# Laminated Wood Gun Stocks



## roger1 (May 23, 2011)

Hi,I am new to this.I have tried twice to send this out.I have had a few to welcome me in.But i couldn't respond to them.I guess it was just me.But thank all that have welcomed me in.I need to know where to get my wood if i were going to make an laminated stock.Money is short but really short around my house.You know,where at,how long,how thick,how much??All the good stuf,and what kind of glue??Well,if anyone gets this,let me know..Thanks again…Roger


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## oblowme (May 20, 2011)

Where? See if you have any sawmills in your area, if not and you have to go to a retailer your budgit might be busted before you can start.
I've seen stocks made from alot of different woods but you can't go wrong with Black Walnut and Hard Maple, a very nice contrast and both are quite stable when dried. Remington offered a line back in the 60's or 70's with that kind of laminate but the line floundered and was dropped in short order, they were nicely made pieces but between the radical looking stock and overall racey lines people stayed away from it in droves. All that and they were a short action chambered for magnums, they'd kick the crap out of you. If you can even find one now they command a king's ransom.
You want to make up a blank at least 36"x 3 1/2-4" and use Titebond 3.
The biggest headache is getting a real, real, real good layup, if any voids anywhere the glueup is trash.
Use stock around 3/8", glue it up one layer at a time and use every clamp you can get your hands on.
Once it's layed up the real fun starts; you can cut the rough size and shape on a bandsaw but from there on it's almost all hand work.
Good luck


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## roger1 (May 23, 2011)

Hi,I thank you very much for the info..I take it that my wood should be 3/8 inch thick??Thanks again for the info..Roger


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## oblowme (May 20, 2011)

Hey Roger
Yes, @ 3/8", it looks good but more importantly glues up alot better than trying to pull thicker stock.
I turn/carve alot from glued up blanks at @3/4×2" stock, 6"x14 3/4" finished size, oblong carved dish. When I first started foolin with this I tried laying up the blanks in one shot, all of the lumber flat and true of course. After several glue line failures I when to glueing just 3-4 pieces at a time, true them up then glue those one by one. It takes alot of time but I no longer have rejects.
I've done several gun stocks and though it's rewarding in the end they are a genuine pain. Believe it or not the final fit is almost half of the total time involved, scrape a little check fit, crave a little check fit, sand a little check fit. What makes it hell on wheels is that you have to reassemble the metal work and torque the screws like it was a finished piece. If possible it goes much better if you can fit the bare action then barrel it. Otherwise it's a juggling act between the barrel channel, recoil lug, magazine well and trigger housing.
For the final fit you'll need some Prussian Blue, find it at auto stores like NAPA, forget about the Auto Zones etc.


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## McKinneyMike (Feb 11, 2011)

I laminated up this blank from quarter sawn Bubinga and curly Anigre and then sent it to a good friend that builds stocks. He did all of the real work, but the laminated blank was a breeze to make. Not exactly what you are thinking about making, but I really like the results.


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

I really like the cheek pad on that stock. Did you design it or purchase the mechanism? I like the beefy knurl on that wheel. What are you going to drop into it?

How rude of me, in terms of laminations, you're certainly better off doing it yourself. I think any popular glue like Titebond III should be sufficient for the glue-up. Good luck!


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## McKinneyMike (Feb 11, 2011)

It is a copy of a Manners MCS T-2 style rifle stock. The cheek piece hardware is Alex Sitman's of Master Class Stocks. It is the best of any thumbwheel systems on the market. All others creep badly and are simply junk. 
The barreled action will be a Savage Target action with a 28" Brux SS barrel chambered for .260 caliber. It is my long range rig for prone shooting. I used TB III glue and it worked well.


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## roger1 (May 23, 2011)

Thanks for the info..Ok,so i get my wood 3/8 thick.I take it,that my wood should be at least 6 inches wide and 4 feet long???Does plywood work in this case??You can not even buy scrap wood at these sawmills where i live in Mississippi.Does anyone sell wood that is on lumberjocks??I got the pictures of the stock.It is really a beautiful stock.Thank you for sending them to me.Thanks again…Roger


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## McKinneyMike (Feb 11, 2011)

Typical stocks would need to be at least 7" wide, if not closer to 8", just to be safe. 36"-40" in length is more than ample for any modern stock design. Depends upon what length of stock that you are making.
Thickeness will vary depending upon the design. If you have a monte carlo cheek piece or a wider forend design (like the one that I posted) you will need the thickness to be at least 2 3/4" thick. A sporter stock without any kind of monte carlo type cheek, 2" should be OK. Decide on the design before you start


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

NICE STOCK!! I made a couple by hand. It's really too much work, but very gratifying in the end. Checkering can be a challenge. I h'd have to dig it up, but I made a checkering vise. I haven't used it in a couple of years. I bought the wood in different locations. I ordered some and some I made from butternut that I cut.


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## oblowme (May 20, 2011)

About plywood- That is in essense what you are making by laminating your stock blank. I have never heard of plywood layed up of walnut (or whatever) through and through (with the possible exception of Baltic Birch, but it's been so long since I've worked with any of that I can't recall what or how that's made) Another thing regarding true plywood is that the plys are laid at 90 degrees to one another and are also (inner plys) likely to be shot through with voids and other defects. The grain switch might make and interesting thing to look at, but would faile in dealing with the dynamic load issued by a long gun; with the really high pressure loads you could easely end up wearing the forend as a monocle.


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## cloakie1 (May 29, 2011)

laminating has to be very clean….no machine marks etc….i have had a few failures using various glues….mostly from urethane type glues made by gorilla. these days i use purbond 309….is machineable after 75 minutes altho i do prefer to leave for 2 hours…i also coat both surfaces before clamping so far i have not had a failure with this glue or method….good luck and have fun with it


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## oblowme (May 20, 2011)

cloakie1-
I'm not familiar with -309 Could you give it's attributes? How does it stack up against Titebond 3 etc?
Thanks


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## cloakie1 (May 29, 2011)

not sure how it goes against titebond either…as i rarely use it these days…but we tested the purbond by joining to pieces of ccl treated pine and submersing it into a bucket of water…we left it there for a week and then tried to crack open the glue joint.at no point did the joint break but the split did cross the line and it was clear the the timber fibres were torn….we use it on western red cedar as well…..not sure how it would go on more oily timbers like some of the hardwoods….would probably stick with resorcinal on those i think…might have to do a trail sometime


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## NikonF100 (Sep 4, 2009)

Just came across this , Did you make the stock ?


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