Making a stock for the S1K, Lots of questions!

[Rixtrix]

My Dad has found a stock blank about 40"x6.5"x 2.25" made of honey locust wood.He says it's very dense, hard and has some grain to it. Is this a big enough piece to make a stock with, preferably a thumbhole design with a raised cheekpiece and a lowered foregrip to help with FT shooting? I don't have a drawknife like Damage used on his stocks, but I have a drill press, router and table, many holesaws, air: grinder, DA sander, straightline sander, die grinder, plus all manner of measuring tools. I'll probably need to get a handrasp or two, I suppose. Is there any rule of thumb as to the angle of the handgrip? Looks like the hardest part is cutting the slot for the "stop bracket" for the rear of the action and the angled holes for the front stock screws. Thanks for any advice!

Ric G

[DAMAGE]

Your right there the screw holes ain't as easy as some would think they gotta be dead perfect so measure twice and drill once but if you do stuff it up it's not over cause you can all ways plug the holes with a hard wood plug and try again some old timers I know use steel plates and they insert them for extra strength.
The but plate hmmm I cut the stock out first then put the rubber but pad on the stock & drew around it then just shaped it to that.
You don't need a drawknife but it does make the job much more easy and faster, As for the inletting all I can say is take ya time the router & a ruler will do most of the work for you.

PS. make sure you get a couple of hand rasps like you said.

[Rixtrix]

Thanks, Sean! I did remember your post and saved it for reference. I guess Honey Locust is a light colored wood like the one you used and my Dad says the blank is heavy,  maybe 25-35 pounds. I don't think it's as wide as yours, but do the other dims. seem OK?

Ric G

[Splash]

Ric, the blank is about perfect size, for what you are wanting to do. I don't know if there is a, rule of thumb, for the angle, but what feels best to you is what it needs to be. Fitting the action and the front stock screws are the hardest part, but as Sean has said the holes can be fixed. You have to be careful on inletting, especialy for the cocking arm, to deep and it won't cock. I would fit the action to a scrap 2x4 for practice, then when the fit is right, use it for a patern. Also I would fit the action to the blank before I did much shapeing, so you don't spend 30hrs shapeing only to mess up on the inletting. I have made only 1 stock and all I used was a small router, chisel and a moto tool. Most of the fitting of the action can be done with a router, then square up the back with a chisel. I hope some of this helps.
Mike

[daved]

Regarding pistol grip angle, it depends on the look you're after.  For the military/tactical stock, most are right around 11 deg. same as the M1911 Colt .45.  From looks, I'd say the B26-2 is pretty close to that.  Looking at my HW 77 in the 97 stock, I'd say it's between 15 and 20 deg.  I'd suggest some kind of mock-up with an adjustable grip, then go with what's comfortable.  Good luck, and keep us posted.

Dave

I went for the straight down pistol grip as it was most comfortable for me. Most FT stocks use this shape of pistol grip.

This is an Air Arms EV2 with adjustable FT stock and you can see that the pistol grip is the same.

[Rixtrix]

Nice pics, thanks!

Ric G