by waxclan » 29 Aug 2016 17
I'm trying something. We have a local kiln drying sawmill nearby so I scored a fault ridden piece of dry rough sawn walnut, 1" x 8" x 8', planed on one side, enough good parts to make 4 "half stocks". Using some thin plywood I made an outline of the desired cavity for the frame, then created the cavity on the two halves. I used a digital caliper for measurements, and then used a router, dremel and chisel to mill out the cavity. I used Titebond 3 to glue the two together, eyeballing poking and probing the two halves so they matched then glued the two together. I've got a good fit (will need to shim the frame slightly (aluminum shims) along the back to make it "rock-free". I've used a bench belt sander to rough shape the stock. I did make it a point to NOT match the wood grain, hoping the glue line will retard grain line weakness around the frame. I've taken pictures of the progress, and if I can get 40-50 rounds through it without cracks I'll post further info.