Go for it Joe!

I've been fighting the fit of the stock, to the frame, with the through screw.  The screw goes through the top tang and turns into a blind hole in the lower tang.  When I would tighten the screw, the stock would pull away from the frame and leave a very small gap.  I have got it figured out now, there were several things happening.

So on with the wood shaping.

These pictures are all after todays work.  Nothing really to say other than the last two show the final rough finish.  I will now start really getting down to the point where sand paper will be used.  The wood removed, from this point on, will be with a fine rasp, or even a fine metal file, and be a very small amount while bringing it to its final shape.
Bob

The cheek piece side is gorgeous. Can't wait to see it with some finish on it.



JMH

This wood is nice, been looking for a piece like this for a long time.  Like this piece, I wanted it to flow through the wrist area  and then turn to this smoky look.  Just wish it turned to smoke a little lower.  Reminds of the smoke coming off the front end of my Dad's cigarettes.   

I guess wanting a better piece gives me a good reason to keep looking.
Bob

I've always liked that rounded treatment done to the bottom of the grip on rifles Bob. Very classy touch.

This picture is a little busy but bare with me while I explain.

These arrows and letters are showing the changes I made after the initial shaping.  Pretty hard to tell now, so you’ll just have to take my word for it. 

A.  I raised the bottom of the stock about 3/16 inch narrowing this area.   

AA.  Also raised the toe slightly and slightly straightened the bottom line going forward from here.

B.  Changed the angled of the nose of the comb.

C. and E. Moved the front of the cheek rest back and up, give more room for checkering.

D.  Raised the grip bottom up at the rear to match the change made at A.  Also raised the front slightly more than the rear  flattening the angle of the grip bottom.

F. Raised the lower cheek rest line about as much as the lower stock line was raised.

Bob

Thanks Bill.

Hope I’m not boring everyone on these changes but here is a couple pictures that better show the change differences.

The red line isn’t in exactly the same position on both photos but it gives you the idea. 

#1 is 9 days before #2.

Bob

Bobw, thank you for pointing out the subtleties in the shaping of the stocks you make.

When I do "stockmaking," (I use the term with my usual devil-may-care abandon) I generally get the wood to a point where the shaping is close to what seems to me to be optimal, but "off" in a way I can't identify.  I'm generally afraid to go any further, because I can't exactly see where the problem is, and think that anything I might do would take off wood that I can't afford to lose.

At that point, I generally say to myself, "Well, from six feet away, it looks like a stock; it's functional at least, and since I've been at this for months, I'd sure like to shoot the rifle before I'm too old and decrepit to do so."  So I smooth it down and apply the finish.

Your tutorials are great, and anything you can bring up about developing that "eye" for proper proportions is golden.  My Howe gunsmithing book says that proper stock shaping is simply a matter of going over and over it, in smaller and subtler increments, using one's eyes, one's experience, and one's sense of proportions to achieve the final result.  Alvin Linden, on the other hand, thought stock shaping was a matter of working down to lines and precision measurements.  I remember him writing something like, "Looks like we're almost down to that final shape and we haven't used any of this 'trained eyeball' stuff yet to do so!"

You might think of combining these articles into a book; "The Single-Shot Gunsmith" or some such.  I'd buy a copy for sure.