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I started another post earlier about refinishing another stock & it got me thinking that this would be as good a place as any to show some of the carvings I've done as well. Just a little side hobby to blow more time playing with guns but it keeps my mind & hands busy so all is well.

Tinkering around on a take-off Ruger 10/22 stock.

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Another 10/22 take-off stock. This one was a practice run for a .410 I did for a friend for his grandson.

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Another 10/22 take-off. Just goofing off & playing with designs.

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A Mini-14 stock for one of the young guys on the fire dept with me.

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A take-off Savage 110 stock. Just playing around with a pattern & seeing how well it would work on a synthetic stock. MUCH rather work with wood as the plastic is a pain to cut.

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This one was a nearly destroyed Rem 700 stock. I picked it up on Ebay to refinish for a rifle I was repairing & refinishing as a project gun. It looked like somebody had been hitting rocks with it when I got it. Ironed out all of the dings & had to do a little reshaping & make the grip cap but after all was done it looked better than I had ever hoped.

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Like I said, just something else to do to keep me busy during bad weather & down time. Always been a gun nut & anything I can do to get to play around a little more is a plus. Hope you enjoy!

Dang! I envy people with talent... Makes me feel inadequate...

Sir you have a gift; Make the most of it..

GH

Are you doing that with a high speed hand piece?

Very Nice.

Very, very nice! For just being a hobby, maybe you shoulkd start a little side business. I know I would be interested!

Thanks. Don't reckon it's good enough to quit my day job though. Just something to do. I've done a few on take-off stocks I had laying around & either sold them to a buddy or hocked them on Ebay. Most of the work is done with some small carving hand tools inhereted from my grandfather & some of the other & larger areas with a Dremel with a flex extension. Not a great deal of a market for it in my local area & by pricing I see online that others do I can see why. Most of the carvers I've looked at START AT $300-$350 for a pretty basic design like the deer & elk heads. It'd be nice to get that but without a big name or a healthy reputation I'll just stick to low budget jobs for a buddy & tinkering with myown stuff. Flattered though....

Well then I think we need to start talking to become buddies! Seriously would you have any interest in doing a black bear on a remington 721 stock? Something similar to the rabbit, but not quite as big. I would definitely be interested. It wouldn't be for a little while as I'm scrounging money now to send it out and get it rebored into a 35 whelen.

The carving on the 22 stocks looks great and adds something special to an otherwise un interesting piece of wood. It is hard to make a birch stock look good. I was enjoying looking at your work until I saw the grip cap on the last rifle. I always like smooth flowing lines and complementary colors. The grip cap addition kind of left me cold. I do realize you are showcasing your carving work and not the grip cap, it's just kind of hard to miss. The carving looks like a hobby that may pay for itself and then some.

There is a book out by Jose Valencia, " Carving Gunstocks" Power Techniques that gives some good tips.It's available thru Schiffer books.

www.schifferbooks.com

348srfun - Agreed in stock contours & styling. Due to reflection on the cap it appears much lighter than it actually was on the stock but it was a stark contrast. It could & probably should have been a bit darker. I actually ended up selling that stock & the guy that bought it said he loved it & the cap was really what caught his eye. I had planned to go back & restain it darker had I kept it.

saddlesore - Thanks for the link. I have a few stock carving & general wood carving books on hand & all are a little different & get a fair amount of studying so I will definitely give it a look. Always looking for something new & different.

Bearschlayerx2 - I'm more of a wheeler & dealer than anything. Cash is nice but I know everyone is tight on holdings right now. I'll PM you later & we'll see what we can work out on some kind of trade or something.

Got your pm. I'll try to take a couple minutes in the next day or 2 and get it out and take a couple measurements and a couple pictures and see what we can come up with. I appreciate you getting back to me, and I am definitely interested in having you do somethin for me. Thanks again, Don