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A Gun stock for Old Farrier


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In my late teens i became fascinated with the arts and mystery of gunsmiths and for many years now its been something of a life pursuit, learning a trade and honing the necessary skills, ever since i left school it has been my earnest wish and intention to be the best i can be, and try to make a living doing so. I've been trading professionally a few years and it has not been easy however im pleased to say that even in these difficult times i feel what i'm doing is worth my while.

My first dip of the toe into gunsmithing was entirely this forums fault; making a gun stock for a gun gifted to me by another member of these forums, a gun that will never be parted with and one i have a sentimental attachment to. I fully recorded this process at the time, with the limited learning, tools and skills i had at the time, i'm surprised my effort was as good as it was! 

From the outset some forum members provided endless support advice and encouragement, a member gave me the gun, a member sent me a set of chisels ( still have them!) a scraper, some checkering tools, they could obviously see my passion for what i was trying to do and gee'd me on. We don't know the impact we have on the people we interact with; even with the virtual space we are both now self isolating in. Despite the trouble it has caused me, the frustration and expense, i thank all of you for setting me on the path i now walk. 

So, to business, imagine my delight when Old farrier, one of my supporters from the day i first scratched with a blunt chisel messaged me to ask if i could make him a stock, gunsmithing is great but stock making is the singular aspect of my work which i could happily do, forever and a day.

Naturally i agreed to do so and true to his word old farrier had the gun delivered to me without delay. 

The gun was a boxlock ejector by Anson though badly in need of a service, re blue and a new stock it was well made, well put together, tight, and with a good amount of original finish remaining of the colour case hardening.

Making a stock for a gun like this is never really a financially viable prospect, you have to do it for you, your own enjoyment and to preserve a piece of history which might from a financial point of view be destined for the scrap bin. The original stock really had had a hard life, first it had been cracked and pinned at the head, it had been shortened and subsequently lengthened, there were numerous cracks and chips where the wood meets the metal, to top it off the stock had been bent for a heavy left hand cast ( beyond even my left handed needs! ) and had subsequently cracked around the wrist and inletting.

One crying shame was that the original wood was uniquely beautiful, when restocking i always attempt to find a blank that will work into a stock that is true to the style and feel of an original, slight upgrades or downgrades are permissible but restocking a British made gun with a garish piece of american walnut will always look out of place no matter how well executed.

The first blank we selected had an issue and was scrapped before the project went any further, a natural void opened up in the timber which was a real shame as the blank was strikingly similar to the original stock. Determined to find OF a decent blank the next best match was one i had sat on, reserved for a person project which was yet to be started these last five years. After a short battle with myself i decided i would rather see the blank into a stock than see it collect dust for another 10 years.

The blank Part way through heading up. 

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So I began heading up.

Heading up is the initial process of putting an action into a blank, the difficulty of this task varies depending on the gun, but as will all stock making time spent measuring out and laying out saves time with the chisel.

Heading up is complete once the action is on a solid bearing with the head of the stock and the top strap is on a good bearing all round.

 

 

 

the "head" of the stock.

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The top strap bearing.

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The next piece of the puzzle of the trigger plate, along with the hand pin bolster this creates the draw that holds the stock to the action, the black is from soot which is used as a spotting medium in order to cut in the bearing surfaces.

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once the trigger plate is let in and is solid and to the correct depth, the lock work is added to the plate and the necessary relief cuts are made. 

 

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I was with you until photo three. I realised that this was the point where I simply hadn't got the skill or patience. I find it hard to imagine all the variables in creating that fit, plus the disaster of getting one bit wrong after spending hours on the rest. I say hours, but I can imagine that that might run into days.

I take my hat off to you and your skill. A privilege to see.

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At this stage the holes are drilled and the screws fitted up, with everything at the right depth the screws should be able to be brought on to the original north south alignment and be tight. This being the case i begin shaping the stock down, carefully checking again against the customers measurements to ensure the gun fit of the end product. Series of lines are drawn from established profiles to work the stock down to shape, with planes, spoke shaves and rasps.

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The stock is worked evenly up to the rear of the panel and point which is left as a block planed square to the action body. 

Once the stock is pretty well shaped i cut and contour in the panel and point.

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Shaping a stock is a finiky process it has to feel right, look right and measure right, often fresh eyes reveal an area where you need to remove more timber to create a pleasing result 

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Once profiled the stock is sanded with care to maintain flat and radius-ed areas the grain being raised between each grit. The the stock can be checkered replicating the original pattern.

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The checkering is cut roughly at this stage and will be tidied up when the finish is finished!

Before the stock can be finished the oval is fitted.

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and the back end profiled to the measurements, and checkered.

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Many coats of alkanet oil are required in order to match the stock the the original colour. 

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The stock is nearly ready to being oil finishing as the finishing oil will continue to darken the stock a little. 

 

14 minutes ago, Gordon R said:

I was with you until photo three. I realised that this was the point where I simply hadn't got the skill or patience. I find it hard to imagine all the variables in creating that fit, plus the disaster of getting one bit wrong after spending hours on the rest. I say hours, but I can imagine that that might run into days.

I take my hat off to you and your skill. A privilege to see.

Many thanks Gordon, there is much at stake when working with these blanks, blanks before i start work can be an investment of over £1000, and a slip of a chisel or a poorly maintained machine or a rogue blade, orbadly timed sneeze can ruin all! 

By no means a master by any stretch of the imagination, but always striving to be better than the last job! 

 

Edited by demonwolf444
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3 hours ago, team tractor said:

I follow you on Facebook and love your work . 
although I’m a joiner as your probably aware I admit that this is way out my league . After making the 410 stock for a mate I literally guessed the lot.

Well i did give him a plan to work from you will appreciate how much easier that makes a job 

I’ll do my write up later😊👍
please enjoy the thread and if anyone has a gun that’s in need of woodwork attention I think you need to look no further 

now is going to collect it a essential journey 🤔

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11 minutes ago, figgy said:

Very nice work James as usual.

Old farrier you ever come this far north I'll meet you for a drink and bite to eat.

Only if you have a good looking single rich sister 😉😂

 

52 minutes ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

No!

Deep down i knew that was the right answer 👍👍👍

but thinking ahead couriers permitting James can accept and send repairs to and from rfd  so I can avoid the journey 👍😊

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Truly outstanding work as always.

I consider myself extremely privileged to have James refurbish a stock and remake a forend for my old Woodward (as per a previous post a couple of years ago). The work was carried out most sympathetically. 

Well done James for yet another masterpiece.

OB

 

 

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5 hours ago, Old farrier said:

Well i did give him a plan to work from you will appreciate how much easier that makes a job 

I’ll do my write up later😊👍
please enjoy the thread and if anyone has a gun that’s in need of woodwork attention I think you need to look no further 

now is going to collect it a essential journey 🤔

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A tad of confusion over the cast I see 🤣

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Well chaps 

glad you enjoyed James thread 

to say I’m happy would be a understatement 😊👍

I was very pleased when he said he would do the job for me as I know how sympathetic he is to the guns and the period in time it’s from even though this was a very low value gun I felt it should have a chance to take history to the future rather than the scrap heap 

I feel he’s got the choice of wood spot on and completely transformed it from junk to a gun to be proud of 😊

I believe there’s no need to further recommend him as you can see the job just speakers for itself and when it’s back I’ll let you know the full picture of fit and handling not easy for James to do as we were a bit handicapped by distance and the current regulations however it’s looking good from the regular updates and checking that James did through the whole process 

All the best 

of 

 

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