How to Make Rifle Stock Butt and Pistol Grip Dead Flat

[Matthew Hutchinson477]

Hey folks,
This may be a bit basic to some of you (hopefully it is!) but I'm having a hard time with a rifle stock I'm touching up and refinishing. I had to cut down the stock (there will be a recoil pad on the end) and I'm also trying to add a grip cap to the end of the pistol grip. What this means is that those surfaces (the butt and end of the pistol grip) must be flat to fit the recoil pad and grip cap.

As most amateur woodworkers find out making a surface dead-flat is more difficult than it sounds, and there are a number of tricks people have. I have a couple hand planes I'm learning how to use and in the past I've glued sandpaper to plate glass, but because of the awkwardness of the shape and the fact that the rifle butt is end grain (I don't have a low angle block plane) the planes don't work particularly well. I also have a belt sander but this tends to leave slightly convex surfaces. As my tool selection is pretty limited, any solutions that use hand tools or pretty basic power tools are all I can get away with.

How would you guys tackle this issue?
Is there an easier way to go about this than just a hard sanding block, a straight edge, and a lot of time?

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Thanks,
Matt

[Matt Day]

The simplest way would be a block of hardwood with sandpaper glued to it. That might get it flat but possibly not perpendicular to the barrel if that matters.

I think I'd make a jig to hold the guns on a sled or miter gauge and use my table saw.

[Matthew Hutchinson477]

I do have access to a miter saw but I was worried about tearing out the edges, so I opted to hand-saw through the butt thinking that it would be easier to get it dead flat again. What kind of blade would you use to prevent any chipping on the edges?

As of now my plan is to just use a wood block but my fear there is that I have a tough time eliminating the curve of the wood. Naturally, the sanding stroke tends to follow the curve. Is that purely an issue of technique? Or are there tricks to get over this issue as well?

[Chris Padilla]

Double-stick some sandpaper onto a flat surface (like the cast iron top of a table saw) and sand it flat.

You might fashion up a jig of some kind to hold it in a particular orientation if you feel doing it freehand might not work.

[Martin Wasner]

I'd make a jig to hold it by where the action and barrel mount, then use an edge sander to true it up. Or, get it mounted in the jig and use a table and a square to do it by hand.

[Steve Schoene]

A cabinet makers wood rasp would be my tool of choice. The long time standard has been the Nicholson 49 (coarser) and 50 (finer). I think these have gone through some quality contril issues that appear to have be mostly solved. There are some better rasps with hand cut teeth, some very pricy, and some Chinese at more reasonable prices.

[Bill ThompsonNM]

Hey folks, This may be a bit basic to some of you (hopefully it is!) but I'm having a hard time with a rifle stock I'm touching up and refinishing. I had to cut down the stock (there will be a recoil pad on the end) and I'm also trying to add a grip cap to the end of the pistol grip. What this means is that those surfaces (the butt and end of the pistol grip) must be flat to fit the recoil pad and grip cap. As most amateur woodworkers find out making a surface dead-flat is more difficult than it sounds, and there are a number of tricks people have. I have a couple hand planes I'm learning how to use and in the past I've glued sandpaper to plate glass, but because of the awkwardness of the shape and the fact that the rifle butt is end grain (I don't have a low angle block plane) the planes don't work particularly well. I also have a belt sander but this tends to leave slightly convex surfaces. As my tool selection is pretty limited, any solutions that use hand tools or pretty basic power tools are all I can get away with. How would you guys tackle this issue? Is there an easier way to go about this than just a hard sanding block, a straight edge, and a lot of time? <img src="http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=331416"/> <img src="http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=331417"/> Thanks, Matt

If you use a hard block of hardwood (think maple or oak, not poplar) that's two or three times as long as the largest dimension of the surface you're sanding it won't follow the curves in the handle. Start with sonething like 80 grit and work your way up to 400. You'll have it flat in no time.

[Al Launier]

Whatever method you decide upon applying tape around the cut line will help prevent tearout & applying pencil marks across the surface will help guide your effort. Start by placing a straight edge & square across the surface to be worked to give you an idea of where to initially concentrate the sanding. Then conttinue using the square/straight edge & pencil marks as you progress towards a flat/square surface

[Myk Rian]

I think a couple of the ideas don't consider it being end grain you're working with.
Make some type of padded cradle for it, and use a belt or disk sander. The cradle will hold it flat, and you can use a miter gauge to adjust the angle.

[Pat Barry]

You want a nice flat surface, that's understandable. You probably also want the surface to be at 90 degrees to the stock. I suggest that you should use the wooden block wrapped with sandpaper and carefully sand to get what you want. I would avoid using a power sander (ok maybe to rough it close, but then hand sand). To be accurate, chuck it up into your wood vise and use the top of the vise as a reference surface

[Matthew Hutchinson477]

If you use a hard block of hardwood (think maple or oak, not poplar) that's two or three times as long as the largest dimension of the surface you're sanding it won't follow the curves in the handle. Start with sonething like 80 grit and work your way up to 400. You'll have it flat in no time.

Aha, maybe that's my issue then. I was using a sanding block that was pretty small so it was hard to not follow the contour.

It would probably also help if my vise wasn't a cheap POS but it's all I've got for now.

Thanks for the replies everyone!