Tips on how to do inletting for a stock??

[Gamo X-Ring Shooter]

Hi everyone,

I've decided to finally attempt to build my own custom stock for my CFX.  I really hate the factory plastic factory stock and wanted something similar to the stock on my .22 target rifle.  I finally got the right piece of wood today and I'm ready to start working on.  So I would  like to know how in the world your supposed to cut out the inletting for the gun.  I've made plenty of measurements and have a full scale drawing of it all but don't how in the world I'm actually gona cut it out precisely.  I guess I'll end up using a router but not before I practice with it a good bit.

Thanks
Brian

[Splash]

Bryan, that's what I use, a router with a 1/2" straight bit and a 3/4" cove bit. Just go slow and take alittle at a time, after practicing on many,many scrap peices first.You have to be very careful and not get the zslots for the cocking rollers too deep, or it will not cock.

Mike

[SDale]

A router will be your BEST friend!

I haven't inletted any airgun stocks yet, but I've done plenty for 10/22's and a few others. For stuff like the trigger opening and the stepped parts inside the inletting I used to use a drill press & a forstner bit just slightly smaller than what the finished cavity was supposed to be. Just drill, move, drill, move etc... Just nibbling along then use a nice SHARP chisel to clean up the corners.

For the longer parts I used to measure the depth of the barrel channel (or chamber channel in this case) and set my table saw to a hair under that depth, set my fence & rip down to my stop point. You can route a barrel channel with a table saw, but it'd take a good amount of time. Hence the 1 inch cove bit & router! hehe  

Good Luck!!! and most importantly HAVE FUN!!!

[MartinDWhite]

When I did mine, I made a jig. I clamped the stock upright between two other 2x boards andattached 2x to the ends and clamped on longer 2xs for the rails to guide the router. picture here
http://www.martinwhite.name/images/index.php?p=&dir=October_15_2007_21_31&picture=October_15_2007_21_31/DSC08679.JPG
I made square blocks that were the same witdh as from the edge of the router to the edge of the cutting bit. I laid out what I wanted cut out the stock and used the blocks to set the longer 2x guid rails so the router would not cut too much. This worked out really well. A caliper (my is digital from harbor freight for $16) is the best investment that I made before I started this project.

Here is the route up agianst the guide rail. (NOTE: I ran the guide rails though my table saw to straighted them out before I used them.)
http://www.martinwhite.name/images/index.php?p=&dir=October_15_2007_21_31&picture=October_15_2007_21_31/DSC08680.JPG


Martin D. White

Hey Martin.  Good stuff.  Much easier to do the inletting first when you have a straight sided blank.  Truing up the raw wood with a couple of passes through the table saw and leaving it a bit oversize also helps.  You can retouch up the centereing of the inletting if its off by skimming the wide side till you get it even. Thanks.

[Machinist]

Marti
Definitely use solid guides & guide stops for ALL of your router cuts to avoid unsightly wood filler. Also you may find it useful to establish datum lines on the wood for X,Y & Z axis. These datum lines & points will allow you to reference or accurately copy dimensions from your factory stock to your custom wood. Recommend that "X" axis be length-wise centerline.
Go Slow - Measure Twice - Cut Once.
A sharp chisel will shave hair. If you do not have a fine india bench stone & a hard Arkansas stone, this would be a mighty fine excuse to get one.
Good Luck