24hourcampfire.com
24hourcampfire.com
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Hop To
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 13,604
Campfire Outfitter
OP Online Happy
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 13,604
I'm looking at getting a boyds thumbhols stock for my wife's savage rifle. the finished ones are 100 bucks more than the unfinished. how hard is it to fit one of these stocks to an action and finish it nicely?
what products will I need to accomplish this.
is it worth it? I have the time, how difficult is it to do?
thanks
Ryan


Beware of any old man in a profession where one usually dies young.

Calm seas don't make sailors.
BP-B2

Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 13,604
Campfire Outfitter
OP Online Happy
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 13,604
is there another company that would provide a good unfinished stock for less?
I found Richard's microfit. they seem decent but heard its hard to get one due to delays and lack of communication

Last edited by Colorado1135; 06/29/08.

Beware of any old man in a profession where one usually dies young.

Calm seas don't make sailors.
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 1,225
S
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
S
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 1,225
I bought one unfinished Boyd's and will not buy another. It was no way near close to fitting and took a lot of work and never was just right.

Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 13,604
Campfire Outfitter
OP Online Happy
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 13,604
wow, thats the answer I was looking for, although not what I wanted to hear!
I'll keep looking thanks

anyone else have any luck? good or bad?


Beware of any old man in a profession where one usually dies young.

Calm seas don't make sailors.
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 19,029
S
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
S
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 19,029
I have fitted several Boyds stock. Mayb eit's me and I hve some experience,but they did not seem to be very bad. Most have extra wood that you have to cut/file away, Laminates are hell on stock tools and you have to be very careful of the direction of wood grain in each layer.Patience is require , some rudimenatry knowledge about wood working and stock fitting helps


If God wanted you to walk and carry things on your back, He would not have invented stirrups and pack saddles
IC B2

Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 13,604
Campfire Outfitter
OP Online Happy
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 13,604
well if I try it, at least you're close enough to give me a hand if I run into trouble wink just kidding smile


Beware of any old man in a profession where one usually dies young.

Calm seas don't make sailors.
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 4,320
1
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
1
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 4,320
In my opinion, it is a waste of time trying to inlet a stock for a perfect fit. For one thing, no matter how skilled you are, you won't be able to do it. Plus, the wood is succeptable to warping and ruining your 'perfect' fit, even if you get one.

My recommendation is scrapers, inletting black, a Dremel tool with course cutters made for wood. A few files and rasps, and then, Bedding Compound. There has been a lot of good things said about Devon Steel bedding.

A set of alignment guard screws is a necessity. You don't need to hog is out with a chainsaw, but by using bedding compound, you don't have to be all that precise, either.

Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 13,604
Campfire Outfitter
OP Online Happy
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 13,604
thanks for the input ya'll
I think I might just change gears and spring for one of the coyote stalkers from brownells, anyone had any experience with them?

I can always put it on my 300 and pass my choate to the wife wink


Beware of any old man in a profession where one usually dies young.

Calm seas don't make sailors.
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 29,662
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 29,662
One needs some good chisels, gouges, barrel channel scrapers, rasps, maybe a chain saw file, a level or two, some straight edges, a vice, a plane or two, some inletting black and a brush, some oil stones for sharpening tools, and sandpaper and finish of choice. With patience, one can indeed do a fine job of fitting and finishing. My last was a Richards 90% and I put in about 50 hours to final finish. It's truly an OH WOW! stock. It's glass bedded bottom and top, but not floated. With a bore sighter installed, I can attach the stock and torque down the screws, and there is no apparent change in the scope/bore sighter alignment. Fit is indeed very tight, but no stresses are induced.

Given the machining variation among units, a true drop in stock will have lots of spaces where there should be none. They will likely need some glass work if one is finicky about bedding. I have two units that need stocks and they will begin as blanks.

If you do not enjoy wood work, then one should likely find a drop in. Fitting and finishing one your self will foster an appreciation for why good stockmakers demand and get big bucks. Now that I've tackled that job though, I am not happy with the out of the box fit for most of my commercial units. The only one that has really fine fit and finish is a Shiloh Sharps, and I did pay big bucks for that one.

Again, if you have an interest, I'd encourage taking it on. If one is in a hurry though to have a usable unit, then look for a drop in plastic. Take care, 1Minute


1Minute
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 2,461
D
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
D
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 2,461
Don't be afraid to try inletting one out, my first 90% inlet was on a 03A3 and it turned out alright (Richards Microfit) just remember take your time and don't try and hog it out all at once. The Savage is one of the easier actions to inlet for (it could be a M77 :)). Do you ever go out to Royal Gorge gun club? It's a pretty decent place to shoot!

IC B3

Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 4,949
V
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
V
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 4,949
If the inlett is accurate you can bed one their finished stocks by roughing up the interior and bedding with your favorite bedding compound. I have done about a dozen of the boyds and had to send one back when the screw holes were off enough they could not be corrected without a bunch of work. The actual finish is very nice and I would gladly pay $100 extra to avoid all of the sanding and finish work.

On the other hand I find a bunch of the boyd stocks to be kind of "clubby", particularly the JRS. For my stocks I put them on a diet with a rasp and slim out the forend, wrist and buttstock quite a bit, this will cut the weight by about 6-8oz and might fit someone with smaller hands much better.


Hunt hard, kill clean, waste nothing and offer no apologies.

"In rifle work, group size is of some interest...but it is well to remember that a rifleman does not shoot groups, he shoots shots." Jeff Cooper

Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 4,469
M
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
M
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 4,469
Believe me from many past experiences with several companies going back to the old Herter's company, after you are into this you will wonder how they can finish it for $100.00. It's a bargin if they don't screw it up. Thanks...Bill.

Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 2,059
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 2,059
I bought a Richardson Microfit laminate stock for my CZ. It about $120. I had my gunsmith do the woodwork/finish up etc, that was an additional $500. Could have gotta a McMillan stock and bedded it for that price. Don't get me wrong, it was a nice laminate stock, but unless you can do the woodwork yourself I feel that its not worht it.

Leo

Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 32,029
Campfire 'Bwana
Offline
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 32,029
I would strongly suggest spending the extra $100 for the finished stock, unless you already have the tools and some skill at woodworking. I would also strongly suggest that you avoid Richards Microfit unless you have all of the tools, some skill at woodworking, and lots of spare time that has no value.

What sort of Savage rifle are you looking to restock?

Jeff

Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 13,604
Campfire Outfitter
OP Online Happy
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 13,604
its a accutrigger 110 in a 25-06.
Ideally I would like to put a heavy barrel on it and a choate ultimate varmint stock, she likes those

Last edited by Colorado1135; 07/03/08.

Beware of any old man in a profession where one usually dies young.

Calm seas don't make sailors.
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 19,029
S
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
S
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 19,029
Right now, I am carving a stock for a CZ 20 gauge Over/Under. Finishing out an already cut stock would be very simple compared to this.


If God wanted you to walk and carry things on your back, He would not have invented stirrups and pack saddles
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 295
Campfire Member
Offline
Campfire Member
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 295
I recently finished a Boyds unfinished laminate stock for a Mauser. Inletting was not at all difficult. It did not take a workbench full of tools. It took a few chisels and scrapers, some inletting black, and about 2 hours time. That is the good news. The bad news is that there were gaps that had to be filled with Acraglas gel. They don't look at all bad now that the stock is bedded and finished, but the inletting in the "VIP" stock is generous.

The problem with using a Boyd's finished stock, and I am fitting one to a customer's gun today, is that the finished stock is somewhat clunky in some dimensions -- particularly in the forend shape and around that oversized pistol grip. I would rather have the unfinished stock so that I can reshape it to tailor it to my liking.

The Boyd's unfinished stock is quite well sanded, requiring only some finish sanding and resanding where extensive wood removal is done in the reshaping phase. It is easy to finish -- I used Minwax Wiping Poly on the last one.

Bottom line: If the stock fits your dimensions and you are not opposed to putting some bedding compound in the worst of the gaps, it makes up into a very usable hunting stock. I use them, and I will use more.

Here is the finished rifle:
[Linked Image]

And here is the area where I probably did the most shaping. I actually cut the grip down to install a steel (Fisher) grip cap:
[Linked Image]

Clemson


NRA Endowment Member
Bolt&Barrel Gunsmithing, Greenwood, SC
www.boltandbarrel.com
U. S. Army Veteran
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,320
C
CWG Offline
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
C
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,320
Not sure of boyds pricing but typical labor for machining a pattern is 85-125.00, add wood to that.
An excellent pattern machined by a person who knows their machine is light years different than what I've seen. A real good semi-inlet should only take less than an hour to drop the metal in. Typically, the bottom metal requires the least amount of work.If the pattern was glass or bondo bedded, trigger guards almost drop in.
I've seen some that you could not tell what action was supposed to fit in- way too much work.
Large companies can certainly sell them cheaper than a single man in some shop, but the quality is better- usually!


Cage-Divorce Deathmatch Survivor and Lib antagonist. Stock maker by sheer luck.
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 295
Campfire Member
Offline
Campfire Member
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 295
I agree, Claude!

Clemson


NRA Endowment Member
Bolt&Barrel Gunsmithing, Greenwood, SC
www.boltandbarrel.com
U. S. Army Veteran

Moderated by  RickBin 

Link Copied to Clipboard
YB23

Who's Online Now
462 members (1Longbow, 160user, 300jimmy, 10ring1, 1lesfox, 257 mag, 48 invisible), 2,038 guests, and 969 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Forum Statistics
Forums81
Topics1,187,595
Posts18,398,143
Members73,815
Most Online11,491
Jul 7th, 2023


 







Fish & Game Departments | Solunar Tables | Mission Statement | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | DMCA
Hunting | Fishing | Camping | Backpacking | Reloading | Campfire Forums | Gear Shop
Copyright © 2000-2024 24hourcampfire.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5
(Release build 20201027)
Responsive Width:

PHP: 7.3.33 Page Time: 0.101s Queries: 14 (0.004s) Memory: 0.8812 MB (Peak: 1.0138 MB) Data Comp: Zlib Server Time: 2024-03-28 12:00:57 UTC
Valid HTML 5 and Valid CSS