The first of August I was looking for another project, in my many waiting, and decided to rebuild a Favorite I've had sitting here for a couple years.  It's actually a fairly nice rifle in 25 Stevens, it has all the usual nicks and dings, with a just an ok bore, not something to be left as is in a rebuild though.  My plan was originally to line it back to 22 LR.  But, decided to take the gun to a different form completely. This is the gun as I received it.  I won't bore everyone and go through every step but will just highlight the reworking.  I think it will end up being a neat little gun.
Bob

It’s not a 17.

Now, this plan I can get behind!   Will follow with great interest.  Beyond my feeble skills, so I will live vicariously.

I think there is a photo or two of the Favorite-based Lady's Model in Grant, FWIW.

Once the action is attached to the wood you need a butt plate!  Unfortunately, after digging around with Google and asking here I could not find a suitable butt plate I liked or could modify to my way of thinking.   

So, as much as I hated to...I made one!  I would rather be beaten with a ball bat but in order to get what I wanted I did it.   For anyone wanting to make one, and looking for some real misery, here is a series of pictures of how I did it. I started out with a chunk of steel 1 1/2 inches think.  I think the pictures are pretty self explanatory but if anyone has questions, ask away.
Bob

Fitting this butt plate to the stock was a bit troublesome.  I tried just free handing it with no locating pins like I would normally do but, this thing just did not want to consistently position in the same place.  So I ended up making screws that were locating pins, as shown in this first picture.  After this, it was just the usual on and off, a hundred times, in order to get it fitted and positioned/aligned to the top and bottom profiles of the wood.

In this second photo, now it kind of looks like a gun stock.

The nose of the comb and the combs rough shape are shown here in this third photo.  This is just roughing out the shape at this point.

Fourth, rough shaping the front stock cheeks.
As many of you have read me saying many times, when working with a blank of wood, centering lines are important.  They are your reference points for all shaping.

Last, is the rough profile of the stock.   

A side note on this butt plate.  Before, when I mentioned during the butt plate fitting, the point about alignment to the top and bottom of the stock.  This picture somewhat shows this.  The top line needs to be a straight transition from the wood to the plate.  But, the lower needs to be a curved transition that actually changes, very modestly, in the opposite direction to the lower profile of the wood.  This transition can be seen more clearly in the drawing.  This is not done as a random thing, but was done intentionally.  If the plate profile was made to follow the line of the wood it will result in a tight opening on the plate tangs and tight getting your arm in between them.  By doing this, it slightly opens the tangs up.
Bob

A bit off topic, but I discovered while poring over my junkpile last night that a Model 44 stock is a very good fit to a 1915 Favorite.  Only big difference is that the Favorite's tangs are shorter.

Time to start on the forearm.  Here in this first photo the blank is fitted to the barrel and ready for shaping.

This second picture shows the finished forearm.  I will add that I made some very slight changes after this picture was taken.  I reduced the size of the schnabel and trimmed a little off the top (in this picture) and sides of the rest of it.

This last picture shows the gun, full length.  At this point it is still in a rough rasp shape.  Once I have the basic "look" finished, I then start working the wood down to the final size, and shape, with fine rasps.
Bob

This picture is what the stock looks like after completely finished shaping with rasps.  

Next I will start sanding.  It is surprising how much, really detailed, shaping can be done with sandpaper as the rasp marks are removed.  Most of the sharp detailing, for me anyway, is done during sanding.  The last piece of this puzzle to be sanded are the cheeks behind the action and the bottom of the grip schnabel.  By doing these last, I get a much crisper look to them.
Bob

These first two pictures are the sanded out wood with alcohol applied to show the grain.

This last picture is where the gun is, as of yesterday, with color starting to be added.
Bob

PM sent.

Double WOW!  That's shaping up to be a Favorite that anybody would be pleased to own.

Bill Lawrence

Barrel blue looks fantastic. What's your plan for the frame, CCH?

Beautiful work!!!

Nice piece of work! I am currently building a #3 Hepburn but I think yours is looking better than mine by a good measure.

Parts are now all polished and ready to go.  Some will be blued and some case hardened.  The pictured items are to be case hardened.  I don't polish constantly, but between this and the Fraser I've been off and on it for two weeks.  Really glad to be done!
Bob

This one is almost a finished gun...95% done.  At some point it will get checkered.  Haven't decided on sights, I do have a Favorite tang sight but not yet sure I want any sights.  I have decided it will get a scope, probably the one shown in the pictures.  Not the usual Stevens case colors but it's what I wanted.

As usual this post is picture heavy!

Bob

This is the last.

The scope looks like it has a Litschert objective.

So glad you got a hold of this little rifle Bob, makes me happy and proud I did the old girl a favor.
Well done!!

She's all decked out with sights now.  Ended up making the front sight.  While regulating the front sight at 25 yards, it shot some pretty decent  groups for a fresh barrel with only 30 rounds through it and 18 degrees with 10 to 15 MPH winds from the NW. 
Bob

Finally got this one finished.  Just got the wood back from checkering, then got the checkering finished and wood mounted back on the gun.  I installed a 14 power Unertl scope, after these pictures, to go along with the tang sight.
Bob

I’ve actually shot this little rifle quite a bit.  For a cheap green mountain barrel it does really well.  I think if I actually work with it it would do much better.  It’s just a fun one to shoot!
Bob