Upon request, we will refer customers to professional stock finishers and send your stock directly to the service of your choice.
"You'll
find that your own work far surpasses even the best factory stocks for beauty
and finish, and the quality of the wood underneath is much higher than any of
the mass-produced stuff.
(Other
internet resources on "bedding". http://www.varminthunters.com/tech/
)
People
ask:
“How do I finish my Elk Ridge wood
stock?”
“Are Elk Ridge stocks
“Drop-in” or is some final inletting required?”
“What finish kind of finish
should I use?”
“What tools are required?”
“How long does it take to finish
a stock”
“How do you glass bed a rifle?
What about pillar bedding?”
Most people who can work with their
hands can fit and finish an Elk Ridge wood stock, and get beautiful results.
Simple wood working tools and some elbow grease are required, but wood is
easy to shape and finish. The final
smoothing and finishing of the stock is straightforward.
Most adults and mature teens can tear right into it.
Start by putting the stock in a
bench vise, padded with carpet, thick rubber, or several layers of cardboard.
FIRST you will complete the inletting (the shape of the inside of the stock)
THEN the outside shape. Finally you will sand and apply finish.
Try to set the barreled action in
place, and note where wood must be removed.
This usually requires enlarging the barrel channel and often a little
chisel work around the action. The
breech end of the barrel usually has the most wood to be removed.
A barrel channel tool is nice, but you can shape a barrel channel with a
half-round rasp, a gouge or any other rounded cutting tool.
Wooden dowels about 1/2" to 7/8" diameter and 3” to 20"
long, inside of 36 or 60 grit sandpaper are best for most of the work around the
barrel and round bottom actions. Be very aggressive with the sandpaper and
dowels and you'll be impressed with how fast the wood is removed and how
straight and even the lines come out. Power
tools seem to cause more problems than they solve. Routers, grinders, burs and Dremel tools can be used, but be
careful to hold them very firmly so they don’t “climb” onto the top edge
of the stock.
Begin with the areas where the most wood
is to be removed. Think about what
you are doing, but don’t be timid. Take
control of the job and put some muscle into it so you get the bulk of the wood
removed quickly. Set the barreled
action into the stock every few minutes, so you can see where you need to work.
Be especially careful around the visible part of the joint between wood
and metal, as you don't want a big visible gap when you are done, and you can't
easily put wood back once it is removed. A
piece of old fashioned carbon paper may be used to indicate the areas that are
still rubbing wood on metal. Modeling
clay or even a bit of soft white bread can help you measure how tight the fit
is. Just put a tiny piece in and
squish it between the wood and metal.
Most rifles should have a free floating
barrel for accuracy sake. This
means that the barrel never touches the stock, except in the first inch or so
close to the action. When finished,
you should have a consistent gap at least 1 or 2 business cards thick, perhaps
much more, under the entire length of the free floated barrel.
When the barrel channel is getting close
to the right size, you will find a few little spots around the action that need
the attention of a chisel or bottoming tool.
Remember that only the areas rimming the top of the inletting will be
visible on the finished product. So,
be careful around the top rim, and less concerned around the rest of the
inletting – except at the recoil lug and (very Important!!!) the wood which
joins the right and left sides of the stock around the magazine & trigger.
Remove about 1/8 to 1/16 inch extra
around any areas that you are going to glass bed, 1/4 inch or more behind the
recoil lug if glass bedding. Follow
the instructions on the glass bedding kit.
If you are not glass bedding, the area against the BACK of the recoil lug
must fit tight (Important!), but the sides and front of the recoil lug should
not touch wood to metal. We
recommend Acraglas or Acraglas Gel for glass bedding, and will send it with your
stock on request. One kit has
plenty of epoxy to do at least one rifle. The
instructions in the kit are very complete. Remember to apply the release agent to EVERY place that you
don’t want the epoxy to stick, or it will be permanently bonded to the stock.
You complete the inletting for the
trigger guard and magazine in the same way as the barreled action of the stock.
AFTER the inside of the stock is fitted
to the metal, you do the outside of the stock. You'll need a half-round rasp, dowel with very
course sandpaper or coarse file to tailor-fit the hand areas and finish the
front end. Saw off the butt and
forearm to your desired length, and shape;
round, slim or do whatever you like.
Take the stock out of the vise
occasionally and hold as you would to shoot. Simply feel where it is tight
on you. Visualize what you want for
a finished shape and remove any wood that you don't want.
The right way is to aggressively take control of the wood. You will
want to pay particular attention to the grip and thumbhole, removing any wood
that feels tight on your hand. If your hands are big or thick, this may be
quite a bit of wood to get the very best fit. Then you'll finish file
everything to blend in the curves. Always
remember to avoid removing the protruding lines and corners, as it is very easy
to round them (undesirable). 60 or
80 grit sand if you've been using a rasp, otherwise go right to 100 grit.
Always use a sanding block (Important) Make
sure that every single mark from the rougher paper or tool is gone before you
move to the finer. 120, 150,
180 and maybe 220 grit, always removing every single mark left by the courser
paper. Also, always use a sanding block or dowel wherever possible
so you don't get a tiny “wavy” look. A 1/2" X 1" X 2"
aluminum block made flat and smooth on all surfaces is a good block. A
little bigger or a different material is fine. Remember to stay off of
the protruding corners and edges of the wood whenever you are filing or sanding,
as the natural tendency is to "round-off" all of the prominent lines
that you really want to keep!! (Big “no-no”)
Many different finishes can be used, like
linseed oil, tung oil, varnish, oil-based polyurethane that says
"outdoor" on the label, or specially formulated gun stock finishes.
Brownells has a nice one that combines tung and polyurethane and dries very
fast. (Pro Custom Oil by Gun Sav’r / Chem-pak)
For the absolute hardest, toughest finish I usually use Defthane brand
polyurethane, even though it is harder to work with and takes a long time to dry
between each of the half-dozen coats. I like high gloss, but you may
prefer low gloss, satin or flat. It is very easy to dull a high gloss to a
lower gloss with 600 grit sand paper or 000 steel wool, but it is harder to
increase gloss on a flat or satin urethane.
After sanding to 220 grit as normal, I
like to use wet/dry 220 or 280 grit sanding paper dipped right into the
Defthane. Sanding in polyurethane
fills the pores and lets you keep working the high spots. With the solid walnut
stocks or when you want to darken the wood a bit, you leave the
"dirty" urethane to dry. With multi-colored and bright
laminates, you wipe off the surplus "dirty" urethane with bare hands
or a lint-free cloth. After the pores are filled and every surface is
leveled by about 2 sanded-in coats of urethane, you can hand-rub two or three
fairly heavy coats on. Rub hard and long until the urethane thickens, then
smooth with bare hands and let dry. Remember not to get the coat too thick
or it will take forever to dry and will give a thick polyurethane layer that may
crack after 5 to 25 years. After you have just a bit of thickness to the
urethane on the wood, then wet sand very lightly with 320 or 400 grit, just to
level off the highest spots. After
it dries, do the same with 600. Smooth-on urethane with bare hands after the 400
and 600, leaving the very thinnest amount of urethane possible, so as not to
create an uneven surface, now that you have it almost perfectly level and even.
If you choose to brush on the urethane,
use the very best varnish brush your store sells, or you will likely get brush
marks in the finished product. Also, do a small area completely, then move
on. If you take so much as one little stroke on an area that you left for
a minute, you will likely leave brush marks. The urethane has begun to dry
and won't flow back together to eliminate brush marks, or leave an even surface.
After
the last coat, some guys sand lightly with 600 grit on a block, then use rotten
stone and finer abrasives, and finally hand rub with oil to put that real depth
into the finish. Some use wet 600 grit or 000 steel wool to dull the gloss
of the final, dried urethane. Rubbing on linseed or another oil to the
completed finish brings luster without too much shine. Natural-colored
shoe polish or furniture wax should be rubbed on from time to time and buffed
off to keep your wood finish looking it's best.
You'll
find that your own work far surpasses even the best factory stocks for beauty
and finish, and the quality of the wood underneath is much higher than any of
the mass-produced stuff.
The whole thing may be new to you, but you'll find that it is fairly easy to get good results. Wood shapes easily, and elbow grease is all that is required.
More internet resources on "bedding". http://www.varminthunters.com/tech/