Renegade Restore

[Sharps40]

Barrels in...bedding is done. Photos later. Found another big crack in front of the lock along the top right of the forend. So, opened it up this morning, epoxied it into place and put the barrel back in place to set it. It looks like its going to be a clean repair. I'll shoot photos after its finished setting up overnight. I want it to set well and good first. But, if all is well I should be able to start shaping around the lock and side panels and wrist this weekend.

Meantime I gotta check fit on an old Stock Compass that's goin into replace a broken stock compass on a 742 project that's coming up soon.

 

[Sharps40]

Good news. The new old stock PolyChoke Gunstock compass won on e-flay and arrived at my door today via the owner of the pending 742 project gun.....well, long friggin winded way around it is to say....

The broken compass in the stock is the same as the NOS replacement in the box. Only difference is the new one has all its solid gold plating on the rim, the crystal is not cracked and the compass works. So, when we refinish Dads Ol 742, it'll have an original PolyChoke Gunstock Compass in the original spot on the butt so's ya can navigate in and outta the woods just like Pap did. No crap from ya now either, yer goin huntin with it next year....Pap wants it that way.

 

[Sharps40]

Not much ground on this poorly formed just off the pattern copier 20 years back stock. So, starting with round files, flat files and 100g paper wrapped on both from time to time.....up at the nose of the action panels, create some definition and a definite transition in elevation from panel to forend.

The off side, a tic mark to help me line up both sides by eye....i.e. each panel coming close to the same length on the forend.....

The action side about halfway shaped, switching from file teeth to files wrapped in 100g paper at this point to get the shape to about 75%.....yep, the forend is thinning nicely and those barrel keyways are gonna have to be properly inlet so they don't wind up on tittyshapped island of wood out front.

After some initial sanding and shaping the split line in the stock (where a large splinter of wood had been pounded loose by the loose fitting barrel) is beginning to blend in nicely...I spect it'll mostly disappear....the probed having about the same light walnut color as the unstained stock.

That's a bit better on the action side....

And not so bad on the off side either...

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And the angle of the camera makes em look a bit off but they are much closer to the same length than they look and still plenty of finishing to go to finalize it all.....

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[Sharps40]

Well, I decided I ain't movin today. The Ol Truck Smasher can aim at someone else in the sleet and snow.

So, back to the Renegade. This has been the hold up. Gotta be in the mood...gotta have a sharp chisel and steady hand and this is getting very hard for me to do as my eyes age and I loose focus capability for close and delicate work.....bifocals are no frackin help neither.

So.

The old stock and its barrel eusticians on top of the wood......they should be inletted....I hate inletting lil bits like this. Do it wrong and it is the glareing booger on an otherwise nicely configured piece. Carefully plunge in with a razor around the circumference to make a parting line where wood will flake away without tear out on the surface...don't cut yer thumb.

After turning on every light in the house, carving under the brightest confluence of photons with a tiny super sharpened gouge and many fits, taps, carves, fits, etc....its in and flush. I may replace the ugly black screws with pretty brass ones. But for now....one down and gotta revamp the mood and go to the right side. Hope I don't carve my thumb. Get this done and the rest of the work is easy peasy should go pretty quick and then I can decide on browning or bluing the metal after the humidity comes up in late March or April.

 

[RamRoddoc]

Sharps,

It's good to see forward movement on this project.

Try a magnifying headset. I often use mine to follow the progress in detail. Harbor Freight has a cheap one but probably works well. This model the lens can be swapped. I'm not sure what power mine is but it works far too well to not let you know.

http://www.amazon.com/Donegan-OptiVisor-Headband-Magnifier-Magnification/dp/B0068OSIIS/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1390911583&sr=8-10&keywords=magnifying+headset

 

[Sharps40]

Angle the razor in and under the panel to be inletted. Scribe it several times, a bit deeper each time....20 thousands or so is plenty. Don't slip and carve a groove in the stock around the panel....easy and patient copy the outer dimension of the panel to be inlet. Remove the panel and check out your clean line of cut wood to follow down deeper.

Plunge straight down with a tiny but razor sharp gouge following the inside of the clean line......pare away the wood, not big hunks.....

Not bad, the panels back in and bottomed...wood higher than metal.....I can finish shaping the forend now leaving the wood a kiss proud of the metal or even with the metal....I'll probably leave it a kiss proud and slightly round over the edges to transition nicely to the metal eustachian.

Well, the absolute worst part of the job is done...

Now on to the second worst, shaping up the rear bits of the action panels and wrist. Unfortunately, the stock is carved rough and there ain't much to go on for shaping up the panels but we'll give it a whirl cause a try will look better than this mess. Now to find my files and sandpaper.

 

[Sharps40]

Drivers side action panel first. Its easier since it has more definition. Passenger side will be harder, less definition but we can try to match it to the off side since there is lots more wood to remove.

Here is the blurry passenger side....

Here is the slightly better defined drivers side....

Start by scribing the baseline to follow with a course round file, scibe it away from the panel so you can work up to the edge neatly.

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The shape, depth and inside curve of the rear of the drivers side action panel is roughed in...no sanding yet, just file work.

There is a groove around the action panel tail now, deeper than the big fat wrist. A carpenters rasp makes short work of the excess wood but gouges and is the devil to sand out without dipping too low and waivy in the wrist.....but a paint scraper pares off shavings rather quickly with minimum tear out....get the wrist to 75% size.

Clean up and start shaping after the paint scraper with a sharp razor blade....again, as fast as a file but smoother, less sanding. Bring the shape and size of the drivers side wrist to 90%. The rest will be hand sanding progressing from 120 to 220 grit. This walnut is typical, porus. Progressing past about 300g is a superb time waster, the grain is open and we'll work with it not against it for the good finish.

This panel is approaching 90%....time to move on to the much harder to do passenger side.

 

[Sharps40]

Lock panel shaping....scribed in about 1/16" back from where I want to end up......

Now about 75%. A bit rougher than the first side but not much....getting close to sanding time.

 

[Sharps40]

As we stated earlier...the wrist is very fat. Since the trigger and trigger guard fit perfect and are on good lines along the bottom, work to thin and shape the wrist occurs on the left, right and top.

So far about 1/16" has been pared off the L, R. More will follow as we smooth out the waves and contour it in sanding.

For now, a scraper pares about 3/16" of wood off the top and comes down nearly to the level of the tang. I'll sand here to meet metal then lightly bevel the metal edges so the wood looks grown in and stands just a whisker proud or even with the tang when finished.

About 10 minutes with a razor blade and kisses with a medium rasp and the tang is nearly ready for final sanding and shaping a bevel along the top curves of the action panels.

As you can see, even with thinning full length along the top of the wrist there is still nearly 1/8" of excess walnut that can be smoothly pared off and shaped in a pleasing curve down to the nose of the stock.....finally the wrist will be dainty but strong allowing even an average hand to take a good solid grip and manipulate both the set and forward double phase triggers in the guard.

 

[Sharps40]

The hideously plain action panels....abetting the fence post look of this rough carved stock.

Under cut the panels, make them stand out, make the stock slimmer and daintier and more pleasing to the eye. Follow the curve, up and around the top...simple layout work, file a bevel, tap in a light cut with a sharp tiny gouge if you like and rasp in with the tapered rat tail file.

Don't forget the bottom of the panel, makes the trigger guard stand out on its own island just like the lock panel will above it.

Don't forget to sculpt the little nose of wood at the upper front side of the lock inlet.....a nice ogee all the way around the lock panel makes it proud, dainty and look like a rifle instead of a 4x4 post.

Repeat for the other side!

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