Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders Ramblings of an amateur gun tinkerer

Probably the long way but...printed,scanned,enlarged and rotated....let's see if that worked.

A concern I would have with that is the strength of attachment of the thimble to the barrel. It might take some substantial forces during firing and if it isn't rigidly attached.....

But this will surely be a custom thimble assembly and you'll secure it well.

Also, I wonder how much wood is remaining there where the screw is placed? If it is too thin you'll have problems. Maybe hiding that screw head would prove to eventually cause more damage than it's worth aesthetically? Perhaps a more convential arrangement there would not look as nice but it would be much stronger. Just buy a bunch of nice screws to fit and keep some looking good. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> It's a muzzleloader so that barrel is very likely going to need to go in and out of that stock fairly often. ? ?

I've studied on this for a considerable time...a LOT of daydreaming....

"if it isn't rigidly attached....."

--Am gonna dovetail and solder the thimble...yes the thimble will be a custom made one...


"I wonder how much wood is remaining"

--That's easy enough to figure out...but part of the reason for the trap door mechanism...I figure a round, inletted "cup" of the size maybe between a nickle and a quarter will spread out the forces, more contact surface...in effect making a punny screw head very large...but not looking like huge...basically a big washer for the screw head...


"barrel is very likely going to need to go in and out of that stock fairly often. ? ?"

--Yeah I tend to break my rigs down often to ward off the metal vs moisture problems.....all the more reason to hide an ugly and beat up screw with something pretty...



Back to the strength thing...all I gotta do is get an eye full of how rinky dink the original set up was...I think I'm adding more beef...both in wood and metal fixtures...Also, there is a substantial recoil lug to help things out...

With THIS well fitted and maybe full bedded stock I think I got the Ruger engineers beat hands down... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I think you've already accomplished that much, for sure on the stock (and elimination of that barrel band!). Seems like you had already thought way past my concerns but it still seemed worth mentioning them. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Underclocked...I measured the thickness of the wood where the trap door is going...which will center in the wrap around checkering pattern...

From the outside, underside of the forearm....to the bottom of the ramrod channel, which is the thinnest point..it measures .660 inches...

After inletting the trap door and final sanding..it will probably measure no less than .575...over half an inch...that's plenty...more than some production guns...

Just letting you know... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

That's tough. FWIW - I think fitting a square tapped block just in front of the action would be a simple/safe way to go. It would work to hold the barrel down and as a recoil lug also. Bed it with a little JB weld and all that could be seen would be the screw head. You could even "pillar bed" the screw hole by inletting a small aluminum pillar in the stock to keep from compressing the wood if you torqued it too much.

You could still use your hinged cover idea for the screw. I guess it would be like a minature patch box. Just an idea...

Just caught this topic -- Awesome guy!!!

For those of you following this thread...I finally got a little time to put in this project again...

I've been working on a few small metal parts and pretty much have them ready for blueing...which will happen in a month or so according to my gunsmith pard when he's ready to run a batch thru the hot tank....

This is what I had to make...

A new ramrod thimble for the barrel...this was because when I drilled the hole in the stock for the ramrod, I had to drill it with a little space between the barrel and the rod. that was so the ebony wouldn't split out. I'm talking about a shy eigth of an inch, the original set up was tight to the barrel...When the ramrod was applied using the old thimble it left the ramrod bent under the barrel. Ugly and un-professional in my opinion. So I gathered up a block of "gun steel" and fabbed a new one with more space allowed between the rod and the barrel to get things parallel again.

The next part was the part needed for the forearm screw. It also needed to be a ramrod thimble and include a screw boss. I made a thimble and welded a small block to it, drilled and tapped the block, then inletted the new item into the stock. To attach this part to the barrel I needed to cut a dovetail so by following the example of the front thimble I cut a shallow dovetail where it needed to be on the underside of the barrel hidden inside the stock...Hand cutting a dovetail sucks...

If you remember from the beginning I talked about wanting the stock bolts bigger as in 1/4 X 28 thread in stead of the puny factory screws. Well I had to make three custom 1/4x28 slotted head screws, simple task if I had a lathe to do it...I made these by hand from some grade 5... 1/4 inch bolts. I shaped the heads by spinning them in a hand drill and did the cutting with a dremmel and a couple of files. I then cut the slots with a file I had modified to be "safe" on the two flat sides, cutting with the edge. They fit a certain large electricians screwdriver I have so I think I will leave it with the slotted screws and pass on the allen heads I had originally planned.

All that hoopla before about a little trap door thingy for the front forearm screw has been revised by the commonly overlooked K.I.S.S. method...I just made a nice simple little ferrule for the screw to settle into...

I'll get some pictures together and post them before I send these parts off to my blueing guy...The final shaping and sanding of the stock is next...I might trim it up a little more than it is, theres places it seems just a little bit too bulky...

Thanks for following this <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />.

djb......I thunk things over and went with your suggestion...mostly anyway... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

But we need more pictures! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I'll do that soon.... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Here ya go...my camera was M.I.A. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> darn kids.... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

I gotta do a final polish on this stuff before I turn them over to the blueing guy...

New stock bolts...


The forearm screw and ferrule.....


The new ramrod thimble....shakey photographer sorry <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />


Don't look bad so far.... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Thanks! I feel some relief. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Don't see a thing wrong with the way you've got that forward screw set in there. Whole thing looks great to me!

I'll be taking suggestions from the Campfire as to the checkering pattern to put on it...Simple is out...so is the totally outrageous....somewhere in the middle...

The time for that nears.....

Thanks for the compliments.

If you need patterns I have a book on checkering (maybe you have it already) or could give you the book's title/author and/or you could borrowed it from a local libary.

A Win 70 Featherweight fleur de lis pattern would look nice!

doc623, yeah the name of the book would be cool...I usually make up a pattern to fit the stock and person I am doing it for...that takes a lot of pencil time and playing around to get it right. I was thinking of letting my friends here on the 'fire have some say in what pattern to put on this one so if you have a favorite, post a pic of it and we can go from there...

RickyD, I've always had a soft spot for those M70 patterns...even though I never drove a winny M70...I do like fleur di lis....

The name of the book is "Checkering and Carving of Gunstocks" by Monty Kennedy, pub by The Stackpole Co., Harrisburg, Pa.
' the complete home workshop reference with ready-to-use patterns...detailed instructions and techniques for making gunstocks look better,feel better, grip better'
Hope this helps.

Don't have a pattern suggestion for you but was thinking you might be able to create something based upon that weird bird Ruger emblem...? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

wildswalker, while you are finishing that stock - help me with my scope protector design: <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

......