Rapid Stock project

[Renegade]

I finally got around to starting work on a new BR stock for my Rapid MKII. I had glued up a blank a couple of months ago, using alternating 1/4 in. layers of Maple, Cherry and Sapele. Now that shooting season has been over for a few weeks, and the honey-do list is shrinking, I've finally been able to spend some time working on the new stock.

The first three pictures are the results of about 8 hrs of labor to inlet the blank for the action and bottle. The action was a piece of cake, being flat bottomed and square. Getting the 400cc bottle to fit in a 3 in wide stock was a different story. The bottle measures about 2 -3/8 in. which doesn't leave much room on the sides. Since it's a UL gun with no limitation on stock width, I measured the max width my Fudd top will take, and added 1/8 in. skin of Black Walnut to each side.

The last picture is todays progress, about 5 hrs. I hope it have it ready to shoot at Holbrook next weekend. It won't be finished, but I hope it looks better than the FrankenRapid stock I've been using!
Todd

 

[Paul Bendix]

Todd,
Stock is looking good! Hope to see you Sat. Norm and Doug will be your competition. I thought I had a handle on my .177 problems. One step forward two steps back. Still no sign of my .22 barrel from David Slade.

Paul

 

[mistermike]

It's looking good Todd. Thanks for posting the progression photos.

If you can, keep posting your progress and especially the finished stock.

Michael

 

[Joe Friedrich]

Todd, I agree with Paul and Michael and thanks for posting the pics.



Take Care,
Joe

 

[steve]

So, that is the 25 board foot model?

 

[Renegade]

Progress....

Thanks Guys. This has been a very enjoyable project. I get lost for hours out in the shop doing the shaping and sanding, and I think it's turning out pretty good. Tonight I did some sanding on the pistol grip because it's too fat for my hand. I got it a little better, but still need to narrow it down a little. I'm not sure if the full wood trigger guard will stay or if I'll cut it off like the Rapid factory stock. The spot where the back of the guard joins the pistol grip is where my middle finger would normally be when I'm shooting my other guns.

I also installed the pillars and the Black Walnut buttplate this evening. I've got a short day on the job tomorrow, and hope to have a Cherry forend cap installed early enough to go to the indoor range at Salem and try it out. I'm probably about 20hrs into the project at this point.

I'm not looking forward to the finishing part of the job. I've finished 2 other stocks myself, and wasn't happy with how either turned out. I used a water based polyurethane spray on those, and couldn't get any depth out of it, even after 10 coats. I'm going to try real polyurethane this time.

Guess I should go wipe the sawdust off my action and scope now. I didn't realize how bad they looked until I saw the picture! I also noticed in the light of the flash that I've got some more shaping to do to even up the two sides where the fore end narrows to the action....Back to the oscillating spindle sander

 

[steve]

That is looking great dude!

 

[mistermike]

Very nice Todd!!! ...and to think that you did it with just a rusty old rat tail rasp and some discarded sandpaper!!!!

Darn, you're good.

I know I've seen some good articles on finishing stocks, if I can find it, I'll send it off to you.

Have you considered sending it out to have another pro do the finish for you?

Michael

 

[Fireball Fred]

finish

renegade,
Personally, i would dry sand the stock with ever increasing numbers sand paper. assuring all the scratches are taken out before going to the next level up to 1500 grit. next rub it out with synthetic steel wool 0000. synthetic as the real stuff lets tiny shards that susts several years down the line and ruins an otherwise nice stock. after the wood shines from the polish i would paint it with automotive clear coat. several coats just like one would paint a car. then let dry. when completely dry buff the paint just like buffing a car. oh yea, wear sunglasses around bright lights as your stock will reflect it!! Fred

 

[Renegade]

Range Report

Thanks for the finish idea, Fireball Fred. I do have a couple of friends who have painted cars, and I'll talk to them to see if they think they can do the stock justice.

Michael, you're not too far off. I did the major stock removal for the action with my table saw, then cleaned it up with a 1/2" straight bit in my home made router table. The bottle inlet was done with the router table, and finished with a 1/4" bit in a laminate trimmer. Shaping was done on the oscillating spindle/belt sander and with a 5" palm sander. A lot of the hand sanding was done with the old paper off the palm sander!

I got to shoot the Rapid in the new stock yesterday and today. Yesterdays trip to the range brought some problems to the surface. The gun was throwing shots all over the place, and I was getting frustrated. It shot better in the ugly "FrankenStock" that I built in 2 hrs a month or so ago. Pete and Fred showed up while I was there, and between the three of us and some time playing with the action screws, we discovered that I hadn't left enough wood under the rear action screw. Fred reached into his pocket and pulled out a 1/4 washer which was just the right thickness to even out the action in the stock. This caused another problem, pushing the bottle deeper into the stock and bottoming it out in the fore end.

I got out my trusty...I mean rusty rat tail file and my brand new Dremel tool (I fried my $19 chinese one making the stock) and removed more material under the bottle and headed back to the range. It shot much better, but threw 5 shots out, one of them an 8 for a score of 244-7X. The gun (and I) always shoot better outdoors than in, but I'd still like to figure out where those flyers are coming from.

Here's the last pics I'll post before the stock is finished, which might be a while....

 

[mistermike]

Leave it to Fred to have a 1/4 inch washer in his pocket at just the right moment.

Have you thought of bedding? ...or is that something that isn't done with air rifles?

...and the Dremel. I don't know how I ever got by in life without my Dremel.
Got the flexible extension and that increased its versatility.

You've done a great job on the stock Todd. A new stock for my 541 is the gun project after the holidays, so I'll be hitting you up for tips.

Best,

Michael

 

[Fireball Fred]

just passing on info

I can't clame that advise as origional so i have to give credit where credit is due. my advise came from Bill Shehane owner of www.scopeusout.com. i was interested in using a wooden stock for benchrest. my question was how does one keep a wood stock from getting stickey in the bags in the summer heat. i know extreme heat will make an oil finish cling or drag on leather bags. he told me that most shooters use automotive clear coat which drys really hard and if polished will ride the bags without cling. Fred

 

[mistermike]

Todd,
Went through some of my bookmarks and found this series on stock painting and finishing steps by Mike Ricklefs. This link goes directly to the "clear coating" page, but there's also some good info on rest of the site.

http://www.mikericklefs.com/howto/htpaint7.html

Best,
Michael

 

[Renegade]

Thanks Michael. I looked through his website and found his price for clear coating. $65. Too bad he's so backed up, or the stock would be on it's way to him!! If I can find someone to clear it that cheap, I'll definitely leave it to a Pro!

I am planning on bedding the action. Paul showed me how easy it is to strip one of these Rapids at the match today, and I got some great tips from Doug on what to look for when I do get it apart. It didn't shoot nearly as well today as I would like, but I don't think it's anything to do with the stock.

I did find out that you can put too much wax on your pellets. I shot a total of 4 X's on my first two targets with a batch of pellets that I over-waxed last night. I switched to dry pellets, and shot 9 X's on the 3rd target and 7 on the 4th. I'll get the hang of these airguns eventually!
Todd

 

[Renegade]

Another picture

Not much going on here, so I thought I'd post another progress picture. I sort of took Fred's advice, but I quit at 1000 grit and 00 synthetic steel wool. I'm out of work and bored, so I'm spraying the stock myself with Minwax Clear Gloss Helmsman Spar Urethane. I've got a good sized chunk of the blank that I'm using for a practice piece, and I think I can get this thing looking pretty good. The picture is taken after two coats of Urethane. I'll wait a day, sand or rub again, then shoot it again and repeat as necessary, or as long as my can of urethane lasts.

 

[Paul Bendix]

Stock is looking good

Todd,
Your stock is looking GREAT.
I bought some JB bore paste and worked on both my .177 and .22 barrel's like several people told me to do. I have also polished the transfer port on both as were real rough and could see drill marks. Hope it shoots better. Might have to wait until next week to test out.
Paul

 

[Renegade]

Paul,
I hope the JB works out for you. I still haven't torn down my Rapid yet....Funny how the "honey-do" list expands when I have all this "free" time

 

[mistermike]

Looking good Todd. It looks like you're getting a good finish -- something you'll be happy with!!!

Best,
Michael

 

[mistermike]

Todd,
Your stock is looking GREAT.
I bought some JB bore paste and worked on both my .177 and .22 barrel's like several people told me to do. I have also polished the transfer port on both as were real rough and could see drill marks. Hope it shoots better. Might have to wait until next week to test out.
Paul

Hi Paul,
Can you fill me in on what you are doing with the JB. I assume that you need to smooth out some rough spots in your barrel?

Michael

 

[Paul Bendix]

Mike,
Several people on this and Rapid 7 Forum said the factory Barrels need a good cleaning with Brake cleaner then oil and JB bore paste pulled through on up to 10 patches. Another good cleaning and see how it groups. Repeat if needed and also pull a dry patch between cards. Worth a try.
Paul