Isuzu SUV Forum banner

Project: Fox/savage 311 custom restock

3K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  m-79_grenadier 
#1 ·
I thought I would share one of my gunsmithing projects with you guys being Im still waiting on the u-joints for my front driveline, and Ive been needing to get around to this project for a while. 8)

Ive had this shotgun for years and have used it for a fair share of bird season each year, and have grown on it ever since. It started out life as two shotguns really, a Fox model B, and a savge model 311 both of which I compiled the better parts and put together shotgun that would suit my needs both in the field and on the range.

Its always had a problem though. The previous owner of the shotgun had seemingly cracked the stock in the wrist portion (my guess is that they must have used magnum shells in this gun that wasnt designed for them). Ive seen so mn double barrel stocks that have been cracked here and Ive done repairs on more than I can remember. But for some reason the owner of this stock attemped to repair it himself with a bunch of finishing nails and terrible glue. If you know how to work wood than you know that this is a big no-no especially in gun stocks.

Eventually the more I used it the worse the wrist of the stock got until it was pretty much useless. Most of the whole right side of the lock panel was fragmented off and the crack behind the tang had turned into a gaping gap. The old glue in these cracks didnt help matters either so I eventually decided to get a new stock set and custom fit it to the shotgun.

Its kind of a shame really that the old stock was beyond repair. I liked it because it really had some nice curls in the back. Oh well. :roll:



The new stock arrived shortly after I ordered it. This wasnt a bolt on and ready stock set, but an oversized set that needs to be custom fitted. I much perfer fitting shotguns with these because it allows you to match the wood with all the contures of the shotgun, and also style it to fit your own feel. If you are a gunsmith you can understand the self accomplishment accompanied with fitting a cunstom stock as well. 8)



When put on the receiver you can clearly see just how oversized the roughed out stock really is. This is good though because you have alot more meat to work with and you can take your time with the plane.





When fitting a custom stock the common practice before any material is removed is to put the receiver on and scribe around the edges where it butts up against the stock. The picture is a bit blurry but you can kind of see the lines scribed on the face. This gives you a reference line so you'll know when to stop before to much material has been removed.



Once the reference lines were scribed in the face it was time to get to work with the block plane. Block planes are best for small, flat surfaces, and mine is ideal for planing down the sdes of the lock panels. Theese stocks usually come at least 1/8in oversized on every dimension so that gves you kind of an idea of hao much meat has t6o be taken off. Block planed are good at taking maerial off as well, but you also have to be careful not to go too far. :wink:



Lookin pretty good so far! 8) I'll usually will leave the stock about 1/32 oversized so I still have some meat left for the sanding stage. This also allows me to precisley match the stock to the reciever with sandpaper instead of the block plane.





As you can sort of see planing the side panels down took enough material off to cut away the rear curves styling you see on the sides of most savage/fox double barrels. This is because the entire stock is oversized and if you wish to keep the decorative features on the roughed out stock they must be matched and taken down as well with the rest of the material.



As soon as I had both sides planed down I very carefully scalloped the decorative curves of the lock panels back in with the dremel. Planes work very good for larger surfaces and contures but for small curves and little details you can beat the dremel. Just remeber this is wod, and if you go too far you cant just weld more material on lol.



The wrist behind these curves had to be narrowed as well to keep everything on the same level and to make the stock appear more 3 dimensional. Most of the roughing and narrowing on the wrist I did with the block plane as well.

After the curves on both sides were matched up and the wrist narrowed to match the depth of the curves I ran some 80grit sand paper over it to even the surface out. Not too bad so far. 8) Lost of guys use an orbital sander or a vibratory sander but I perfer doing all the sanding by hand. Personally I like to feel the contures changing and how much they smooth out as I rough sand. Occasionally Ill use the sander for lighter work but for evening out everything after the rouginh stages I like to stick with the old fashioned way. :wink:



After the first pass of 80grit things are matching up pretty good. 8)





A few more passes with the 80grit to blen in and it was time to start with the finish git. I moved on to a 120 grit and then another pass with the 320 grit. Final pass was done with steel wool and a purple scotch-brite buffing pad.

Ready for Finishing! 8)

For a gun that im going to be using in the field alot I perfer straight low gloss tung oil. Tung oil is a great finish and on darker woods such as this walnut or cherry no stain is needed if you're going for a more natural look. The stuff is also tough as nails and can stand any scratching or dinging branches and shrubbery may throuw at you out in the wilderness. That and it does a really good job at sealing the wood and protecting it from moisture. Low gloss oil also prevents glare that would otherwise scare those prized keepers away on a bright sunny day. :wink:

The first coat of tung oil (I usualy apply with a dry, lint free cloth) goes on pretty well. The first few coats I will try to make thicker than the last few so the oil gets a good chance to soak in. Also If I feel like filling up the wood pores Ill wait untill the coat is tacky and rub it in by hand. Though this looses some of the gloss of the coat it helps to spred the tung oil out more evenly and also fill up some of the pores in the wood.



The lst coat will be a light thin coat and Ill let it air dry to get a good but slightly dull gloss.



After a few weeks the wood will begin to darken and rubbing in gun oil will help the process. After Im done with the finishing It will be time cut the stock to fit my length of pull and finlly fit the recoil pad.

More to come! 8)
 
See less See more
15
#4 ·
Man I need to update this project.

Got the stock mounted and cut to right length of pull. Still need to mount the Pachmyer and glass bed the stock. After the glass bedding it shoould be able to handle 3 inchers with no prob. More stocks split because they dont mate up with the reciver correctly so the glass bedding assures that 100% of the stock mating surface is contacting the receiver.

Goatman this shotgun has alwas been a real gem to shoot. 8) It was one of my first in my shotgun collection and Its taken almost as much birsd as my 1887 winchester. Ive been kind of dissapointed it not begin done yet and havent been able to use it during the season. Maybe ill start really working on it again.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top