Good Winter project ! I have to get going on the Schoyen stock for my Borchardt.

I look forward to your updates!

been a winder it's a coil spring action

Poorhouse, I think one this project I’m going to stay with the conventional tang bolt but with a modified bolt. I’ll make a tapered bolt out of drill rod. It will taper from the major diameter of the threads to .250” at the point where it meets the upper tang. After drilling a pilot hole for the tang bolt with a drill jig, I’ll use a reamer with the same taper as the bolt. This reamer is simply made from a file tang. Before the correct taper is filed on the file tang, make a straight short section the same diameter as the pilot hole. The major diameter hole is reamed by gently applying pressure on the reamer to the rear or towards the butt. This way, when the tang bolt is tightened it will pull the action back into the the stock and creating a very stable fit. I’ll post the photos when I’m at that stage.
Cheers Richard

Hi Bob, thanks! Wish I could take credit for this idea but I believe Alexander Henry and Gibbs long range rifles used this method. As for a short straight section the same diameter as the upper tang hole would not hurt. All. I’ve done was to make sure  the upper part of the bolt fit the tang hole.
Cheers Richard 
PS, I’m building one of Rod Englands superlative kits of A. Henry’s .451 percussion target rifles. It uses the same method as I described to secure the tang.

Thanks Dave!

Daniel Fraser's single shot (and his patent double) rifles used the through bolt.

Skalkaho wrote on Dec 24^th, 2023 at 12:07pm:

Have you started on the Schoyen stock yet? Tempus fugit.
Cheers Richard

I found a photo of a heel and toe plate that caught my eye so decided to cut them out of a one piece butt plate. I made the template out of 1/32 sheet aluminum and used centerlines to line everything up.

Really nice work, love the two piece buttplate.  That looks like something I need to try!  Keep up the pictures.
Bob

Waiting to get Borchardt back from Argus Barker. Rebarreling to oct  14 twist  ,to shoot lighter bullets. Wont be going your route. Stock was roughed out from Gail at CPA. Your project coming along nicely! Pete

Love this!  Very nice work Richard, that’s a tough job for anyone.  I sure hope i’m able to do this work, and the quality that you are doing, at 85.  
Bob

Bob, Dave , thank you for the kind words.

That is so classic looking !

That is incredibly beautiful in every way. You have a great talent and knowledge!

And a few more...

I agree that it's a beautiful piece of wood, and it's really being treated to by a tasteful, skilled artist. And, that's why I'd leave the nifty butt plates unadorned by engraving- I wouldn't want the wood or workmanship to be overlooked while looking at the scratches of an engraver. (not to denigrate the engravers out there).

Thanks guys! It’s always nice to get those attaboys. About the engraving I’m thinking of engraving the rifle and the heel and toe plate myself. Other than engraving a few trinkets and my name and caliber on a barrel it will be my first engraving venture…probably screw it up…but that what files are for. Talking about file, I just bought about a dozen new ones from Gesswein. They have flat, hand, half round, rat tail and machinist files by Grobet but instead of from Switzerland they are from the commies in China. At around 5 or six bucks  They cut great in wood, don’t plan on using them on metal. I bought the course cut and fine cut….all are double cut. Talking about files, my buddy Rod England who produces those beautiful Alexander Henry target and sporting rifles called me a few days ago and said he had “great success soaking files in vinegar for about 3 days” sounds great sez I. I’m going to get a pvc tube, cap it and give my well worn trusty friends a spa treatment. For those following my stock design thread I’ll get back to it soon.
Thanks again for all the looks and kind words .
Cheers Richard

Really nice looking stock, and the buttplate treatment is really great!

I did the same project 30 years ago, but not as fancy by a long stretch.  Mine does have a SST, but after 30 years it doesn’t have a speck of finish on it. It has been to a bunch of ASSRA events though. 
Froggie

Coming along VERY NICELY Richard!! Thanks for sharing...
Jeff P

Finished the grip cap inletting. Made a little to to flatten the base for the grip cap to sit on. I used the flat portion of the pistol grip for  the reference surface.

Wow! More work than I thought it would be, but I’m happy with it…

Today is first time I saw this thread, most excellent work. Way above my pay grade. Nice!

Bob, I made the screws since I did not have an 8-24 tap for the screws that came with the skeleton grip cap. The grip cap came from Sunny Hills Enterprises and if you ask (I didn’t) he will enclose a 8-24 tap. I used a 8-32 thread.
Thanks LRF.
Scott, I’m glad the thread has interested you, thank you. I’d need a ghost writer as my English and grammar is terrible lol.
A few more photos, I’m still refining the grip and comb area as these photos will show, I’m trying to employ a British stock design 

Very, very well done Richard! Getting the curve just right on the backside of the pistol grip is tedious carving and sanding.

Richard, thank you! Yes it is a bit tedious, the good part though is I can do a lot of the work sitting down which is easy on my back. Bob, thank you! I’m a fan of your work, you have a good eye for detail and you can carry that out too on your work. After I drill the holes and before tapping I use thin CA glue in the holes to toughen the threads. I’m not satisfied with the nose of the comb. I want to thin that area and make a more graceful curve , sort of like an Alexander Henry treatment of that area. Then a overall refinement of the complete stock. Slow going and not much wood remaining to fix a slip up.

Wesg, I’m 85 so you have 20 years to catch up…
I’m thinning the edges of the heel and toe plate so there a bit thinner and they match each other…

Spent part of the day massaging the heel and toe plate with both file and sandpaper. You need to be careful when your blending steel into wood or vice versa as the difference in density of the steel and wood is so great that it is easy to wind up with a divot in the wood that will ruin the smooth transition from wood to steel. It’s not a place to rush. The shaping is done and only taken to a 320 grit finish, the final finish will be 600 or 800 grit and the parts rust  lued or Case colored. 
Thanks for visiting 
Cheers Richard

Thanks Marlinguy. The grip section will but have not decided on the butt and grip cap area. 
Cheers Richard

Thanks Bg!
Got two coats of sealer on, wet sanding between coats. Sealer is clear urethane 70% urethane 30% turps. This lets me see scratches and other stuff that’s yards to see when it’s just bare wood. 

That’s going to be a masterpiece of craftsmanship!

Thanks for the kind words folks. 
Frogged, thanks. The welding was done by Peter Nagel of Restorative Welding, (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links).
He did a fine job with no undercuts in the welding. Before sending it off for welding I made four, light press plugs of mild steel, that sat about .050” below the surface of the receiver. I drill the four holes first to remove any vestiges of threads. Regarding the discoloration after bluing. This is caused by differing grain structure at the weld site. The receiver needs to be “pack annealed” prior to bluing to prevent this discoloration. I’m going to case harden the receiver so I don’t have to “pack anneal”, or so I think, but I’m going to talk with Peter to make sure that will work.
Thanks again!
Cheers Richard

Robert, thank you for that info and feel free to post some pics of that Favorite that you mentioned. While the finish on the stock is hardening I’m starting to strike the bbl. I’m starting with 280 grit abrasive cloth, I’m out of the paper wet or dry grit size I need. The tool I made has a piece of pvc pipe split down the middle with a thick piece of leather lining the pvc. The first bbl I used it on turned out super with not a ripple or wave showing. 

Now I'm going to have to build another tool! For years I've just used schedule 40 PVC and put sandpaper inside like your tool, but held the PVC in my hands. I use a piece about 9.5" long so sandpaper fits inside and extends a small amount at each end.
But that handle you use looks like it would make things much easier to hold while hand polishing round barrels!

For flats I don't use a tool. I have a piece of 1/2" thick aluminum that is cut to sheet size for sandpaper, and I give it a shot of spray rubber cement and stick a sheet to it. Then I polish the barrel by moving it vs. moving a tool across the plate. It's easy to get the finish mirror smooth, and I find it also easier to not roll the barrel like I might roll a tool. And it lets me change sand paper less often, having the full sheet to work off.

For round barrels, I use a similar, but very crude tool.  I take a hardwood 1x4, cut a couple of blocks about 8 inches long, and clamp them together.  Then, drill a hole centered on the parting line between the halves just a bit bigger than the barrel diameter.  Then, just hold a piece of wet/dry on one half, and use it just like the more refined tool shown above.

I polish octagons with a hard wood block, used lengthwise along the barrel, so as to minimize rocking from side to side and consequently rounding the flats.  Handles off to the side like the round barrel tool shown cause rounded flats unless you're extremely good at watching the cut and correcting as the tool tips.  You can also polish octagons by gluing a sheet of wet/dry down to a cast iron machine table, and move the whole barrel back and forth lengthwise on the paper.  the weight of the barrel and the long contact length help keep the barrel flat and make for a good, consistent cut.  I also had an unusual and somewhat rare sander that worked well on octagon barrels.  It was a 3" or so drum sander in a table, that took full sheets of sandpaper.  You could set the drum just a few thousands above the table, and pass the barrel lengthwise over it, for a really decent sanding job.  I have since passed that tool on to my son, who uses it as a flat sander for woodworking.  I found I can polish about as fast by hand as with the machine, and I like to see the finish as the wet/dry paper cuts.

I think for flats a tool like Grand Slam uses, but with a flat surface might actually roll over easier. If you didn't keep those two handles evenly pressured then one side is going to lift, and the flats wont be even.
By keeping the sandpaper and block on a flat surface all the pressure is directly on top center of the barrel, and in a narrow enough area to not tilt the barrel while polishing flats. 
A round barrel don't matter if the two handles are perfectly flat or not. It's just going to follow the round contour and a little cant to it wont matter.

Grand Slam, indeed,

I used to think of myself as being a pretty good gunsmith, able to hold my own in the flock, but after scrutinizing the progress of this project and seeing the end result, I now relegate myself to bashing rocks and sticks together grade, as I squat grunting unintelligibly near the campfire.   

What an elegantly beautiful bit of workmanship.

Kudos, Sir.

Hayface

Amazing work! I don't blame you for not wanting to do checkering on the exsposed part of the buttplate, absolutely stunning grain pattern there.

Grand slam wrote on Mar 18^th, 2024 at 3:51pm:


You are far and away more talented than a “hammer”!

Richard, As usual….Very, very, nice work! 
Bib

this is the finest work i've ever seen, I bet it shoots as good as it looks,

Thanks again for all the nice words of encouragement! 
Started shooting at 50 yards trying out different Lapua ammo. It looks promising. I need to practice a bit more and also see how much the barrel resting position affects accuracy. The first shoot of the year is coming up in a couple of days so it will be nice to start shooting again. Here are some targets from the new rifle.