I am planning on having a stock made for my Cricket .25 BP. Hoping to find a gunstock duplicator that has the Skeleton stock. Just want a rough cut and inlaying so I can finish off the stock and modify from original a bit. Thanks
Cricket Custom Stock Duplicator
- Thread starter brwndg
- Start date
If you go to airgunstocks.com, I know that guy has both a Cricket stock and a duplicator. I don't know if the Cricket stock he has is the Skeleton version but I doubt he'd have much trouble making a bull-stock into a skeleton for you. I haven't bought from him myself but it sounded like his prices were reasonable.
I spent the last month making a carbon fiber stock for my Cricket and I can tell you that getting the inletting right is he hardest part by miles. I have never used a wood duplicator so I don't know how well they replicate deep recesses like the one in the Cricket inletting but if they don't do that I would make sure you have a plan B.
I used mold putty to take a male pattern for the Cricket stock's inletting and then I used that to make a thermoset carbon fiber bedding block. My block is an exact copy of the original inletting. The mold even included the screw holes so I didn't need to worry about drilling them in the right place. Mold putty is expensive but it is a quick way of making a mold without damaging the original or leaving hard to remove residue. An even more precise method is to use casting rubber. US composites is the cheapest source for that at $70 per gallon. It takes 2 packs of mold putty for the cricket inletting. (At $22 per pack).
From my brief search for inletting tools for wood stocks, I couldn't find any bedding tools for carving channels that were wide enough for the Cricket's air cylinder. They seem to be mostly made for barrel channels so they didn't go up to the 1.5" needed for the Cricket. Trying to grind a precise channel in hard walnut with a Dremel is not a viable option. I tried for a whole 3 minutes....
Normally I would have just used glass-bedding but I concluded that there was zero chance of doing it with the Cricket action without it getting stuck.
If you can find or make a 3d artwork file for the Cricket stock, you won't need a duplicator to get one CNC machined from a wood blank. I wanted a 3d file to get aluminum molds CNC machined. I had to use rubber molds in the end.
Please post an update if you have any success with this project. I have an interest myself and I'm sure many other Cricket owners do too.
Is your goal to get a lighter stock or do you just prefer the look of the skeleton stocks?
I spent the last month making a carbon fiber stock for my Cricket and I can tell you that getting the inletting right is he hardest part by miles. I have never used a wood duplicator so I don't know how well they replicate deep recesses like the one in the Cricket inletting but if they don't do that I would make sure you have a plan B.
I used mold putty to take a male pattern for the Cricket stock's inletting and then I used that to make a thermoset carbon fiber bedding block. My block is an exact copy of the original inletting. The mold even included the screw holes so I didn't need to worry about drilling them in the right place. Mold putty is expensive but it is a quick way of making a mold without damaging the original or leaving hard to remove residue. An even more precise method is to use casting rubber. US composites is the cheapest source for that at $70 per gallon. It takes 2 packs of mold putty for the cricket inletting. (At $22 per pack).
From my brief search for inletting tools for wood stocks, I couldn't find any bedding tools for carving channels that were wide enough for the Cricket's air cylinder. They seem to be mostly made for barrel channels so they didn't go up to the 1.5" needed for the Cricket. Trying to grind a precise channel in hard walnut with a Dremel is not a viable option. I tried for a whole 3 minutes....
Normally I would have just used glass-bedding but I concluded that there was zero chance of doing it with the Cricket action without it getting stuck.
If you can find or make a 3d artwork file for the Cricket stock, you won't need a duplicator to get one CNC machined from a wood blank. I wanted a 3d file to get aluminum molds CNC machined. I had to use rubber molds in the end.
Please post an update if you have any success with this project. I have an interest myself and I'm sure many other Cricket owners do too.
Is your goal to get a lighter stock or do you just prefer the look of the skeleton stocks?
Upvote 0
Zebra do you have any pics of your project? Interested in doing this with a Bobcat. Can you tell me more about the process you used
Upvote 0
PM me your email address and I'll send you some pics.
I have been working on 2 CF stocks. One is a copy of the original and the other is a simplified design that is more suitable for carbon fiber.
I have been using a mix of wet layups and compression molds. It's not how I would do it if I was starting a commercial enterprise but it works ok for a diy project. I have been refining the process as I go. Most of the time has been spent creating usable molds.
The Cricket stock is very difficult to create a decent mold for. It is almost impossible to do it without ruining the original so if you don't have a spare stock to sacrifice, I would plan on making a new design instead.
My advice would be to start by making a bedding block so you have something your action will fit properly. Then build the rest of your stock around the block. I suggest buying more than a gallon of silicon mold rubber with a hardness shore of at least 60. Don't buy the cheaper urethane rubber as that stuff sticks to everything. Silicon rubber costs a fortune but the amateur stock maker will have a much easier time with it. Nothing sticks to silicon rubber apart from glass and more silicon rubber.
Use the silicon rubber to make a male mold of the original inletting and a 2-piece female mold for the outer shell. If you can do that, the rest is not too hard.
I have been working on 2 CF stocks. One is a copy of the original and the other is a simplified design that is more suitable for carbon fiber.
I have been using a mix of wet layups and compression molds. It's not how I would do it if I was starting a commercial enterprise but it works ok for a diy project. I have been refining the process as I go. Most of the time has been spent creating usable molds.
The Cricket stock is very difficult to create a decent mold for. It is almost impossible to do it without ruining the original so if you don't have a spare stock to sacrifice, I would plan on making a new design instead.
My advice would be to start by making a bedding block so you have something your action will fit properly. Then build the rest of your stock around the block. I suggest buying more than a gallon of silicon mold rubber with a hardness shore of at least 60. Don't buy the cheaper urethane rubber as that stuff sticks to everything. Silicon rubber costs a fortune but the amateur stock maker will have a much easier time with it. Nothing sticks to silicon rubber apart from glass and more silicon rubber.
Use the silicon rubber to make a male mold of the original inletting and a 2-piece female mold for the outer shell. If you can do that, the rest is not too hard.
Upvote 0