The fitting to the buttplate and smoothing the back half of the stock was a solid 1 3/4 hours of work.  This isn't fast work, it's cut a bit, check, get it right.  You're doing the final shaping of the stock and it needs right, without angle changes, humps, or flat spots.  I'll have about the same amount of time shaping the front to meet the receiver wrist, and then an hour or so cutting the shadow line and shaping the cheekpiece.  Then it'll be ready to start the sanding.

I'm in the process of building a "conversion stock" to change my Ballard #4 from straight grip to pistol grip. I'm using a takeoff pistol grip stock and reshaping the grip area to fit the straight grip action.
The inletting didn't fit my receiver tang for some reason, so I had to use my wood chisels to open it up some, and then a large rat tail file to open up the tapered tang so it would slide on.
My original straight grip stock is an early Brown Mfg. leftover this first year Ballard was fitted with at Marlin. The stock has very long points and a deep curve, and hurts like heck shooting .45-70 in it with this plate. The new stock has a larger Niedner buttplate and should make it a joy to shoot. This early Ballard has the Brown open ring lever, with the pin and hole system used on very early guns. So have to remove some extra wood to allow the lever to fully close and fit over the pin.

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Made decent progress with about 2 hours tonight.  Rasped off the remainder of the stock to shape, and sanded all except the cheekpiece shadowline/edge with first grit of sandpaper.  Except the last 1/4" to the receiver, will take stock off the metal and do that so I don't scratch the metal.  Nothing really to show, just cut a 2" or so block of wood, wrapped a piece of sandpaper around it, and rubbed it in the direction of the grain until all the rasp marks were gone and the surface was smooth and regular.  I can now start to see what the stock grain will look like.  I'll show how to detail sand the cheekpiece transition, shadow line, cupped edge and corners in my next post, after I do it.

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I had an hour this morning to start working on the detail sanding.  The first thing that's important is to be able to see.  You can't work on something you can't see.  I wear an optivisor a lot, that lets me see detail, and see scratches and areas that need worked on and be able to tell when they're finished.  


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To work the cheekpiece edge, I use a door wedge.  The thin edge lets me work up to the shadowline, parallel with the grain, without rounding or gouging it.

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If you have problems with the sandpaper slipping, overlap one of the edges, wrap up to the top, and you can hold it against slipping.

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I use the tapered part of a pencil to wrap the sandpaper for the finest cupped edge of the cheekpiece, and then anything round the right diameter for the larger parts.  A dowel, or in my case, a handy punch handle.

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The detail work is what differentiates a good stock, get the small details right, and sanded without defect.  I still need to take the stock off the receiver and sand the stock end where they meet.

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There's a couple of small checks in the grain, I mix dyed acraglass and some sanding dust and fill them.  Now have to wait a day or two before I can resume sanding.

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A trick I often use to keep sandpaper from slipping on the backer block is using spray rubber cement on the block, then wrap the sandpaper around it. It's easy to peel off and replace, and I can usually replace the sandpaper a couple times before I spray some more rubber cement on to help it stick.

Beautiful work Dave! 
I also coat the inside of the tang area on new stocks I put on Ballard rifles to strengthen the area and avoid cracks. I mask off the tang, and then coat the tape and the back of the receiver with release agent, and seat the stock. I install the through bolt, but just lightly snug it down to let it cure.
The next day I pull it off, and remove the tape. It leaves a close fit at the receiver, but slight clearance for the rest of the tang. It strengthens this thin area on the stocks and avoids any possible future cracking. I do this inside original stocks also after repairing cracks to keep them strong, and avoid more cracking.

Had an hour this evening to work on the forend for the Ballard.  

Found a pretty close match to the buttstock.  Made a cut sheet showing dimensions to cut the blank, and to set up the router.  I use a 45 degree cutter to cut the side step and octagon side flats, and then move to a straight cutter to cut the bottom.  Two passes with each cutter, one on each side, and you have the barrel channel roughed out to within a few thousandths.  If I was using a mill, I'd calculate all the measurements from the centerline of the blank.  Using the router table, have to calculate all from the outside of the blank.

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I saw out the blank to overall size, and make sure I square the sides.  Then, set up the router with the 45 degree cutter, cut a scrap piece, adjust height and width, cut again, after third trial cut I'm right on, and mill the side bevels out.  

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After the sides are cut out, I put in a 1/4" flat slot cutter, adjust the side offset and depth, and make two cuts to cut the bottom of the octagon channel.  Try it on the barrel; it's close enough to sand and inlet from here.  Next step will be to chisel and sand the channel to fit the barrel exactlly, and then layout the forend shape, and cut the outside to form.

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While you are getting close to it, what is the screw size for a Ballard fore end?