Carving in a Colonial Rifle Stock

After fitting on the patch box lid and most of the hardware (the trigger/guard will go on later), I started carving the apron areas around the barrel tang and the lock panels, as well as behind the rear entry pipe. (As discussed elsewhere, I am thinning the wrist a bit by use of the tang carving.) These will be simple and hopefully add just a nice sense of flare to the rifle.
I have the lower wrist area carving drawn on and hit that next The beefy cheek piece will get a brass star inlay on it and some yet un-designed carvings behind and around it.
I completely loose sense of time doing this stuff. It's blissful (most of the time).

PathfinderNC said:

After fitting on the patch box lid and most of the hardware (the trigger/guard will go on later), I started carving the apron areas around the barrel tang and the lock panels, as well as behind the rear entry pipe. (As discussed elsewhere, I am thinning the wrist a bit by use of the tang carving.) These will be simple and hopefully add just a nice sense of flare to the rifle.
I have the lower wrist area carving drawn on and hit that next The beefy cheek piece will get a brass star inlay on it and some yet un-designed carvings behind and around it.
I completely loose sense of time doing this stuff. It's blissful (most of the time).

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Very nice work!
Good job!

Bob Troxell said:

Very nice work!
Good job!

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Thank you, Bob!

Hi,
That is looking very nice! My only critique is I would make the width of the molding around the lock and side plate panels thinner, even half the current width. Don't thin the beaver tails, they are perfect, just the rest of the moldings up to the front apron. Leave the little swells at the throat of the lock panels but I would thin the rest.
These images show what I mean:




For the front apron, I would extend the upper edge as far back toward the lock as you can.



You are doing great and consider my comments as only my opinion.

dave

Thank you Dave! Wonderful to have your guidance on this. I will sure try to follow your suggestions. With your photos as examples I think I can do it!

I like the patch box.

Don

Nazgul58 said:

I like the patch box.

Don

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Thanks Don.

Finally got to put a little time in on the Colonial kit. I have the carving and moldings done for now. When I wet the wood to raise the grain before staining, I'll go in and clean them up again.
I originally intended on putting in a brass Hunter's Star on the cheek rest, but think it would be better without it. I'll save it for another one.

Hi Pathfinder,
It is looking good. Let me make a few suggestions. First, use scary sharp scrapers and chisels to cut in details and moldings, and avoid using sand paper as much as you can. Sometimes nothing else works as well as paper to smooth a detail but it is best to finish those details with scraper or chisel cuts if you can. That will keep the edges crisp. I would thin the necks of the beaver tails a bit. Kibler kits present a challenge with how to carve around the nose of the comb. The abrupt nose makes every apron carved around it look like the bill on a baseball cap. The short, almost baluster style wrist he forms at the end of the comb tends to interfere with the flow of any apron. That is why on the one I am currently building, I lowered the angle of the comb and rounded it a little. To adapt his baluster shape, I find the edge of the apron looks better if it extends backward more before curving down toward the cheek piece. The photos below show the comb angled back and the apron extended rearward to flow with the semi-baluster wrist. The first shows the line roughly penciled in as I was working out my design solution. The rest show the finished carving. The third photo also shows my beaver tail with narrower neck.





dave

Thanks Dave. I absolutely agree and glad you pointed out the nose.area of the comb- It does need to be brought down further and angled less sharply. The baseball hat analogy was perfect.
One challenge I have found using scrapers in a beveled curve is how I get ripples from the grain. Generally I use my rifler files and work them smooth. For the sharp points I scrape with an exact-o knife blade.
Your molding profile height is what I am going after. Not too pronounced or too low but that happy medium.
What I absolutely need work on is filing the straight moulding lines, like above the ramrod channel and above the belly of the butt stock. An adjustable scribe is needed along with the bottoming files I saw in one of your posts. I am doing mine free-hand along a pencil line which is a lot of work to keep straight and not really detailed. Not being a very accomplished gun stocker, I am limited in my tool inventory and recognize I need to make some more tool investments!
thanks tons for looking and providing guidance.
-Bob

Hi Bob,
There are plastic strips you can buy that bend and hold that shape. They can be used to draw any arc like the bottom border line for the butt stock. Having said that, I have one but don't use it. Instead, I mark on both sides of the stock how far from the bottom I want the line to be at several locations toward the trigger or trigger guard. Then I hold a pencil and use my middle finger as a guide along the bottom to draw the line connecting those marks.

I can create any tapered border I desire that way and keep it even on both sides of the stock.

dave

dave_person said:

Hi Bob,
There are plastic strips you can buy that bend and hold that shape. They can be used to draw any arc like the bottom border line for the butt stock. Having said that, I have one but don't use it. Instead, I mark on both sides of the stock how far from the bottom I want the line to be at several locations toward the trigger or trigger guard. Then I hold a pencil and use my middle finger as a guide along the bottom to draw the line connecting those marks.

I can create any tapered border I desire that way and keep it even on both sides of the stock.

dave

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That’s good to see I am on the right track then. I scribe my line in the same manner. I saw some guys use an adjustable scribe also which I might try for the fore stock molding.

Pathfinder,
another problem we all have with mouldings, is keeping them straight.
whether it’s a single line, or double, here’s what I do to keep them straight.
First, I DO use a straight edge, ( not a cool as Dave) sorry Dave!,
second, i cut the line with a narrow V tool, to straighten that line, I use a three corner detail file with the handle bent up. so the file is about 3” long. This really helps get rid of all the little humps and bumps out.
Now it’s straight and you can relieve it, double line it, what ever you like.

Flintandsteel said:

Pathfinder,
another problem we all have with mouldings, is keeping them straight.
whether it’s a single line, or double, here’s what I do to keep them straight.
First, I DO use a straight edge, ( not a cool as Dave) sorry Dave!,
second, i cut the line with a narrow V tool, to straighten that line, I use a three corner detail file with the handle bent up. so the file is about 3” long. This really helps get rid of all the little humps and bumps out.
Now it’s straight and you can relieve it, double line it, what ever you like.

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I will give that a try, thank you!

I assembled all the parts now and it's time for a bit more thinning here and there and then all the little detail work. After that, I will raise the grain and sand smooth, and repeat the process at least once more. I need to be sure it's done well because I will be using a water-based dye to color the stock, and I don't want to sand the wood any more after the stain is on.
Here are a few photos of how it's coming along after about five or six more hours with it today.
I'm getting kinda excited to see how it comes out. (I already know how it's gonna shoot! )

I did a little finishing detail work on the rifle today. Then I mixed some dyes and stained the Cherry stock a nice reddish brown. I gave it an application of Boiled Linseed Oil and have begun rubbing it into the wood. I think it will be quite attractive.

Well done! Great color combo and I like how the dark stain pulls out the detailed carvings. You did a fantastic job and something you can be proud of. I'm sure it will turn heads where ever you go. And Thanks for sharing the pictures and the build with us.

Ooo-la-la! I really like the way the stock coloring came out. That red hue is awesome!

labrat said:

Well done! Great color combo and I like how the dark stain pulls out the detailed carvings. You did a fantastic job and something you can be proud of. I'm sure it will turn heads where ever you go. And Thanks for sharing the pictures and the build with us.

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Thank you labrat. I do like the rich dark red/brown color in this Cherry stock. Tha wood has natural beauty that it just enhances. It will be getting a bit darker in a few areas as I am applying some bone black here and there for an aged look. The finishing process is long and the temptation is to rush, which I am fighting!

zerosprk said:

Ooo-la-la! I really like the way the stock coloring came out. That red hue is awesome!

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Glad you like it zerosprk. With more hand-rubbing the finish should be a lovely warm sheen.