Appropiate way to replace an incorrect cheek piece inlay

[Snooterpup]

I inherited an early style Lancaster rifle and am trying to make the best choices to repair the inleted area left after removing it. Originally, the builder inleted an oval german silver federal eagle, which I know is incorrect on style rifle. Does anyone know if an appropiate "filler" for the hole left when the eagle flew away might be a bone inlay with scrimshaw hunter's star. The oval left after the eagle departed is a bit too large for a silver hunter's star. Studying historical examples is a great idea but I thought with the vast knowledge base in this forum someone may have a helpful answer to this question.

 

[rich pierce]

I’ve not seen bone on a Lancaster gun.

My choice would be to get or make a bigger star. On a couple of Oerter’s rifles the star wraps up over the comb a bit. Not Lancaster but could look good.

 

[Snooterpup]

How about a plain coin silver oval or contrasting wood oval with a smaller star?
Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Col. Batguano]

the oval is likely too big for just a plain star, unless you want to make it really huge, and wrap it over the comb. That would be a most unusual feature on a Lancaster. A couple of Lehigh makers did that (Moll, Kuntz) but I'm not aware of any Lancasters. What would work nicely though is an oval with piercings, and a star (or some other design) inside it. You'll need to add / splice in some wood for the piercings, But because it's not contiguous with the rest of the stock, it shouldn't be too noticeable (so long as you stay with the same species).

Depending on how deep the engraving is, you might be able to even use the same piece of metal, but a safer bet is to just use it as a template to cut out something new.

Of coarse, you know the whole stock is going to need refinishing don't you?

 

[Snooterpup]

Thanks for the reply! All good suggestions. I will have to reshape things anyhow and whoever the “Master Builder” was, he made many mistakes. The oil finish was applied and re-applied to quickly and is somewhat “sticky” to the touch. Has to be stripped anyway. The good thing is that the wood, fittings, lock are good quality. The barrel has concentric ring scratches scattered about so it is off to see Mr. Hoyt this morning. I have no idea how somone did that.