Adjustable comb

[Gordon R]

I have done  a few before, but used a scroll saw to cut out the comb piece. I was never happy, as the scroll saw was hard to keep in an accurate line. 

In a rush of blood to the head, I purchased a band saw yesterday, as I thought it would be easy. Tried the band saw today on some spare wood - great in a straight line, but useless for bends. I quickly realised that I needed a narrower blade. I thought I would crack on with the actual mechanism. I bought some aluminium flat bar 1" wide, 1/4" thick. I bought two different sized aluminium tube, which in theory should have slotted straight in. It didn't. A bit of gentle drilling sorted that.

After a bit of increasing the bore on the larger tube, I managed to cobble together one mechanism. I will fit it on one of my spare guns and have enough to do another three. After doing the sporter, I might just put one on my trap gun. 

Photo is where I am at the moment. I need a narrower blade to cut the comb

[oldypigeonpopper]

hello, any update Gordon🤔

[Gordon R]

I will post a photo of what i started with and then update.

My new blade for the bandsaw arrived today (1/4" with 32 teeth per inch), but with other commitments and a trip to Scotland, it will be a week or so before I progress.

I nearly finished a second comb mechanism, whilst awaiting the new blade.

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Looking forward to the follow up.   

[Old Boggy]

43 minutes ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

Looking forward to the follow up.   

Me too. I just love posts like this.

[Gordon R]

Fitted the new blade and did a few test curves on some scrap wood. Miles better. I will attach a stock to a piece of sacrificial wood and mark up the section which needs cutting.

[BobbyH]

Ohhh...Interested!!!

 

Will be following this!

 

I bought an old Baikal stock to try and fit my own adjustable comb...Never started it!

[Gordon R]

Been in Scotland for a few days, but the comb will be cut this week.

[Gordon R]

Impatience got the better of me. Swift piece of tape, marked out, down to the garage - three minutes later.

 

Raw materials for comb mechanism.

Edited April 30 by Gordon R

[Gordon R]

No idea why photos are on their side. Photos show what i started with, the tape applied and comb marked out. Then the comb cut out. The removal of that piece left a void in the remaining stock. I will glue in a piece at the top to support the mechanism. Last time I used a broom handle - perfect fit. The moveable comb will also need some wood to bring it all level.

The bandsaw which was remarkably easy to use. Cutting took just over a minute.

Edited April 30 by Gordon R

[Shambam1962]

Well done Gordon, looking forward to the end result.

The bandsaw is a brilliant tool, and I wouldn’t be without mine.

[Gordon R]

Looking at the inside of the Laurona Sporter stock, I realised why I had never seen one with an adjustable comb. Looking down to the stock bolt, I thought that there would be a void of some sort - larger than I had previously encountered, but it will get sorted.

[Gordon R]

Tried the mechanism in the void, just needed a quick file with the finger sander. The void around the mechanism looked a bit daunting, but shaped a piece to use as a platform for the mechanism and epoxied it in place. Rock solid. The hollows in the comb were filled with wood inserts and some sawdust. These were bedded in with wood glue. Not fully set yet.

Just dropped the mechanism in to check fit. Waiting for epoxy to dry. 

Need to drill the comb to fit the bushes in and then install grub screws to control height. 

 

 

Edited May 1 by Gordon R

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Marvellous, worth the wait.  

[amateur]

Nice work, Gordon.

[J.R.]

21 hours ago, Gordon R said:

No idea why photos are on their side.

It depend on the orientation of the phone when taking the pictures.

If you are holding the phone upright then pictures taken with be upright - Portrait.

If you hold the phone on it's side, like a "real camera", when taking a photo, then the photos will be  Landscape. 

[Old Boggy]

Brilliant.

Thanks for posting Gordon and well done for overcoming the encountered problems.

If only I had room for a bandsaw in my shed. Just didn’t listen when I was told ‘think of a shed size and double it’

OB

 

[Gordon R]

Just noticed how tall the pillars are. Need to turn them down a bit.

[Gordon R]

Took 5mm off the pillars on the lathe. Fitted collars into the comb and screwed the mechanism down. First photo shows the wood platform in the stock. Looks messy, but strong enough. Just finished tapping the collars and inserted the grub screws. Nearly finished. just needs tidying up. Took the photo with the comb almost as high as it goes. It goes right to the bottom.

Edited May 2 by Gordon R

[button]

Good work👍

[Gordon R]

Sent my youngest a photo. He said "it needs neatening up", as if I wasn't already aware.

[Gordon R]

At a loose end this afternoon, so I knocked out another mechanism. It's a pain - I hate filing. Stick it away until I feel like doing either my skeet or trap gun.

[Gordon R]

I was supposed to be doing brake discs / pads all round on either a V Class Mercedes or a Merc EQC 400 today, but eldest was too busy to bring either round. 

Left at a loose end, i knocked out a couple more mechanisms. Two are destined for my Nikkos - trap and skeet. The third is going to a mate.

[Gordon R]

After struggling with filing the cut outs in the aluminium, I invested in a small milling machine. Just did a trial run on a piece where I had made a mess of the slot and abandoned the piece. Quite pleased with the results (although the slot is slightly offset) and might revisit the three spares. The finish with the milling machine is way better and more accurate.

[welshwarrior]

Good choice of replacement blade.  
 

That void is very similar to a silver pig 20 bore, the reason many won’t fit them.  I’ve always turned a piece of walnut to the same diameter of the curve in the void then cut into D shape and fitted before I cut a stock with a void like that.  Find it makes a stronger squarer finished stock.