[Ithacabuff]

Sorry, here are the questions

that go with the photos....I have a wood laminate stock on my 795 and want to replace that with a Marlin 989M2 stock which needs to be cut some to accomodate the LSHO lever and the 795 t/g. That may be easy for an experienced person but have not done that and first question is: What tools do I need to do this. I assume a dremel and attachments but what else? (Have never used a dremel but know I can learn.) The second question is: A big concern is just now realized that the barrel of a 795 is larger diameter than that of a 989M2 so thus barrel channel on the 989M2 stock and barrel channel on hand guard will be too small. Is there a reasonable way to neatly ream the channels out to accomodate a larger diameter barrel.. And bearing in mind I am a rank amateur. What are your thoughts on this. FYI..the darker walnut wood is the 989M2 which needs to be cut to be like the lighter wood laminate stock. See the photos.

 

[Gizzy]

Opening the barrel channel is easy. The best and easiest way is to use deep well sockets and sandpaper. Just choose a socket that with the sandpaper wrapped around, it will open the channel to the proper size. You can even start small and work your way up. Choose one that will open the channel more than it is now, and work it all the way to the bottom, and work your way larger. Also keep the two sides as even as you can. You will eventually have to remove some from the bottom on your last sizing. Just start small and work your way up. No Dremel needed for the barrel channel.

 

[mals9]

The barrel channel is the easy part. Wrap a dowel or a socket that matches the diameter of the barrel with 150 grit paper and get busy. It goes pretty fast so check the fit often. A Dremel will work in the trigger guard area, just practice a bit on some scrap so you can learn to control the cut. You can handle it.

Mals

 

[retiredsarge48]

wood work questions

for the barrel - carefully measure the outside diameter of the barrel and then buy a piece of wood dowel about 1/16 inch bigger than the barrel. It will be a slow process but start by wrapping the dowel with 40 or t0 grit sandpaper and start sanding. Check for the fit of the barrel frequently and when close start using progressively smaller grit paper. If I am seeing correctly the current inletting on the top of the stock where the tang will fit is already to long for the stock you are trying to use. looks like you may be able to save a small peice from the bottom front of the forarm to carefully piece into the place where too much wood has already been removed. Other tools I would recommend are a sharp set of chisels, round (rat tail) file or rasp, and other flat files and rasps. Take it slow and plan your cuts and you will do just fine! Oh, don't forget to seal the inside of the stock.

 

[Ithacabuff]

Oh Man!!

is all I can say....I never would have thought of using sockets or dowels with sand paper to open up the channels. Thanks to all of you for the help. You make it sound much more simple than I imagined...not saying it will be easy but...WOW!

Thanks!

 

[STBE Harris]

Ithacabuff

You might want to tape or draw with a pencil or scratch a line on each side of the forestock at equal distance from the current channel that will serve as a gauge to sand by especially if you are new to stock work. You will have a tendency to sand harder on one side L or R and to sand deeper on one end or other that will get you a bigger gap on one side than the other. Good luck..

 

[noremf]

Dremel's

Dremel's and WD40 are the gunsmiths best friends. WD40 cause it sets up and hardens in actions etc. and really gums em up. Need a smith lots a time to fix.

Dremel's cause they take off wood faster then you can spit in some cases, like when you don't want em to!

If you never have used one you really need to practice on something first. Not that easy to be precise as they have a tendency to chatter and "draw" to the rotation. Slooooooooooooo and easy is the name of the game with them and IMO and IME the finest sandpaper on the sanding bands. Will take longer but you can't put wood back. The high speed cutters are a whole lot harder to use than the sanding bands and will chop up wood mo fast.

noremf(George)

 

[Fladventurers]

Dremel's cause they take off wood faster then you can spit in some cases, like when you don't want em to!
noremf(George)

Words of wisdom here. I have finally retired my dremel . No matter how careful I am, I'm good for at least one slip per job. It can be buffing metal, grinding bedding, or what have you. In each case it ends up taking me more time to fix my slip then it would have to just do the job by hand...

Sorry for jumping in on the thread, but just had a slip with my dremel and saw this post....:bonk:

Fladv.

 

[DKSAC2]

The Dremel has it's place in gunsmithing, the little cut off wheels have been used hundreds of times by me, other things, you had better be darn careful. They should be kept away from any part of the outside of a stock and be used little and carefully inside a gunstock. Metal work, you can almost always find a better way.

George is right on. The WD-40 has one use, if your guns get wet, they can be sprayed down with the WD 40 to displace the water, then cleaned with good gun products. Keep it somewhere hard to find.

John

 

[Ithacabuff]

Thank you so very much

for all the warnings about Dremels. I am going to go as far as I can without one and use hand sanding and rat tail files etc. I see one part that I need to cut out that will simply need some kind of a fine saw blade to make the opening where the mag is larger. Anyway, I was going to buy a Dremel today but think it is wisest for me not to use one. I do have one specific area to ask about regarding non-use of Dremel. See the rear end of the t/g opening and see how the 795 stock (light wood laminate) is opened up compared to the walnut stock....so without a Dremel how does one cut that area out to match the 795 shape? Thanks.

 

[retiredsarge48]

When you do the mag opening if possible trace the correct size of the opening and then use your rasps and files to slowly enlarge the opening checking it frequently for fit and to be sure it is centered. I own just about any saw you can think of and can't think of one I would use for this application. What are you referring to as the t/g opening? If it is what I think you may need a gouge (rounded chisel) to make the cut.

 

[Ithacabuff]

@sarge 48

Yes, I think you got what I mean...in the last photo it is view looking at the bottom of the stocks where the t/g etc would fit in an inlay opening....The walnut that needs to be redone has a narrow opening with two screw holes at the rear of t/g opening where the 795 stock, that I need to mimic has a wider, rounded opening for the back of the t/g with one screw hole. It sounds like you are saying a gouge is the tool to help me cut that out. Looks logical to me, but then...I am the newbie with no experience. I am going to Lowes or Ace Hdware and get gouges, rasps, rat tail files, etc.

 

[Bob4BVM]

Mostly good advice above ( except the 40/50 grit sandpaper). Along with the dremel, avoid anything else that takes of big bites of wood, that includes coarse rasps, chisels, and 40/50 grit sandpaper

Would add just one suggestion/question.
Do you have any woodworker friends around with a decent woodshop and some years of experience ? They'd have all the tools you'd need and would be glad to help you-most love to share their talent. This would be a piece of cake for them.

 

[noremf]

Piece of cake

Mostly good advice above ( except the 40/50 grit sandpaper). Along with the dremel, avoid anything else that takes of big bites of wood, that includes coarse rasps, chisels, and 40/50 grit sandpaper

Would add just one suggestion/question.
Do you have any woodworker friends around with a decent woodshop and some years of experience ? They'd have all the tools you'd need and would be glad to help you-most love to share their talent. This would be a piece of cake for them.

I agree and I are one (woodworker with a really good workshop). One of the things that would make it easy are the "micro" rasps sometimes called micro graters of micro planes. This is a large one:



Expensive but they come in all kinds of configurations and will take off wood with some of the finest sawdust you ever saw. You can reverse the blades so it "planes" either on the push or pull stroke. Just the ticket for stock work final finishing.

noremf(George)

 

[Ithacabuff]

Here is my first work

The close-up is to show my wood work. I really goofed on what is the left side to the viewer....the front of the t/g opening. Somehow, I cut that way too large. Otherwise I would not feel bad about the rest of my wood cutting work to put the t/g in. Do not know how I committed that big goof.

 

[retiredsarge48]

Sometimes when you make a mistake its best to fix it by making it look like you wanted it that way. Its something a lot of wood workers do including myself. Take some time and do some finish sanding work on that area and then put on some finish. I would not use fillers of any kind as it will be very difficult to make the finish match with a filler.

 

[Ithacabuff]

Retired sarge you are right

and one-second of wood-filler thought and I threw that out....but you know what. Like you said....make it look like it was intentional. I have considered that area in front of the t/g and if I can get lucky...My idea is to find a little piece of smooth metal that maybe is about the right shape...I have to be lucky on the shape...it has to be smooth and I would paint it black an drill a little hole in it to go between front of T/G and the wood. Then a little flange would come up and lip over onto the finished wood. If it is black, could even be plastic, it just looks like a finishing piece for the opening and would just blend into the opening and T/G. No one would think anything of it and it would please me because I would not have to look at that crude front opening. I will be looking and trying to figure this out. I am sure there is an answer. But, Sarge, you are correct and thank you.

And a late thought...at least in the trigger guard area it is not nearly as commonly obvious as a mistake on wood, say around the receiver area or top of butt stock. Maybe cheap lesson learned for me.

 

[clipfed]

They make an epoxy putty that works really well for this kind of thing and can be sanded and stained. comes in a plastic tube think the name is pc wood. works really well. leave the area rough and really press it in there after a couple hours or more carefully sand and finish. I have used this many times on different kinds of wood with great results. After you stain you can use a Fine paint brush to create any wood grain to blend with surrounding area.