use. It will be placed on a remington 700 action chambered in a 7mm rem mag. I have the full equipment and helpp from my teacher who also loves to hunt and shoot so he will help me, and i always have my dads best friend who said he would make a gloss for me if wanted or even pour a glass over top.

What is your thoughts on this? what kind of wood should i use. My teacher suggest Walnut or Cherry due to being somewhat light weight, tough, and cheap. But would like an opinion. It is my last year to use the full equipment and want to take advantage.

I would like it to look like this;

or

 

[Force_Multiplier]

Re: making my own stock!! a little help please

Maple maybe

 

[kreiert]

Re: making my own stock!! a little help please

Fancy walnut is hard to beat.

 

[Willys46]

Re: making my own stock!! a little help please

The wood in the first pick is Bubinga.

Classic Walnut is hard to beat, Maple is nice and can be stained to make it darker.

Making a stock can be a great project, and when you get done you will have a lot more respect for the people that build them..Its a lot of work.

If someone that lives local can let you take measurements off their stock, it will help.

Have fun with it..

 

[Dylan in AZ]

Re: making my own stock!! a little help please

I would love to do something similar but i'd rather the wood be ugly so I can justify painting it.

 

[ZombieHitman]

Re: making my own stock!! a little help please

As a custom furniture maker that does an occasional stock for himself from time to time, here's a few suggestions for you.
1) Visit your local wood stores. You're looking for 12/4 (twelve - quarter) stock that's at least 6" wide by 36" long. Expect to pay a significant price, as clear stock of those dimensions is difficult to come by, but not impossible. Look around. You'll find something fun.
2) As a second alternative, fleabay often has rifle stock blanks in walnut and maple. Being your first, walnut is a little easier to work with, and a little more forgiving in the tooling parts.
3) Watch your grain patterns. Straight grain is far more durable than figured, but figured looks much more interesting. Save the figured stuff for the second one you build.
4) Take your time. Once you take wood off, it's almost impossible to put it back, and have it look good.
5) Read a couple books on stock making, inletting, and accuracy aspects of a stock. Then read them again.
6) When you're sanding, sand WITH the grain. It makes the scratches invisible unless you know they're there.
7) On walnut, for a rifle stock, I sand to 400 grit, then buff with 0000 steel wool.
8) You know that funky little round brush that came with your vaccuum/shop vac? Here's the one time in your life that it'll come in handy - after sanding, use that brush on your van to suck up all the fine dust particles off the wood, before you start putting the finish on it.
9) Save a few of the cutoffs for finish testing. It's the same wood as the finished stock, and will look the same. Test out a couple finishes on those scrap blocks before going after your masterpiece.
10) With walnut, I love a 3 step finish to bring out the character and personality of the wood. After buffing it with steel wool, I put a nice soaking coat of danish oil (manufactured by either Deft or Watco), and let it dry 24 hours between coats. I also rub it in with steel wool. Use different pieces for each application, and toss them into a bowl of water when you're done. Trust me on that one. 2-3 applications of the danish oil brings a gorgeous luster to the wood, and real depth of personality. Once that's dried for 2 days, 2 coats of sanding sealer, sanding with 400 grit in between to level it and smooth it out to a glass like finish.
Then, your choice of polyurethane.
If you'd rather put a little extra time into the stock finish durability, Varithane has an oil based poly that's amazing, if you can find it. It's water resistant, UV resistant, and after 3 coats, hard as concrete and tough to scratch/mar.
As a reference, the finishing process I have listed here is the same one I use on both dining room tables and hardwood floors, with wonderful success and durability, even with toddlers at the table hammering their utensils on it.
IF you want to see what it looks like, PM me, and I'll send you a link to a few photos...of that finish on walnut.

 

[Shortdraw]

Re: making my own stock!! a little help please

Good advise. I think quilted Maple would look amazing, or maybe Australian Lacewood.

 

[Advokaten]

Re: making my own stock!! a little help please

Perhaps not on the agenda,

but how about a laminated stock out of nice/exotic wood,

finding boards/planks have to be easier than a full size piece of walnut that will yield a A5 style stock,

I applaude your idea and effort, please do keep us updated.

/Chris

 

[mram10]

Re: making my own stock!! a little help please

I built my first out of 3 pieces of 1x6 pine just for practice. Good idea to learn lessons on cheap wood before cutting into a $100+ piece of maple.

+1 for quilted maple. I built a center channel for my home theater out of quilted maple. Gorgeous wood! Use many coats of poly with light steel wool in between.

 

[offroadr1]

Re: making my own stock!! a little help please

i have a super huge piece of birds eye maple that may get turned into a stock one day. its probably one of the finest pieces i have ever come across. i just cant decide what to do with it that i wont regret later and think of as a waste so it has just been chilling in the wood bin. if you use bubinga, prepare to harvest a kidney. but as you probably know the best looking pieces are often the most expensive...

 

[Mark Housel]

Re: making my own stock!! a little help please

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: mram10</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I built my first out of 3 pieces of 1x6 pine just for practice. Good idea to learn lessons on cheap wood before cutting into a $100+ piece of maple.
</div></div>

This is good advice.

I've made two stocks thus far from semi-inlets (probably 70% inlet taking out 1/4"+ of wood inside and out.
I have two more in process that I will be duplicating.

Not sure whether you are going to start from scratch, a semi-inlet or duplicate from a pattern (I'd suggest the latter two if there is such a thing as a semi-inlet A5 stock).
Even the duplication process isn't a slam dunk and you can end up ruining the blank at that stage.

I hate stock making even though mine came out pretty good both times.

Good luck.

 

[kytrapper]

Re: making my own stock!! a little help please

Good advice is everywhere in here... check with some of the guys who posted in the make your own stock thread