AusVarmint

G'day All
I would like to know if anyone has finished a slee gunstock and could you outline your plan of attack and a few pics.
I have a shilen BR thumbhole pattern stock inletted for a Anschutz 54 action.
Regards
Damien Webb.

Gday Damien.

I've got a laminated one that is currently with Shane. When he finishes the rifle I'm going to seal it with a normal floor sealer and then sand it. Then I'll repeat the process a few times. To finish it off I'll use multiple coats of clear between sanding.
Nowadays clear does not have to be sprayed but can be applied with a clean piece of rag, using a new water based clear coat which is made by Cabots.
There's already some new reasons for me to go to Bunnings with the credit card.
Good luck.
Dave

native hunter wrote:G'day All
I would like to know if anyone has finished a slee gunstock and could you outline your plan of attack and a few pics.
I have a shilen BR thumbhole pattern stock inletted for a Anschutz 54 action.
Regards
Damien Webb.

my plan is pay Geoff to do it!

That may be a good idea and I might wish I had gone down that path also.

both my stocks are walnut, one is a fancy grade the other laminated walnut. What a waste for a clutz like me to stuff up something that could be beautiful.

Damo,

A Birchwood Casey stock finishing kit will give a beaut result

KY

I used tung oil on mine, if i scratch it i just give it a rub & re-oil it.

G"day All
I have just spent the better part of 3.5 hours sanding and shaping and I can tell you my right hand is shaking just trying to write here.
I must say it has come up better than I thought.
I will need to make a few inserts for the bedding pillars and a small recoil lug inserted into the stock, not sure what to do for a butt plate yet.
This stock is XXwalnut.
I am thinking what shape I need to lop the fore end of at, maybe 25 degree angle from the top toward the front and then cut off straight.(if you can understand that.!!)
I am still undecided on trigger guard, it looks as though that I will need a guard with a long leading edge so that when it is recessed into the stock it can also be used to put the rear bedding screw through.
I will put up some piccys when I can.
PS I want to just stain this stock but dont know much about wood so a trip to the furniture building place might be in order.
Thanks all
Damien Webb.

Damien if yours comes up anything like Diamond t's you should be well pleased

PS I want to just stain this stock but dont know much about wood so a trip to the furniture building place might be in order.

Why are you staining it native H? The timber should have good colour as it is, they always appear pale in there raw state.

G"Day
Diamondt-Please explain in detail exactly what you did and used on your project, looks SWEET.!!
Regards
Damien Webb.

http://ausvarmint.kjd84.com/forum/viewt ... highlight=
Before i start, let me just say i am a woodwork clutz who struggled to pass manual arts at school 20 years ago, however i wanted a nice timber stock & the only cost effective option was to buy a unfinished one & do the job myself.
The first thing i did was check the inleting as its no good spending hours sanding only to find out that it was cut for a different action! A fair bit of work was needed removing wood so that everything fit & worked without binding.
Next i got stuck into shaping the stock with what ever i could find in the shed, my wife was shocked when she came out to find me bashing away on my new custom stock with a big chisel & mallet. As i asked for a wider forend it came just cut square & straight so it needed to be rounded off. After this i spent what seemed a eternity sanding, starting with very coarse paper to smooth all the lumps & bumps, down to the finest paper i could find.
To get a idea what the finish & grain will be like, wipe it with a rag wet with turps, this will show up any sanding scratches as well.
The next step is very important & needs to be done properly. The stock will need to be sealed & the grain filled, to seal it i used tung oil diluted 1part to 4parts turps & gave it as many coats as it would take letting it soak in overnight, then again 2:1 mix, then again with staight tung oil.
To fill the grain i wet sanded with tung oil & fine sandpaper, doing a small area at a time, sanding up a bit of a slurry & gently wiping it across the grain. i let it dry & wiped the whole thing with a clean rag & then another half dozen coats of straight tung oil & put it aside to dry for a week before polishing with a furniture wax.
My method is by no means gospel, its just the way i chose to do it & i'm sure there are many different opinions out there.
Also the bedding should be done before sealing, which i did, however i wasn't happy with the brownells kit job & the action holes didn't line up perfect, so i machined up some stainless steel pillars & re-bedded the whole thing with devon, a far better product.
Thats about it in a nutshell, so now i've a nice xxx stock & strong arms from sanding, hope this helps a bit,
cheers DT

DiamondT, thanks for the detailed instructions; the Slee laminated stock for the 416AS will get the same treatment, with great appreciation to you and your method, yours etc.
the WOOB

G"Day All
I have added a few piccy's back up the thread a bit.
It's a long way from being finished , I am waiting on a trigger guard so I can proceed a bit further.
Going to get a but cap today and then fit it.
Once I have the trigger guard I can pillar bed the rifle and then finish the stock.
Regards
Damien Webb.

The trick with woodwork is patience and preparation. Or as I was once told.....Proper Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance.
Time spent sanding before and in between coats is time well spent. Better to do a good job and spend a long time admiring your work later.