Building a laminated stock-Pictures

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Butch Lambert

Active member
On a thread below, Donald asked about carbon fiber laminated stocks. This is my redwood stock and I have another made of Walnut. Both have Bat receivers. You can see both the vertical and horizontal laminations with 10 mil multidirectional cloth between. Al Flores was the man that did the glue up. It was vacuum bagged instead of clamping.
SeymourandmiscPictures060.jpg

The next picture is in the mill. All machine work after squaring the material was done with one setup for the fore end and barrel channel.
SeymourandmiscPictures052.jpg

The next photo is before the finish was applied.
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The next photo is after we had done the bedding and Kav had done the painting.
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The last photo is with the receiver glued in.
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The stock painted weighed 22oz. Al had to pick through many board feet of redwood to pick the lightest. There is quite a difference in weight of wood from one board to the next. If you can't hand pick it, you will have trouble with weight. Maybe 30%.
I was very fortunate to have Al Flores for his expertise in wood and carbon fiber lamination and also the great skill of Kav for his painting. He is now a Naval Officer that all of us around here are very proud of.
Butch
 
Laminated Stock Pictures

Hi Butch.
Very nice!
If my eyes are working correctly, you have 6 horizontal boards with a layer of cloth between them. There appears to be a vertical line through the center of the butt which I am assuming is drawn on for alignment purposes. Am I correct?
Thanks
Tony
 
Tony,
That is a vertical of carbon fiber. The stocks are about 6 years old and don't move. I'm not claiming that mine are as good or better, it is just built to suit me. I wanted a longer fore end to move the weight back and I liked the Edge shape. I did not care for the Edge butt stock, and did something different.
Butch
 
Laminated stock pictures

Thanks Butch
I've been thinking about trying to make one myself and I had assumed that I would be laminating vertical boards. The horizontal boards with the vertical seam would appear to help stabilze the wood. Great idea.
Tony
 
Butch

She's puuuurrrrtty. Where have you been keeping yourself, haven't seen you for a while?? Gonna shoot some this year?

Dave
 
Thanks Dave,
I have been busy. We are about ready to introduce our 2oz CZ rimfire trigger and a new lightweight base to go with our rest tops for the FClass guys.
I need some range time and hope to attend more matches this year.
Butch
 
G'Day Butch

just out of curiosity is there any gain in vacuum bagging over clamping in this instance.
jim
 
G'Day Jim, How is your summer? Vacuum bagging gives even clamping totally on the glued up items. You cannot do that with clamps. You can do a search on vacuum bagging on the internet and you can find the supplies and valuable information about it.
Tim,
Al suggested a type of Epoxy that is a little different. You can warm it and then apply it. It thins and soaks in a little. We did paint a coat on it previous to machining to keep it from splintering. I was too impatient and Kav used urethane. He did have to repair it after I kicked it and another time when I dropped it. You won't believe the words that young man used on me. I guess he was practising for going into the Navy.
Butch
 
Butch, I asked because I have wood stocks done each way and there's an opinion that a few coats of epoxy is a bit more protective. I do know that the epoxy was sprayed.

P.S. You dropped it?
 
Tim, I did drop it and I also messed it up at Kelblys a few years ago changing barrels. I believe the epoxy that Al was talking about is probably better than the urethane, but mine looks supprising well after what I have put it through. Mine does not have a shell of cloth on the outside as some have and urethane is soft.
Butch
 
Lynn,
Just got in from eating. I have more pics and more info that I can send by email or snail mail. I will get with you tomorrow.
Butch
 
Wow, the stock looks great. I just hope mine turns out that good.
 
Butch,
I belive that is the stock that your grandson shoots is it not? And quite well I might add. I have built a couple of stocks from balsa and carbon fiber. Shape the stock in balsa and wrap with multiple layers of carbon fiber. The first I built without vacumn bagging. It was a bit heavy. Too much epoxy. The second I built and vacumn bagged it in my own crude way. Much better but mismeasured and got the fore end too short. It is just too darn much trouble. But they are light and strong. I think the second one came in at around 20 oz. Will not build a third one....too much trouble and too many hours. Besides on a one off I had almost $100 in materials in it. I now have a greater appreciation for stock builders.

Donald
 
Darn good looking stock Butch. I'll agree with ya in that I liked the front of the McMillian Edge but not the buttstock. Great way to compromise!!! Plus, wood is loverly. :cool: Hope you get to use some exotic wood to build a stock sometime. Would love to see it.

Matthew S Keller
 
Lynn,
There are 6 boards on either side. Each 6 are stacked and vacuum bagged first. The 2 sets of six are then vacuum bagged together. Of course you need to make a skim cut between the 2 before laminating them.
Somebody asked about clamping. You may have heavy pressure right under the clamps, but only there. Even if you were to have a steel plate on either side that you clamped to, you would not have the good
clamping force of vacuum bagging.
My Grandson, Josh, has shot this rifle. He now has a Terry Leonard stocked Stiller Diamond Back drop port. It is the slickest receiver that we have.
Butch
 
Nice Stock Butch,
Can you tell me how you Vacumn seal the stock? Meaning how is this process done? Thanks Kevin
 
Lynn said:
Butch
On the two sets of 6 do you just have 2 horizontal pieces of carbon fiber and no vertical pieces?

What I am trying to figure out is if you cut a whole pile of long pieces then soaked them in epoxy and stacked them altogether or you just put two large horizontal sheets between the 3 rows of boards and skim cut it before putting both halves together?

I heard this stuff was tough to cut then I heard you could cut it with scissors just like fiberglass mat.
If its easy to cut I am guessing you could laminate it in both the vertical and horizontal by just butting it up against each piece.

I kind of like the whole idea as I made a stock for my 50bmg and it came out pretty decent but it was fiberglass not carbon fiber.
Lynn
Click to expand...



Lynn,

The stuff I'm using is a cloth-like fiber just like fiberglass only with finer strands. It cuts very easily with kitchen shears. It's wicked light and permeates with epoxy even easier than glass.

al
 
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