Hobby maker, first big wood project

[Skonkworks (Patrick)]

Hey how’s it going guys? This is my first post.

I’ve been working on what I would consider my first big wood project other than small stuff on the lathe, my workbench, etc. It’s a stock for a Savage A17 rifle. The one it comes with is injection molded plastic, is too small, and is a traditional style. So I decided to make one of my own with a pistol grip. It’s not quite finished. Waiting on parts to complete the stock. It’ll have a folding stock made of canary wood and 30mm carbon fiber tubing. Anywho, this is what I’ve got so far. Any tips, tricks, or criticisms are welcome.

I inletted the action, magazine well, and barrel channel using a milling machine, then made adjustments as necessary with hand tools.

I’ll upload more to this thread once I get more parts and finish it up.

Blank cut from a 2x6x5’ piece of canary wood. I broke this one and had to start over

Thanks for looking!

[donkjr (Don Kleinschnitz Jr.)]

Welcome to the forum:

I don’t know much about stock design but it looks great.
What finish do you plan on using?

[Skonkworks (Patrick)]

Thanks! I don’t know much about it either, just figured I’d give it a try! I was thinking I’d put a light stain on it and then finish it with a few coats of feed-n-wax.

[jkwilborn (Jack)]

Does that square butt fit into your shoulder?

Looks nice.

[donkjr (Don Kleinschnitz Jr.)]

For durability, I would think about a poly finish.

Waxes, shellac, and lacquer don’t do well with human hands.

This is my regiment for a deep finish:
It will take multiple coats [4- 15] depending on how deep you want it to look.
2x coats
Dry 24hrs
Sand lightly @ 220
2x coats
Dry 24hrs
Sand lightly @220
…repeat until the surface is leveled.
(You can tell because when you sand there are few shiny spots)

Finally,
Lightly sand with +600 grit
Hand rub out with mineral oil and rottenstone

[Skonkworks (Patrick)]

Thanks for the tip! I’ll give it a try

[Skonkworks (Patrick)]

Thanks! I’m actually gonna take that square bit down to a dowel shape, then attach a 180 degree locking hinge. On the other end of the hinge will be a carbon fiber tube with a butt pad attached to it.

[Skonkworks (Patrick)]

Hey guys! I am very nearly finished with this project. Let me know what you think!

I used a pewter finish to bring out pores in the wood and to make it look a little dirty by default. I intend to use it as a truck and target practice gun, so it’s gonna get dirty and banged up. I made the butt end of it out of carbon fiber tubing and an aluminum locking hinge made for large drones. There’s an aluminum stopper in the butt pad, so you can use the tube for storage.

[donkjr (Don Kleinschnitz Jr.)]

I think that it turned out superb.
Tell us more about the pewter finish I am not familiar with that.

[Skonkworks (Patrick)]

Thanks! Sorry, I misspoke. It’s a pewter stain. It’s a grey/black sort of oxidized metallic looking stain.