How to carve Moldings

[Rangefogger]

How do you builders carve such a straight line for the moldings on your rifles? What tools do you use? Any tips for a beginner? Thanks a million!

 

[TDM]

I’d recommend buying “The Gunsmith of Grenville County” and Jim Kibler’s book on carving. Good information in both.

 

[TNTraveler]

Look up Peter Follansbee on You Tube, he spent 20 yrs at Plymouth Plantation building and repairing 16th century furniture, and that stuff is fully carved, his work is awesome and he only uses hand tools that where avaliable back then, some of his videos are instructional

 

[Darkhorse]

For the straight cuts I clamp a straight edge, against the stock , then using the straight edge as a guide I run a pencil mark down it. Now I can see if it's where I want it to be. If it is I use a parting tool held against the straight edge to make a light cut the length of the straight line. If it's good to go then I gradually deepen the cut using the parting tool and sandpaper held tightly against a thin square bar.







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[Eric Krewson]

I use a ruler to mark my line, a V gouge to cut a guide line and a knife edge file to make things very straight and neat.

Drawing the line;

Cutting the line with a V gouge

Cleaning in up the line with a knife edge file

Final sanding with a fingernail board

 

[Sean E Bug]

use a straight edge or a marking gauge to layout the line. a big help for me is that I don't cut on the line. I keep one of the edges of the gauge on the line. that way I only wonder the width of the line instead of the width of my cutting tool.

 

[oldwood]

This might be a little controversial , but I'm not one for making things more difficult than they need to be. To make a straight line on a gunstock , like on the forearm. Measure down from a known point , like the top barrel flat using a 6" adjustable square , and mark with a pencil. To make fine lines on wood , get #4 hard lead pencils. #2's are soft lead , and dull too quickly , rendering fat imprecise lines. Aluminum 1/16 " hardware store rulers , are more flexible to make the best lines. However , a piece of 3/8" thin angle aluminum stock is absolutely inflexible , and render very straight lines. Ok.......Now we've put a long , really fine pencil line on the forearm. To start the line grooving process , use a fabric cutting razor wheel. Just roll it on the line a time or two. A round double ended checkering file , will cut out the line easily in a pass or two. If a compound line is desired , a double line checkering tool , or to get even more artistic , use a skip a line checkering tool. Another suggestion , take a sharp , 1/4" basic wood chisel and cut one side of the vee trench away , sand with a strip of fine sand paper. You have created a forearm molding , as easily as I can tell you how. I like easy..............oldwood. Using a vee chisel for any carving on a gunstock , is something not in my pay grade. I had a friend that back in the 1970's was an apprentice at the Colonial Williamsburg Gunshop.. The folks there , did some research about the ways old time gunsmiths did carving. The results of their findings , changed the way I think about wood carving. The above info is only a small portion , of how I have worked scratch building the 150 + rifles I created.

 

[Rangefogger]

This might be a little controversial , but I'm not one for making things more difficult than they need to be. To make a straight line on a gunstock , like on the forearm. Measure down from a known point , like the top barrel flat using a 6" adjustable square , and mark with a pencil. To make fine lines on wood , get #4 hard lead pencils. #2's are soft lead , and dull too quickly , rendering fat imprecise lines. Aluminum 1/16 " hardware store rulers , are more flexible to make the best lines. However , a piece of 3/8" thin angle aluminum stock is absolutely inflexible , and render very straight lines. Ok.......Now we've put a long , really fine pencil line on the forearm. To start the line grooving process , use a fabric cutting razor wheel. Just roll it on the line a time or two. A round double ended checkering file , will cut out the line easily in a pass or two. If a compound line is desired , a double line checkering tool , or to get even more artistic , use a skip a line checkering tool. Another suggestion , take a sharp , 1/4" basic wood chisel and cut one side of the vee trench away , sand with a strip of fine sand paper. You have created a forearm molding , as easily as I can tell you how. I like easy..............oldwood. Using a vee chisel for any carving on a gunstock , is something not in my pay grade. I had a friend that back in the 1970's was an apprentice at the Colonial Williamsburg Gunshop.. The folks there , did some research about the ways old time gunsmiths did carving. The results of their findings , changed the way I think about wood carving. The above info is only a small portion , of how I have worked scratch building the 150 + rifles I created.

Wow 150+ rifles… I hope I can get there some day. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Mgbruch]

Not pretty, but it is functional. I made this tool for the incise line on the forearm. Copied it from one Mike Miller uses in a video. The 3/8" rod goes in the ramrod groove, and light touch starts the groove, as you run the rod in the channel. I finish up with checkering tools. On the toe of the stock (which is curved on what I build) I freehand it with pencil until I get it right on both sides. I begin with a small "V" gouge, and then use the checkering tools to deepen the groove, and take any unevenness out of as I go.

 

[Northwoodstrapper]

Look up Peter Follansbee on You Tube, he spent 20 yrs at Plymouth Plantation building and repairing 16th century furniture, and that stuff is fully carved, his work is awesome and he only uses hand tools that where avaliable back then, some of his videos are instructional

I just found his video’s the other day. He does do awesome work.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I made this out of piece of scrap metal to scratch a line for my forestock molding, it makes an even line for the full length. the half dowel is glued to the square stock. I chase the line with a V gouge, knife edge file and a fingernail board in that order.

For this one I used my scratcher, then the V gouge, round riffler file, and finished it up with a large round file followed by sandpaper wrapped around a dowel. If you look closely, you will see my lines aren't perfect like the ones cut with a scraper plane. Once the gun is stained and finished it would take a really trained eye to see the imperfections in my molding carving.

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
Scroll down to carving the ramrod channel molding.

Kibler kit assembly and carving

Hi Capnball, No worries about decorating the rifle my friend. I've got the chops for this job. dave Yeah . . . I guess your work is OK Jim in La Luz 😎

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An Early Vermont Rifle

Beautifully done on that cheek piece!

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Scroll down to where I cut the lower butt stock molding.

Building a Chambers Little Fella's Rifle

Hi, I shaped the fore stock to almost final form. More wood will come off but I wanted to cut in the fore stock molding before final shaping because they have a unique shape on early Reading guns that is easier to do before final shaping. Normally, I bring the stock to its final shape before...

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dave