Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Slimming wood stocks?

Not sure where to put this.

Have a zastava with the clunky stock. Want to thin it down, add a schnable? tip, like husqvarna 1600 came with.
Any videos, websites, books, threads on 24cf that would be good to look at?

What tools would I need? I know sandpaper and wood rasps.

Any help would be appreciated!

Mark

As told to me by an old gunsmith when I asked him how in the world he took a block of wood and turned it into a rifle stock.

His response

Just take off all the wood you don't want on your stock.

You got it, a rasp and a palm sander!
I’ve had laminated stocks slimmed down quite a bit, even shortening the forearm to reduce a little weight.

I'm with you. Every Ruger Model 77 and 10-22 has 50 percent too much stock thickness.

Rasp, files, sand paper and palm sander. I have done Ruger's and Marlins and old Remington .22's. Try and find a stock with the dimensions you like. I am a fan of the Husky 1600-1640 series of stocks like the sweet little Husky 1640 in 30-06 I had lightly customized for a grandson.

I am going to do a grey and black laminated Boyds stock this winter for my old Springfield 03-A3 that I customized and sent to Jes for a re bore to 338-06. I will gift that to another manly 18 year old grandson that has his head screwed on right.

There are a few You Tube vids on stocks and shaping a Schnabel . Go slow and eye ball often. Good luck Pard.

Use a horse shoeing rasp where a lot of wood needs to come off, then the finer rasps and sandpaper on blocks.

Those Zastavas have plenty of wood. I just picked up a lefty 7.62x39 that needs the same treatment. I’ll look forward to pictures of yours after you finish slimming it.

Maybe Mule Deer will reply, if my memory is correct he has written about doing this to Ruger M77 stocks.

Yep, I did a LOT of it from the late 1980s into the early 2000s--along with learning to checker. Supplemented my writing income back then by remodeling/checkering factory stocks, along with custom-stocking.

As GF1 pointed out: "Use a horse shoeing rasp where a lot of wood needs to come off, then the finer rasps and sandpaper on blocks." I also eventually started using a drill motor and sanding discs/wheels--whatever it took to eliminate excess wood.

Don't overlook the efficiency of a good old hand plane. A Stanley #2, 3 or 4 will quickly/efficiently make a lot of wood disappear longitudinally. Learn to read the direction of grain flow and always cut with the grain not against it. I use a Nicholson #49 rasp for hogging off material and a #50 for finer work. Semi-soft rubber sanding blocks to back the sandpaper are your friend too - never use sandpaper held in just the fingers unless you want a wavy final surface.

A good sturdy vise goes without saying. (But I said it anyway!)

Schnabels are a little tricky, you definitely need a sense of aesthetics and ability to see and create 3-D forms. I use wood carving gouges, kept razor sharp, for the delicate/subtle multi-cambered surfaces. Rule of thumb: make it as small as you think it should be and then take 30% more wood off. Hint: most modern American attempts at schnabels lack the grace and proportions of early Germanic samples. Those guys had it down pat, and are seldomly seen as being as bulbuous as those found on new stuff. Google a bunch of pics and compare for yourself.

If you like the old Husky stock shape, you may want to pin the wrist while doing the work. This will prevent any future problem of a crack/split. Have fun.

Wow! Thanks for all the excellent replies everyone!

I'd want to go for something like on this Savage.
Savage 1899

Here's a thread with some pics that show how I slim down forends.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/13472282/1

My take, these things, files, and orbital sanders.

1.5 hp 6"x80" (stock image, pun). Glad to get this one before they were discontinued. No oscillation.


Built with Sand-Rite where it counts.

I've been looking for a replacement stock for a Husky 640 in 30-06. Right now it sits in a cobbled up stock from a Higgins M50 that's too short for comfort. even with added pad.
PJ

MCMark;
Good morning to you sir, I hope you're having a good first Saturday of November so far.

In my experience and opinion you've received some great advice already and I'll do my best not to repeat it.

If you can find some old stocks anywhere to practice on, it's always good to start with some that don't matter before diving into the deep end.

While I use a fair selection of rasps, the old "four in hand" Nicholson and the two round rasps - 1/2" and 3/8" get the bulk of use.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Nicholson-8-in-4-in-1-Hand-Rasp-and-File-21860NN/206710022

You might find it useful to lay out a center line in pencil on the top and bottom as it's easy to slide off to one side or the other, especially on the comb and from the back of the grip to the toe.

Something as course as a horseshoe rasp for sure works to take a lot of wood off, but again if you practice on a couple "testers" first, you'll learn how much more has to come off to remove all the grooves left by whatever coarseness of rasp you're using.

Again test stocks of the same wood species are wonderful places to learn about different stains and finishes.

Even though I've been fooling with stocks for over 40 years now there's always some new twist to learn, especially with stains and new finishes coming out.

Hopefully that was useful to you or someone out there.

All the best and good luck on your hunts.

Dwayne

Good Morning Dwayne,

Yes, there is excellent adivce in this thread! I do have a few rough stock blanks I bought from a auction, probably going to practice on the least nice one.
That's good adice on the center line, good to have a reference point.


Mark

FWIW, I disdain power tools for stock shaping as it's way too easy to take too much off and way too hard to put it back on. Sometimes, just sometimes, modern technology is not your friend.

LOL Yes, it's a one way affair. After thousands at Kimber of Oregon, essentially "slimming" day in day out, it became second nature to slap a stock to the flying 80-grit. Those were 5hp 11' belts. My stuff is mild in comparison, albeit thirty years removed! How far to go, depends upon the piece of wood material of course, and the margins associated with the desired outcome. Something like slimming a 10/22 stock I surely wouldn't go ol'school on it. To each his own.

Flap disc on a 5” angle grinder