Recoil pad griding/fitting....

[GusGus1102]

Hello all,

I'm considering taking on a project that will require bluing, refinishing the stock, etc. The stock will need a new recoil pad ground to fit properly, and I lack the tools/sanders. Can anyone recommend a gunsmith in the Portland area who can knock this out, and what the approximate cost might be? Or, I suppose, if another member on here likes to do this kind of work, then that would be just fine too.

All the best to everyone,

Stu

Read More

 

[gmerkt]

Larry Potterfield makes it look easy:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54l76JER3dY&ab_channel=MidwayUSA


That Youtube video is over 16 years old, people are still watching it. Non-HD and all.

I've got a recoil pad project coming up. So I've been considering the same things as you have. I don't yet know which way I will go on it. You only get one shot at doing it right so that it looks decent. I don't know how many botched, crappy home-done jobs I've seen over the years. Sitting pathetically in racks at pawn shops.

Many new recoil pads, typically replacements from major arms makers, are not made to just screw on. They are made with extra material around the sides, so that once the pad is fitted, the edge may be ground to match the edge of the wood stock. Which is done before the finish is applied to the wood. Larry doesn't talk about this in his video.

 

[GusGus1102]

I've seen that video so many times! He really does make it look easy. Unfortunately, I'm not going to buy the angle tool and don't have a large sander/grinder.

Keep me posted about your progress.

 

[oremike]

You can whittle and sand a butt pad down without power tools. It's slower but then it is truly hand fit.

 

[Vernonia MW]

I am available to do the work. Please shoot me a PM if you are interested in swinging by.

If you check my post history, I fit a recoil pad on a Winchester 94 not too long ago.

 

[gmerkt]

I've seen that video so many times! He really does make it look easy. Unfortunately, I'm not going to buy the angle tool

The tool is simply a combination square. But what Larry doesn't explain is how to keep the cut even on both sides. I'm thinking an old timey miter box might come in handy. That might work on a simple stock butt. Something with compound surfaces like a Monte Carlo (which is what I want to work on) might take some cribbing to sit right in the miter box.

Years ago, I had a couple of miter boxes. But when I got a chop saw, I burned them both in the wood stove. That's how it works sometimes when you get rid of stuff.

I'll be the first to say I don't know how a master gunsmith does it.