Inletting an 1886

[coyote nose]

Posted - 10/28/2010 : 11:35:14 AM
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Question for the stockmakers out there. I posted this on another forum but just realized it may do better here since this is devoted to lever actions.I am building my dream gun on a Winchester 1886 lever action, cal 33 WCF. Fairly stout round, I am concerned with the tang splitting the stock if I inlet it tightly. Should I leave a gap there while inletting?? If so how much?? What brought this to my attention was a Marlin levergun a friend bought 10 years ago. New in the box it had a huge gap (maybe 0.040" to 0.050") behind the tangs. We were ticked off about it but took it out shooting. After a dozen or so 45-70 rounds we looked at the tangs again and they had seated in the wood to where there was no gap. I guess Marlin figured out to leave a gap so the gun can seat itself and not split the wood. So...stockmakers I am turning to you. Is this standard when inletting a lever gun?? I already have the entire action bedded and inletted. Looks good and I am quite proud of how it fits, should I now take my chisels and relieve the wood/bedding?

[J Miller]

I'm not a stock bedding X-spurt by any means, but I've been shooting a few years and have learned that a properly bedded and inleted stock will not split. If as you say you've got it properly bedded, then you're finished with your work. No need to look for the chisel.

The Marlin your friend bought wasn't right. Glad it didn't split.

Joe

[Mike8623]

I'd inlet the rear tang area about .05-.10 larger. Make sure you got real good contact at the rear of the receiver, the large area just ahead of the pistol grip if not when you get recoil it will force the rifle back into the stock........if you don't have good contact at the rear of the receiver it will force the tang back into that wood and more than likely split it. kinda like a mall splitting fire wood.

My opinion

[coyote nose]

It is not a pistol grip stock, but I do have great contact at the rear of the receiver. The tangs are tapered too...so just relieving the back of the tangs wont do it, I'd still get a "wedge" effect. If I relieve this, I'd have to do the sides of the tangs too. Just am afraid of doing too much, I have such a nice fit now just would hate to lose it. Still...its better than having a stock split I guess. Again, as J Miller says, since the bedding is good do I even have to worry? Kind of wondering what the stockmakers on this forum do. I am an amateur with this, having only made 5 or 6 stocks, and never one for any cartridge with real recoil. The wood is beautiful...bought it 10 years ago online for just such a project. Actually started the project last fall and am giving myself 2 years to finish it (fall 2011). But boy, hate to start over with the wood and dont want to pay what the blank would cost nowadays! Especially since the buttstock matches the forearm.

[.45colt]

I don't have an answer but I'll put this back to the top for 86'er I think He will surley know as He has alot of gunmakeing experience.

[Tycer]

I am not a stock maker. I have made stocks. I have a stock I made on my 1886 EL. It is bedded tight to the tangs. I shoot 450 grainers at 1675 fps. I feel that if the stock makes complete contact with all surfaces of the tang, the tang will not move and will therefore not hammer the stock. Less psi. I think inletting a space around the stock would allow a hammering action to take place and place excessive force on the stock/receiver mating surface thereby sending all the forces down the two sides of the stock in a greater application of force than the center mass of the stock.

[soon 2 retire]

I'd inlet the rear tang area about .05-.10 larger.

50 to 100 thousandths of an inch gap seems like a canyon to me. Are you sure you didn't mean .005"-.010"?

Bob in NE Indiana

[kimwcook]

A bedded, correctly inletted tang shouldn't be a problem. Everything being equal, it's when things are able to move the problems start.

[AJMD429]

I agree with the "don't cut it anymore" fellas.

If the contact is uniform all around (don't forget the tang screw itself is part of the contact most times), things should be ok!

The only other thought I'd have would be to glass-bed it, but not where you make a huge clearance to fill with fiberglass; since your gun is already tight, all the glass-bedding would do is smooth and toughen the surfaces (by providing some strength across the grain), but that should be just the ticket to finish what sounds like an awesome stock-making job.

[coyote nose]

Well, I definitely would not call my stock making jobs "awesome", but this one did come out okay for me (so far). I actually do have bedding material all around the receiver/stock contact points. It is not acting as a filler except under the bottom tang where my chisel went a bit deep, but was done as you stated, to give me 100% contact on the rough areas my chisel and rasps left behind. A mill was used on the wood to give nice straight tapers on the tang sides since I wanted as good a job as I could do and that definitely meant using every tool at my disposal. I think now I will bed the stock bolt and just continue sanding the stock down to the profile I want. Which actually brings up another question.
Winchester left their wood "proud" to the metal, as the collectors say. Right now I am wondering if I should take the wood flush to the metal or leave it proud also. Leaning towards proud to allow for any shrinkage, altho I have owned the wood about 10 years now, and I have no idea when it was actually cut.

[gary rice]

Im sure no expert either and never actually made a stock but ive bought several semi finished and so called 90% inletted stocks from treebone carving and precision gunworks. In every case ive left the wood just a little proud to the metal and havent had any negative comments so its not too noticable, probably would be to a gunstock critique so to speak. The main reason ive done this is in case i make a mistake or want to refinish it again somewhere down the line. I handle and shoot my rifles quite a bit and they do get marks and gouges in them from time to time.

[Tycer]

If you look at Turnbull's guns, they leave them proud a bit.

http://www.turnbullmfg.com/store.asp?pid=26311