BradD

Karl!!!!! Sierra Nevada is a California beer and owned by Americans, well, California Americans. Step outside occasionally, lad. Brad

You know, as I understand it, the MT version as well as the one going in Texas right now requires the state to defend anyone charged by the feds for a violation. I'm waiting for 2012 to see if MT goes Obama again. I hunted there last year and couldn't find one single person who voted for him. Going back in Nov this year and will check again, but expect even less. Doubt I'll take a side trip to Missoula to look for fools. Pretty bad when a Californio is heehawing Montanans, but I don't think California will be the next nullification state anytime soon. Ahnold and the Dems are too busy lapping up freebie tax money from BO. Brad

Right, Karl. Check with Michael Moore. Of course he will portray you as a right wing nut job who never even tried Venezuelan beer and caused starvation in the southern continent and illegal immigration and lack of adequate national health care in America. No Sierra Nevada? You may be staying in the house too much. B.

Thanks, Don. I think most of us tend to forget how important that critter is. I go through them over and over finding one that fixes a mysterious feeding problem. Knowing how to modify one is the secret to making things work. Sorry about your divorce (I know what that beast is like), but glad to see you puttering again. Brad

RR, in my checkering days (hands too shakey, eyes too dim and disposition too cranky now) I did checker a curly maple stock. Within an hour of starting it I wished I had never tried. No matter how long I ran the cutter over it the rows always came out a little "hairy". I finally finished it and it was, well, okay, but not great. If you really feel up to trying it one thing you might do is get some Minwax "Wood Hardener" and give it several treatments and let it dry for a couple weeks. That just might toughen up the grain enough to hold good checkering. Also keep an eye on your forearm. I've done three maple stocks and one day the barrel channel is just right, the next day it's pushing left and the next day it's pushing right. We had a long thread on this 2-3 years ago. In my situation I finally gutted the whole inside of the forearm, laid in a steel rod and filled it with Acraglass. Had about 3/8" of real wood on the outside and the rest glass. Finally stopped running around but the inletting job wasn't as good as I'd have wished when done because of it. Should have just gutted it and filled it on day 1. Fancy maple, like some women, looks good, but is a pain in the rear (we had a discussion about that, too, in an advice-to-the-lovelorn thread). Brad

I figgered as much. B.

Bob, I'm thinking Machinist1's advice was pretty solid. I was wondering how that was going to work. It could be done by raising the bottom cp line from middle to front which would entail new radius and shadow line. Doable but would be a little risky since it's hard to tell where it would go. Like you say, probably didn't need fixin'. You could always come back later if it's bugging you and do it another time. I was wondering about your length of pull when you cut the butt. An old adage is that you hold your trigger hand arm with a right agle bend at the elbow, hand straight out and trigger finger bent at right angle to your hand. Measure the distance from the inside of yout trigger finger to the inside of your elbow and that will give you proper length of pull. You know, that sort of works, but it isn't totally accurate all the time because, well, we're not all built the same and don't all bend the same. For instance, I'm a bit on the lanky side. By that technique I have a 14 1/2" LOP. Rarely have I ever had a rifle with that LOP be comfortable to me or shoulder well. I generally have found my confort zone at 13 3/4". My point here being, check yours and see what it might be, see how much wood you can spare at the rear and then be conservative. This is one where two cuts might be better than one if you have enough wood to do it. Would also give you a chance to feel that pitch in real life. If there's not enough wood to take more than one shot, then good luck, you seem to be very thoughtful on this as you go and I'm sure you'll do fine. Brad

Happy birthday, Dale. Is the new lady keeping you spoiled? I remember when you were a lot younger than me, now you've almost caught up. Brad

My experience with this is that if there is no radius or bevel there that it makes a small step where the back edge rests in the receiver and that frequently it it will snag the the rim of the case. I have had to either radius or bevel (bevel works fine and is easier) on several magazines to make them load without snagging. Brad

It's shaping up nicely, Bob. On the left side pic, were you thinking of taking some of the cheekpiece material off below the yellow line in order to change the flute angle? That piece of Madagascar ebony was just a scrap I wanted you to see as another option for caps. I don't think it could be useable. The two pieces of African wenge were for your next project. Brad

Some of us are tall, some have green eyes and some are Irish. The pitch that works is the one to run with. I'm a 90 degree guy and that doesn't prescribe anything for anyone else. Close your eyes and throw it up to a predetermined target and see where it points. That will determine the right pitch FOR YOU for THAT RIFLE. If it hurts when you you shoot it then it's back to the miter saw. Don't wait until it's finished to check this. All the steps go along together and it's not finished until all of it is finished. Our satellite is kaput and I can barely communicate with this laptop and dial up, so my verbosity will be restrained for a bit. Brad

How do all us grumpy old men keep from po'ing each other? Might not need deer. Could just eat whoever lost that day's argument. B.

Az, I've got a good Deere diesel ride-on mower and that knocks out the bulk of the mowing in about four days (remember this is rough mountain country, not flat yard), but I weedwhack all the grass around the trees and and around a fair amount of holly oak and scrub oak. I have to do that to keep from "laddering" in the event of grass fire and setting the oaks and pines on fire (not to mention mi casa). It takes another 4-5 days of weedwhaking with a handheld to clean out around the brush and trees. I've been looking at the DR Field version wondering if it would speed things up any. Thanks, Brad

I have ten acres I have to mow once each year. A lot of it is between and around trees, as well as rocky areas and hills. Do they work well around trees or do you still have to get out the hand held for finishing?

Hi Bob, Mike (z1r) and I were talking about your project off the thread. He pointed out a couple things I thought I would pass on to you. Re the pitch, Mike indicated that he likes a bit of pitch in the direction it currently goes (negative), whereas I indicated that I have come to prefer 90 degree. It is good that he mentioned it, because none of us are built the same and none of us shoot the same. Throw the current configuration to your shoulder several times with your eyes shut and see where it is pointing when you open your eyes. Is it dead on when you look, or pointing slightly up or down from the target. Adjust pitch accordingly. And how does it feel, natural or something you need to adjust each time you shoulder it? Mike indicated that he also liked the thickness of the cheekpiece to be thinner at the top near the comb and be thicker at the bottom of the cp as we had discussed. And of course that is correct too. My preference is that the difference, while obvious when looked at, be as subtle as possible. The taper that will be right on your cheekpiece will be the one that makes your eyeballs happy. Don't take anything I suggest as gospel, just suggestions. If you like what you see when you're done, we are all going to like it. Brad

Yes, like that. You might even want to bring the front end of the green line down a tiny bit more. Also if you cut it off at that location you will need to rasp away some of the belly of the bs to re-establish the grip (I think). So if you're not wanting to do that maybe take off a little less and look at it. Also be sure you're leaving enough of the original grip that your fingers are comfy when holding it and not hanging off the bottom. Nothing worse than a pg that's too small. Brad

Re the cheekpiece, yes that's what I was thinking. However, go slow and check often. You may or may not want to go that much. Just enough to ameliorate to profound difference between heights. Some difference is expected. Only do enough to calm it. Before you cut the pg off at that angle, try cutting it square (90 degree) to the flow of the pg. I may be wrong, but I don't think you would like that angle. If you cut it square first and still want the angle you can still do it. I think you are going the right way on reducing the front of the cp and adding some drop for your thumb on the top of the wrist. That's going to be a thumb and eye project working together. Of course that is going to completely change the nose (front) of the cheekpiece and how the cheekpiece and shadowline melt back into the buttstock. Keep a close watch on how that is going as you progress. I've tried all kinds of pitches on the pad of the buttstock, both positive and negative. There's all kinds of opinions about what is best for recoil management and natural shouldering. All are valid to some degree in each of their own situations. However, after 40 years of cutting off buttstocks, I've found 90 degrees to the bore line works best for me. It looks to me what you are wanting to do. I think you'll find you will be happy with that. Also, if you feel you need it, you can add a bit of cast off and it won't be visible. It takes very very little. No more than an 1/8th" more on the right side than the left, maybe even less. You'll have to feel your way through that and you may not want to try it. Keep up the good work. Brad

Bob, I like what I'm seeing. I think what you have done so far has added some grace to it and if you keep working that way it should come together nicely in the end. The last pic, from the rear was interesting. While the comb should melt into the buttstock, you should look at it as though it was rolled out out on a bread pan, smoothed and evened and laid over the bs. So I would suggest bringing down the bottom of the comb some to more approach the thickness of the upper part. The lower part is not used at all so only esthetics are of concern here. I would not shoot for the same thickness, but less of the difference. I like that particular shadow line, I didn't notice it before. I would preserve it and just assure that it is smooth, sharp and flows without wobble or variations in it's thickness. If you only do one part at a time you will find yourself doing four or five different stocks at the same place. I know you want to get your eye fairly comfortable with what you have done so far, but all the parts need to work in concert. So, don't consider any one part done until you have seen it next to the next nearly finished part. Start on the grip soon, before you feel that you have finished the bs. If your eye is looking at all the stock it will work them together, as it should be. That will also tend to slow you down from going overboard on one spot and regretting it. Remember you want the forearm to look like it is part of the same stock as the buttstock. So don't feel like you are being squirrely if you move back and forth. If you work your way around the whole stock it will all get there at the same time. One other item on the cheeckpiece. This is one place where the line needs to be sharp - between the flat of the cp and the radius down to the buttstock. Keep it as sharp as you can, don't round it at all. It is a breaking point that defines the whole cheeckpiece and it should be bold. Be careful when finishing that you don't damage it's prominence. The sharp breaking line, as with the shadow line should, at each end, dissolve into the butstock, but be strong getting there in between. As to that ready to retire butt pad, my rule (although I have violated it when my eye, or my wife, told me better) is that if I am using African ebony or or even a wood that is prominently black like the Madagascar ebony or African wenge, I go with a black pad. If however, I am using rosewood or another non-predominently black wood then I go with the dark red pad. Red pad, black tips, no good. Black pad, red tips, no good. Keep us updated. This is fun to watch. By the way thanks for the reimbursement. Wasn't necessary, but thanks for the going to the trouble. Brad

Swampy, What brought this on? Brad

I believe the suffix k stands for kurz (short). My guess is a K98, but the old ruler should decide when it lands. Let us know. Brad

I don't intend to take anything away from our heroes. They are great! However, they say the range was 25 meters. Our deputy riflemen regulary trained for that and three aholes and three shots in three seconds by one deputy is pretty much doable. Three shooters is three times as good. Don't care about the controversy, just glad that Americans still aren't someone to f--- with. Don't think we ever will be, no matter how many dips gain control of politics, media and the campuses in our country. Our blood doesn't run through their veins, nor theirs through ours. B.

Jason, Jerry, Tony, Tom, Ron and all our brother Texans, I was just wondering, I know all of you have been less than enthusiastic about Governor Perry at times. But recently he has been firing a lot of volleys that are our kind of stuff, concealed carry permits, anti taxation, Federal encroachment (pro gun rights, pro state's rights, anti tax). So has he redeemed himself with our kind of folks down in Texas? Is he on the track we always wished he would have been now? He's something of a folk hero outside Texas. As for us in the "other republic" not much redemption going on here in California. We in the Central Valley, the east side, and the northerners are still resisting the alien invaders, but the coastlands and the south outnumber us. Don't know that we'll ever be able to reverse the insanity. Sort of wish we had someone like Perry to stand up and speak for us, with some clout. It sure isn't going to be the Ex-terminator. His days of terminating evil got lost on Martha's Vineyard. Brad

Nope, those boys want to be paid in 100 peso US dolares ($100 bills). Tell China and their puppy N. Korea to get those presses rolling. We need their fake US currency. Oops, doesn't matter now, they're dead. Oh well.... B.

I guess he could try bowing to them.

Bob, you know beauty is in the eye of the beholder. However, before the beholder gazes upon it the artist (and this IS art, no sense denying it) must gaze upon it and decide what it should be, much of the time deciding upon that as he or she goes. I had no idea where that piece of crap was going to go when I decided to rescue it. I just knew I had a pretty good piece of walnut and enough of it to do something with. I didn't know if I would screw it up or have a nice stock in the end. I agree about an aggregate of parts ending up as the whole. And the whole must not look like a camel when finished. The parts need to flow together. The forearm must have enough wood to be be strong, but not clunky. It has to fit both your eye and your hand. It must have grace and be the right length. If there is to be an exotic tip then it must not be too long or too short. If you are objective and honest with yourself you will find the right length. Big nasty square corners on the forearm rarely (well, actually, never) work out well on the forearm. As well said by you, the pistol grip needs to be graceful, not sharp or circular, but especially not straight (ugh!). Fortunately on this item you can let your hand be your guide. Feel it, look at it and continue rasping until both are right. Toadstools are out so get rid of the mushroom look on the cap. The cap must not be too thick. Some emphasis at this point is nice occasionally but, please, no more toadstools. Find the right segma curve for both your eye and your hand and all will be right in the world. The most important part of the stock is the buttstock. We all know about the pitch, drop, heel, toe, cast off, length of pull, etc, etc stuff. How the comb looks makes or breaks both the looks and function of the stock, but this is art we're talking about now, not science. A big ass cheek piece looks like a big ass person. Depending upon your preferences, it may be fun to grab, but it is no fun to look at. Keep it modest, but apparent. A railroad tie stock neither looks good nor works good, trim it down to where it provides enough butt area to disperse recoil appropriate to the size of the cartridge and still make your eyeballs happy. The cheekpiece must absolutlely melt into the rest of the buttstock, with the exception of a shadowline around the perimiter. However the shadow line must be even, consistent and disappear when it is it's time at each end. It is imperative that shadow lines be be sharp, otherwise get rid of them. That's just some stuff I work towards when shaping a stock. I'll bet there are a lot of other ideas among us too. Brad