New Stock Builds For My Airforce Condors.

Aaron, I would say it depends.  I am by no means an advanced woodworker, although I am a pretty good craftsman and a manufacturing engineer by profession.  Kind of jack of all trades, master of none and have spent my career trying to figure how make things so this comes natural to me.    

These are all machined "by hand" and not made using a duplicator.  I use a router table for the inletting and forearm shaping.  I use a trim router for the free hand work for inletting for the tank band clamp block and a aluminum plate I inlet into the butt for anchoring the tank clamp, but all of that could be done with chisels, which do get used a little for squaring up corners and fitting.  All the organic shaping I do with carbide burrs, sanding disc, and small sanding cones on pneumatic die grinders. (straight and 90 degree)  They are small but powerful and allow for a lot of dexterity for shaping.  I have other tools that I use to reduce the amount of elbow grease needed, and for blank prep, but I think I could do it without them.

• This reply was modified 1 year ago by  Loren.

Problem with conventional plywood is the grain direction alternates 90 degrees with each layer, which may not be ideal.  Poplar would machine easy, low cost for giving it a try, will laminate well, and finishes nicely with stain or paint.  

From my understanding Maddog uses poplar and bedliner on the small caliber guns styocks and then poplar/maple/poplar on the Texan stocks  Using the maple to stiffen them a bit more than just poplar.  

Here is the first one.  It is a .25cal Condor SS.  I have some sling studs coming and camo paracord sling to add to it to complete the hunting package.

Thanks guys, I'm glad you like the work.  I built these for my own guns, and each is "hand carved" and not cut on a duplicator.  Cost in raw material was $180+  and I have 50+ hours in fab and finishes time in each stock.  I'm not sure anyone would want to pay a custom shop rate to have one based on those numbers.

The Airforce platform lacks the bells and whistle of the other brands, but they are fair priced and make HUGE power in factory form and with a nice wood stock they are pretty cool rifles IMHO.    The blue Condor is  .25cal and easily producing 110 FPE with a 53gr cast bullet with it's 24" barrel.  The Condor SS is also a .25cal and producing 85 FPE with the same bullet.  

See some of my latest stock builds at http://www.DiamondGunStocks.com

• This reply was modified 8 months ago by  Loren.