I need to fit a factory Ballard buttstock to a receiver of a different serial number. They are a very very close match, the stock is just a bit tight on the tang. 

What is the best tool to relieve the rounded top and bottom recess in stock so it will slide home? Thanks

Having inletted a few of these on new stocks, I'd have to say it would be helpful to see pictures of both ends - the tang and the buttstock socket ends. I have a set of reamers for doing my inletting but still a bit of hand scraping involved doing one from scratch. 
Not much experience fitting original stocks, so I'm sure others will chime in
JP

Ok I can send photos when I get in from the field. I have inletting black. My hope was to not have to bed the stock around the tang. 

Hopefully someone has found a curved chisel or something that works well on the inner rounded top and bottom of wrist and can point me to the exact tool.

rifleman wrote on Aug 28^th, 2025 at 6:44pm:


Yes, to do the rounded inside of the tang area I use gouges.  I would guess you don’t have many of them.  I have a few as shown in yellow in the first picture.  The second picture shows a shallow gouge, this one is a #2/5 Pfeil.  A #2 is the shallowest radius tool they make.  The higher the number the more/tighter radius the tool has.  The 5 is the width.

This being said, make sure you black everything, back of the action and tang, with the tang in place.  Don’t do one area at a time.  The wood needs to be fitted to both areas at the same time, and sometimes you are surprised where the hang up is!   

Without gouges I would use a round rasp or even a round or a small half round metal file.  It probably won’t take much wood removal anyway.  Use the end and removing just the black areas.  The shoulder at the bottom of the tang inlet is tougher.  If you have a dremel, that might work. 

As far as the wood fit into the cup at the back of the frame goes, I like it fairly snug, compressing the wood slightly to tighten it up.  Even with that, when the wood shrinks, it cane get loose.  This is the only area I would bed but only after it’s sat through a season and if it comes loose.  The wood can actually twist here when loose.  In my opinion don’t bed the tang, instead give the tang a little room in the wood so the wood can move as it expands and shrinks in the climate that you and I live in.

My 2 cents!
Bob


 

Jordan,
I only do about 4-5 Ballards a year lately but these are my favorites for working the tang home.  I do believe in about a 1/32" worth of glass around the large fit, glass is mostly inert and a couple I did about 8 years ago, one with, one without glass, the one without has splitting issues.  If it's a mother of fencepost figure, not an issue, high figure creates it's own issues.
GT

I use a bunch of different tools to relieve the internal tang area and through bolt area.
For the through bolt holes I use a small rat tail file to open it up.
For the larger end of the tangs close to the threads I use wood chisels, and homemade scrapers I built from old flat blade screwdrivers. I heat the tips red hot and bend them 90 degrees. Then I shape and sharpen them to allow me to drag the wood off where it's too tight.
For the flat edge that butts to the receiver I use a single sided file that I can take wood off one edge, but not remove any from the 90 degree edge. I have a couple I bought, and a couple more I made by removing the side edge on my belt sander.

I ordered a gouge like BobWs last night. I will see how this one goes. With some experience I will see better what’s needed perhaps, but I am starting from scratch here. I do have lots of files. I appreciate all the suggestions.

I wouldn't dare try and tell someone how to fit a stock but in my limited experience scrapers are easily made and have proven to be a much needed inletting tool at least for me. I use regular 1/8 thick 1018 flat stock or pieces from an old hand saw add a radius if needed then sharpen and stone an edge. Some I will install a wooden handle but most I use bare. Easily made with a hack saw files and a stone. My two cents...



JMH