Started a TC Hawken kit

[trad bow]

Nice wood in that stock. Going to be a looker.

[darinputman]

Wow, that is a nice looking stock Eric, I'm curious about the wrench laying there you use it as a gauge for measuring.

[Eric Krewson]

I have a pivoting vise, I keep a wrench on the locking nut all the time because when I put odd shaped pieces in my vise they seldom line up with the support post on the end of my work bench. I loosen the nut and swing the piece around to have good support on the post and tighten it back up.

[Aaron H]

Very cool Eric.  Thanks for taking us along

[Eric Krewson]

TCs wedge plates sit proud of the wood like a bump on a log;



I decided to inlet the plate flush with the wood for a more streamlined look. Here I am outlining it with an exacto knife.



The cavity is lowered to the depth of the plate at my exacto knife cuts;



In and flush with the wood. I was a little sloppy on the ends but soaked the inlet with water to swell the wood to close any gaps.

[chamookman]

Nice - Lookin' good Eric ! Bob

[Eric Krewson]

I narrowed the comb and extended the wrist.



I took a bunch of wood off the forestock and changed the slab sided kit profile to a more rounded profile.



I draw the lock panels with a compass with the point broken off.



Done, not enough wood to make proper Hawken like panels so I have to make the TC type.







   

[Eric Krewson]

I did a little more work this afternoon; The brass was really rough so I sanded it down and have it pretty smooth but haven't put it on a buffing wheel yet.



I started shaping my lock panels and blending them into the forestock and wrist;



Done for the most part except for final sanding;



Making a pattern to transfer to the lock plate side;



Transferred to the other side;



Done shaping the lock side stock and panel;



More tomorrow, almost done.

[chamookman]

Coming right along nicely Eric ! Bob

[Eric Krewson]

I needed a break from the walnut dust to let my lungs come back to normal so I decided to blue the barrel and under rib.

The first step it to drawfile, or in my case sand the flats with 220 grit sandpaper because the barrel finish isn't too rough.



I apply Oxpho Blue with a steel wool pad, at first it is streaky and uneven but smooths out with additional coats.



Done;

[Eric Krewson]

I did the final sanding and metal to stock fitting today. The last going over was out in the setting sunlight, this makes all the scratches you missed show up.



I am done except for stock finishing and assembly.  Somehow I lost my bottle of Birchwood Casey walnut sealer so I had to order another bottle. As soon as it comes in I will finish the stock and bring this project to a close.

Done;

[Eric Krewson]

Getting down to the wire on the gun build, I have two coats of stock sealer on so far. Walnut is a porous wood, to have a slick finish one needs to seal the pores of the wood before applying the final gunstock varnish. I apply stock sealer, sand it off and reapply until the sealer fills only the pores and leaves bare wood on the surface.

[Eric Krewson]

5 coats of sealer filled the pores, the first coat of oil finish is on. Mighty strange looking wood in this gunstock, I suspect it is crotch wood.



I cut this crotch wood blank a few months ago, I see similarities.

[Eric Krewson]

I started putting my TC together this afternoon. TC had put on the butt plate, trigger guard and nose cap with temporary steel screws and stripped one hole on each of the two screws that held these pieces into place,

I was drilling out the bad buttplate screw to install a dowel for a redrill thinking I had my stock held firmly in my vise  and out it went to the floor breaking out a small piece out of the toe in the process. I couldn’t find the eraser sized piece that broke out so I used another piece of walnut to fill in the break. My walnut piece didn’t match and looked like do-do. I need to install a brass toe plate to make everything look good again.

[Stringman]

Ah the devil really is in the details. I hate looking for small pieces dropped on my shop floor. Good idea to cover it with a toe plate.