impala59 Posted September 26, 2019 Report Share Posted September 26, 2019 (edited) Having recently acquired a Ithaca Model 37 20g English Model, I was somewhat disheartened to see that at sometime in its life the butt end had been sawn off and a rather nasty brass butt plate installed. The original had no plate but was finished with horizontal grip lines and a bung which filled the stock bolt hole. The stock having been brutalised was also a little short. I decided to add about a half inch as I had some American walnut from a previous project. There was also a bad crack repair where the stock joins the receiver and some gashes in the wood including a quite nasty dent in the checkering. I got out most of the dents and carefully recut the checkering, I remade he cracked area with a much stronger repair (removing a little material from the inside where it appears to have been struck by the working parts moving rearwards.) I did not want to screw the new piece in place and went a different route so as in some ways to honour the original look. I decided to fix it in place in the following manner; 1 A hardwood (oak) rod to locate and centralise 2 Spring wire in the locating rod to grip the bolt hole sides 3 Rare earth magnets to hold the piece solidly in place Testing on the rough fit I found that the spring loaded rod or the magnets were each sufficient on their own but I decided to stick with both as it makes for a good solid fit Repaired, much finishing still to do The recut damaged checkering (first pass) Rough cut showing magnets(the ones in the piece are covered in sawdust) Shaped Straight cut grip lines (first pass) Spring loaded locating rod Past this point the magnets really take hold and firmly grip the piece Still a long way to go but I am quietly hopeful that it will look ok when finished. Edited September 26, 2019 by impala59 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted September 26, 2019 Report Share Posted September 26, 2019 looking forward to seeing the end result....its good to see folk work on their own stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted September 26, 2019 Report Share Posted September 26, 2019 Nice work Mate, another one for the collection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted September 27, 2019 Report Share Posted September 27, 2019 Very innovative, like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impala59 Posted September 29, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2019 Well I probably fell foul of the "rush to finish" gremlins, but nevertheless this is how it came out. Not a great colour match on the wood but maybe some more applications of Danish oil will improve it. I think I have achieved something of what I set out to do, that is, having no screw heads showing as per the original. The butt piece is securely fitted and safely locked in place, it takes a fairly hefty tug to remove it. The length of pull is a comfortable 13 3/4". Due to the colour issue I tried adding a little bling with a white plastic pinstripe so as to accent the difference rather than hide it, not really sure about that to be honest. A little work still to be done on the metal cosmetics, I will have to research methods for re-blacking the alloy receiver in due course Left right and end views With try out white layer Nice compact English, Grouse anyone?😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted September 29, 2019 Report Share Posted September 29, 2019 Sweet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted September 29, 2019 Report Share Posted September 29, 2019 (edited) nice and tidy......i would be chuffed to own that those rare earth magnets are bloody lethal....trapped my finger between then christ it hurt........and have to use a knife to get then apart .....weird stuff Edited September 29, 2019 by ditchman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figgy Posted September 29, 2019 Report Share Posted September 29, 2019 I like it with the white strip. Gives a nice contrast and means the pad looks like a pad not a stock extension. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted September 29, 2019 Report Share Posted September 29, 2019 31 minutes ago, figgy said: I like it with the white strip. Gives a nice contrast and means the pad looks like a pad not a stock extension. i like it with the white seperator too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hodge911 Posted October 3, 2019 Report Share Posted October 3, 2019 On 29/09/2019 at 23:09, ditchman said: i like it with the white seperator too Another vote for the white piece to left in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impala59 Posted October 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2019 With a further look a couple of days on , I now also prefer it with the white 1mm spacer. Despite the slight colour difference which may even up with more applications, the grain will always run at 90 degrees to the stock, so happy to live with that. a pal suggested rubbing in raw beeswax on top of the danish oil? Any thoughts gentlemen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figgy Posted October 3, 2019 Report Share Posted October 3, 2019 Stock wax or a good beeswax polish like ridnor will keep it looking nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impala59 Posted October 8, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2019 Got some gunstock beeswax from the E, unfortunately named slippery *****! Nevertheless it goes on nice with a finger and polishes up to a pleasant sheen, happy with that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted October 8, 2019 Report Share Posted October 8, 2019 Lovely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted October 8, 2019 Report Share Posted October 8, 2019 welll....................that looks the dogs danglies/....well done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old farrier Posted October 8, 2019 Report Share Posted October 8, 2019 Very nice 👍😊 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vampire Posted October 8, 2019 Report Share Posted October 8, 2019 Looks good,like the oak and white. How about a polished receiver ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impala59 Posted October 9, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2019 11 hours ago, vampire said: Looks good,like the oak and white. How about a polished receiver ? That's actually a nice idea and would save me trying to black the alloy. With a blue finish on the steel work it would have a nice contrast. Also if it looked a bit weird, the polishing would be excellent preparation for a different finish. Thank you Sir! 😀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted October 9, 2019 Report Share Posted October 9, 2019 polish the receiver and black the screws.........? sounds good to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon R Posted October 11, 2019 Report Share Posted October 11, 2019 Very impressive. I particularly like the innovative method of retaining the butt piece. Is it your original idea, or have you seen it elsewhere? Either way - top marks to whoever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impala59 Posted October 11, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2019 It was my intention to have no screws showing and the idea of using magnets came from a kitchen knife holder I made a few years ago. As Ditchman alluded to above, these rare earth magnets are super strong, the only downside is that if they come together too rapidly, they can shatter. The wire spring loaded rod came about in order to reduce the grab of the magnets and slow the connection of the two pieces. It is something I may repeat when restoring other guns as I do like ‘no tool’ assemblies. I am sure it would work with rubber recoil pads and I have a few of those to fit over the winter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.