Iron butt plate help

[oldhunter1954]

Please see attached photos. I assume I would need to inlet this stock so that the butt plate is flush with the wood. Seems like a lot of work with a chisel. How do you guys do it?
Thanks for the help,
JD

 

[Woody Morgan]

Dremel with a router attachment.

wm

 

[excess650]

I would trace it with an exacto and chisel it to a snug fit. Heaven knows I can mess stuff up fast enough without power tools.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

It is a lot of work. Scrape, scrape, scrape. Test fit. Repeat as necessary.

 

[Grenadier1758]

@Woody Morgan might be able to use his Dremel with a router attachment successfully. If I got out my Dremel tool, I would be looking for a new stock in about 5 minutes. Stick with the chisels.

 

[Eric Krewson]

You don't have to match the inside curvature just the outside edge. I didn't know better when I inletted the buttplate on my fowler. I started with way too much wood, matched all the inside contours and spent more time inletting this buttplate than I did building the entire fowler. Of course this was my second gun and I was a complete rookie.

 

[smo]

OH54,

I’m no gun builder but it appears in the photos that’s a cast butt plate… I would start by filing the casting marks from the butt plate and get it shaped properly before inletting it too the stock. Some say too file a little draft along the edge too get a good fit..
Again I’m not a gun builder..

 

[Eric Krewson]

Another thing; the metal in my buttplate was as hard as a ball bearing, it took me hours to grind off the casting sprue, a file wouldn't touch this metal.

I found out later that others had bought steel butt plates as hard as a rock as well and annealed them prior to inletting so they could close minor gaps with a few taps with a ball peen hammer.

When I closed in on finishing inletting this nightmare I had a gap at the toe when everything else was perfect. Out off desperation I heated the toe of the buttplate to red hot while I had it in my vise and gave it a good whack with a blacksmith hammer, I tried the fit again after the buttplate cooled off and it was perfect.

 

[appalichian hunter]

Eric, nice gun and turkey call, often thought about making a call such as that, might have too get busy on one.

 

[oldhunter1954]

Thanks to everyone for all the great replies. I believe the buttplate is cast steel. I purchased it from Pecatonica River Long Rifle Supply with the stock. I could have paid for them to fit the buttplate but I am trying to learn how to do it myself.
I was panning to file out the casting sprue and casting marks.

 

[tenngun]

A TFC doesn’t have that long of a top tang, but it was the hardest piece I ever inlet. I maybe had twenty hours or more in it, I was soooo proud of it when done.
But some how I screwed the pouch. Early on with the gun the whole of the half circle had popped off on one side leaving an ugly cut all the way back to the curve
I had left far too much wood on the gun and a few years ago reworked the stock. But the top of the butt is an eyesore of bees wax and sawdust.
Still it’s my favorite gun

 

[Eric Krewson]

On the box turtle turkey call; they are illegal because the box turtle is either endangered or threatened. Pretty sure their reasoning is some halfwit will kill a live turtle just to make a turkey call out of its shell. I find an empty shell while hunting every couple of years and pick them up.

I did have some great private land (where I took the picture) to hunt with "0" chance of getting checked by the game wardens, I would only use my turtle call there, never on public land after I found out they were illegal.

 

[Flintandsteel]

Back to your issue. YES, a lot of work with chisels and rasps. I’ve been building for over 25 years, and in my opinion, this is the toughest parts of the build. Mostly because you are inletting 2 directions at once, forward and down.
It will help to get the contour of the butt first, then mark and chisel till it’s in place.
Super sharp tools are a must!