forestock problem

[kentucky bucky]

Last night I got "file happy" and lowered the edge or "rail" of the forestock on the sideplate side of the barrel, lower than the lock side.If you compare them it shows. The lock side is at a perfect height and I don't want to lower it. Could I raise it just a hair if I steamed it with a wet towel and a hot flat iron? Any other suggestions? It is a halfstock plains type rifle so at least the mistake is shorter than a fullstock. I can't do much because it is almost finished.

 

[musketman]

As long as the wood is not stained, you should be able to raise it, the wood will only raise so far before warping, keep this in mind...

Try a clothes iron (ask you wife first), place a damp cloth over the part to be raised and press the hot iron on it...

This way you can control exactly where you want raised, if you hold the stock over a steem jet (like from a tea kettle) it will raise too much of an area and the whistle from the kettle will drive you nuts...

The cloth prevents the wood from scorching as well as providing the moisture for the steam...

If that don't work, you may have to add wood to the lower side and reshape, if you have a patch box on the stock take the extra wood from below the brass hardware, this way it won't show and will match the stock's wood...

 

[Birddog6]

Well, IMHO, if it is gone it is gone.... simple as that. You can steam a dent out sometimes & you can steam a warp up or down sometimes, but you cannot make the wood grow back & replace wood you cut out....

Unfortunately, you have a choice of living with it or adding a piece that will most likely be spotted right away & may look worse than the lowered part.

I try to measure 11 times, come back tomorrow & measure 11 times again, then cut once. And I never cut unless I have Just measured it again to be sure.

One time I was building a rifle & was very sick several times during the building process. Took me 18 months to build the rifle as I was on & off a couple time & sick in 3 mo intervals. Anyway, I had the buttplate marked for 6 mo probably & one day I just decided I was tired of looking at it & would do the buttplate. I cut it off, fitted the buttplate & went on.... I had no idea that when I measured it, because I was ill & misread the tape & actually measured 15 1/2 rather than 14 1/2" LOP. So I was down to the final 600 grit sanding before finish & I picked it up one morning & shouldered it & WOW, what a rude awakening ....... :redface: Being a extensively carved stock & engraved patchbox & all, there was no way or correcting this, so I finished it & sold it even tho it was intended for me.

So from then on. I measure over & over & over & over & etc.....

 

[kentucky bucky]

It's not hideous, and it will shoot just fine without the 1/16" sliver of wood. I don't intend to sell it, so if I can live with it, it won't end the universe as we know it. I can always restock it, if it bothers me to the point of psychological damage. :relax: Thanks for the help.

 

[Zonie]

At least I'm not the first to give you the bad news.

Steaming will allow wood which has been compressed to relax to it's former shape, and it will make wood more flexable so you can bend it into shapes, but it can't replace wood which has been removed.

If it were me, I would remind myself that the lock side and the lockplate side on a lot of the original guns are not the same shape (although, I admit they are usually about the same height).

Splicing on a piece of wood will usually look worse than leaving it the way it is.

I think you have the right idea when you said you would go ahead and finish it as it is.
Remember, the artist is his own harshest critic. Most people who look at the finished gun will not even notice the error.

 

[kentucky bucky]

I took a hard look at it today, and decided to lower the lock side just a hair to make the difference harder to detect. So far so good. It didn't take much to complete the task, just a couple of swipes. The difference is that these swipes were intentional.

 

[Gary]

Yep Kentucky Bucky. I'd do as you did and camouflage it by the same action. Steaming only works (as the others pointed out) when the wood has been compressed. "When it's gone, it's gone." So hiding it by making it look deliberate is the best.

I've been told by the current masters that even the gunsmiths of the olde made mistakes too. Just like us, they were mortals and subject to mortal imperfections. :relax:

 

[musketman]

Steaming will allow wood which has been compressed to relax to it's former shape, and it will make wood more flexable so you can bend it into shapes, but it can't replace wood which has been removed.

OK, so I don't know everything...

But now I do, thanks...

 

[kentucky bucky]

Gary,
I was too relaxed, that's why I screwed up in the first place! ::

 

[Zonie]

As Gary points out, even the masters make mistakes.
The key is in knowing how to recover from them.

I've found it is always good to be flexable on the game plan so after turning the air blue with good old four letter Anglo Saxon words, I go away and think about the problem.

IMO there are several ways to fix things.
* Make it look intentional by doing as you are doing. That is, modify the contrasting feature so it matches.

* Make it stand proud, like it was intended to be that way. Possibly even add the error to the other side of the stock.

* Hide the error. Some of the brass "palm plates" or "pommal plates" one sees on some original rifles are there to cover ramrod holes that broke out thru the forearm when they were drilled. Filling small gaps with wood dust and glue mixes is another technique.
Gluing on more wood is usually the poorest way to hide an error but it can be done. I say poorest because it is very difficult to get added wood to match the existing wood. The glue line often shows as well.

* Ignore the error. You would be suprised how many people don't even see it unless you point it out to them.

:redthumb:

 

[Herb]

The top of the stock can be lower than half the heighth of the side flat of the barrel. Full stocks are often made that way, to appear slimmer. So if you can lower the lock side a little, maybe that's what you want to do. You might have to ski-jump up to the top of the front of the lock.

 

[kentucky bucky]

To all,
The advise and encouragement has been well absorbed by this "file happy" hillbilly. Thanks