Just an update... Since this original inquiry I've come across two Marlin Ballards with this same lever that were AO Zischang marked. One belonging to an old friend .. the other in a 2011 auction. Pictured here.

I got my large Zischang buttplate from CPA earlier this week... and I had some time today so using the Windows Snipping tool, I scaled the above AO Zischang rifle buttstock to actual dimensions using the printer driver scaling function. When the receiver dims and the buttplate were correct I was "golden" but I wanted an longer LOP so cheated a bit and scaled the buttplate pict up a bit to continue the lines... In the end, it will result in a bit more belly but good enough to get me a decent pattern. I then overlayed my barreled action and screwing a pencil into the stockbolt thread, I pulled the line for the stock bolt. Time to go through the pile of blanks now. I suspect someone has a pattern I could pay to rough out my blank, but I prefer doing it this way... I used to shape wood decoys so I have a collection of rasps & files ready to put to work

That is going to be awesome.

Thanks guys for the encouragement!

jfeldman - Too funny on the Zischang Borchardt drawing... thinking I did that same Borchardt two years ago but using 1" grid squares. Didn't want to go back to that method again. By day, I work for HP Inc... years ago, I used to write our printer drivers for Windows so know what features are available in them... 

I'm going to scan it tomorrow and print a few copies for templates - you know - cut out the center and move it around on the stock blanks... kind of thing. Not sure if I can get it to fit on Legal, or it needs to be on 11 x 17. 

Got several decent walnut blanks and one "luxurious deluxe pimp Daddy" sunburst burl maple blank 2-3/16" thick... Is that thick enough for a decent cheek rest? I wouldn't want AO Zischang to pay me a scolding visit in a dream for using maple on one of his replicas though! I'll try and get a scan posted of the maple blank tomorrow.

JP

ssdave,

Got my login back today... not sure what happened.

Yes, I'll be making a maple test stock for fit / adjustments prior to cutting the walnut blank. I want to test out the lathe boring on this blank as well... Got some tooling to make first for that. I put up some maple to dry 4 yrs back so will see how that works out.

JP

An old friend of mine who had worked for Weatherby's, had a wonderful Zischang - Winchester low-wall gallery rifle. The rifle was in very poor condition, but had at one time been a deluxe Zischang rifle. I tried to buy the gun from him, but he wouldn't sell it, and then he died. This is what the lever looked like. Also....I wish that I'd have taken pictures of it, 'cause Zischang had re-contoured the action so that it looked very "Zischangesque," much prettier and sexier than the average low-wall.

That's a beautiful lever!