I'm slightly stoked. I picked up a 36X9X3 slab of kiln dried mahogany. I'm going to pull a "Gunnertrones" and make a stock for my Wildcat.22. I really like the soft touch one that came on it, but I love woodwork. The lower picture is a puzzle I carved from a piece of red oak. You can see one piece out. It will probably take me a little while, but I'll try to video some and show the progress.
Edit:
Step one
The mahogany is very hard. I could tell it using the table saw. I got it planed down and the grain is very nice. Next I will stand it up and make a jig to inlet the top for the wildcat.
Edit:
pencil guide for cuts and depths. I used the back inner wall of the stock as a reference for measurements.
Edit: On to step two
I used a router with guide to establish the outline of my pattern. Side boards were used to increase the surface area to stabilize the router. Then I used a router bit with a roller guide to increase the depth following my pattern. The finished fore end depth was reached, but keep in mind that the top edge will be lowered as it is on the Wildcat. It is easier to set that depth with the router and then lower the walls, otherwise the router would not have a flat surface to work from. All of the internal depths have been measured and all of them can be routed except for the trigger, which will be established with forstner bits. You can see the areas for the barrel bands and the basic shape of the Wildcat parts. The rest of the depths will be set next, top levels to bottom. See picture series.
Edit: Inletting with forstner bits on a drill press, round files and chisels. safety space cut, trigger group developed, end cut off of slab to contour for air tube. Basically all still internal work before the outer finesse. NMshooter might recognize that buffalo lab handpiece with a coarse cut lab bur. Hahaha. Gun seats in the slab now as internals are done except for sanding and finishing them. On to the weekend Yeah!, as I do have a full time job during the week.
Step three
Edit: Outer work begun. A basic drawing was made on the slab. Then I made a plywood router guide to cut the prominent groove that hi-lights the side of the wildcat. The guide was cut then sanded using my sander in a jig I made to hold it on its side. The groove was cut while the slab was still flat. Then I transferred the location of the trigger group to the outside of the gun with a depth gauge and square. Then the slab was leveled and a forstner bit was used to cut out the trigger location. I then clamped two straight edge boards to cut the straight edges of the stock cutouts. Once the pattern was set I used a top roller router bit to cut to depth. The stock was then flipped and a bottom roller router bit used to duplicate the cutouts on the other side. I then cut the bulk of the top slant off of the slab where the rifle sits since It was no longer needed for a guide and reference. Then I clamped two boards to sand down the top to where I wanted the taper. The edges were planed with a pocket plane. I used a forstner bit to cut the basic finger grooves on the grip, and then cut off excess stock material with a table saw and scroll saw. The entire gun stock is now roughed out and the action seats and screws into place. The next step will be contouring and shaping the curves.
Edit: Interim step. A whole lot of pencil marks in preparation for carving.
Edit: Step four started. Carving the stock with chisels, files, rasps and plane. It is starting to look more 'finished' though there's a long way to go. I like the wood grain that is starting to show. Glove stage to keep hand oils off.
Edit: Step 5
Sanding is not my favorite thing to do. Going 80-320 grit. It's taking a toll on the gloves and the stock. Almost there.
Pictures of unfinished stock with action in.
Edit:Step 6 Begun Stock finish. Pictures of first hand rubbed tru-oil
Edit: Project completed with tru-oil, 0000 steel wool, stock wax and elbow grease (rubbing and polishing). No stain was used, just the natural mahogany. I don't think the pictures do it justice, but here it is. Wildcat .22 custom mahogany stock. Nothing left but sweeping the shop floor and getting on to the next project, and of course busting a few more squirrels.
Edit:
Step one
The mahogany is very hard. I could tell it using the table saw. I got it planed down and the grain is very nice. Next I will stand it up and make a jig to inlet the top for the wildcat.
Edit:
pencil guide for cuts and depths. I used the back inner wall of the stock as a reference for measurements.
Edit: On to step two
I used a router with guide to establish the outline of my pattern. Side boards were used to increase the surface area to stabilize the router. Then I used a router bit with a roller guide to increase the depth following my pattern. The finished fore end depth was reached, but keep in mind that the top edge will be lowered as it is on the Wildcat. It is easier to set that depth with the router and then lower the walls, otherwise the router would not have a flat surface to work from. All of the internal depths have been measured and all of them can be routed except for the trigger, which will be established with forstner bits. You can see the areas for the barrel bands and the basic shape of the Wildcat parts. The rest of the depths will be set next, top levels to bottom. See picture series.
Edit: Inletting with forstner bits on a drill press, round files and chisels. safety space cut, trigger group developed, end cut off of slab to contour for air tube. Basically all still internal work before the outer finesse. NMshooter might recognize that buffalo lab handpiece with a coarse cut lab bur. Hahaha. Gun seats in the slab now as internals are done except for sanding and finishing them. On to the weekend Yeah!, as I do have a full time job during the week.
Step three
Edit: Outer work begun. A basic drawing was made on the slab. Then I made a plywood router guide to cut the prominent groove that hi-lights the side of the wildcat. The guide was cut then sanded using my sander in a jig I made to hold it on its side. The groove was cut while the slab was still flat. Then I transferred the location of the trigger group to the outside of the gun with a depth gauge and square. Then the slab was leveled and a forstner bit was used to cut out the trigger location. I then clamped two straight edge boards to cut the straight edges of the stock cutouts. Once the pattern was set I used a top roller router bit to cut to depth. The stock was then flipped and a bottom roller router bit used to duplicate the cutouts on the other side. I then cut the bulk of the top slant off of the slab where the rifle sits since It was no longer needed for a guide and reference. Then I clamped two boards to sand down the top to where I wanted the taper. The edges were planed with a pocket plane. I used a forstner bit to cut the basic finger grooves on the grip, and then cut off excess stock material with a table saw and scroll saw. The entire gun stock is now roughed out and the action seats and screws into place. The next step will be contouring and shaping the curves.
Edit: Interim step. A whole lot of pencil marks in preparation for carving.
Edit: Step four started. Carving the stock with chisels, files, rasps and plane. It is starting to look more 'finished' though there's a long way to go. I like the wood grain that is starting to show. Glove stage to keep hand oils off.
Edit: Step 5
Sanding is not my favorite thing to do. Going 80-320 grit. It's taking a toll on the gloves and the stock. Almost there.
Pictures of unfinished stock with action in.
Edit:Step 6 Begun Stock finish. Pictures of first hand rubbed tru-oil
Edit: Project completed with tru-oil, 0000 steel wool, stock wax and elbow grease (rubbing and polishing). No stain was used, just the natural mahogany. I don't think the pictures do it justice, but here it is. Wildcat .22 custom mahogany stock. Nothing left but sweeping the shop floor and getting on to the next project, and of course busting a few more squirrels.
