doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Stock Bending methods?

A few weeks ago I watched a fitter bend my stock using short wave infer red heat. He then put the gun into a freezer. I don’t know how many times the process was repeated. Until that time I thought that hot oil was the only way to bend a stock. Are there any other ways to bend a stock?

I always thought the process involved heat lamps, oil and bending jigs??

I failed to mention that the shotgun was in a jig adjusted to my dimensions.

From what I've read of the different methods, in the end its the heat that allows for the bending. Oil is used to transmit it.

In methods that have been described here the wrist was protected with foil to prevent the oil from affecting the finish, so it is not necessary for it to come in contact with the wood.

Its the heat.

JC

JayCee,

Is the foil wrapped around the wrist and then cloth with oil to be heated with lamps?

What JC said Please see http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/16314697

revdocdrew,
Thanks, very informative.

I have built my own stock bending jig, used both white lamps, heat lamps, and linseed oil and have successfully bent several guns for cast (I am left-handed). My jig looks similar in principle to those on the website revdocdrew mentioned. But, I still have some questions. I heated some of my guns for several hours and have used rags soaked in preheated oil just to be sure the stocks were hot enough.

Most of the guns I bent have been O/Us with a through-bolt, full pistol grip, and they were bent mainly for cast. What I have noticed in my experience --and granted my experience is limited-- is that although the stock accepted the bend and stayed bent, the wood to metal fit at the head of the stock suffered somewhat. On the side that the butt was bent away from, the stock pulled away from the action and the metal to wood fit developed a small amount of space --less than 1/32" or so, but still visible (I tend to be a perfectionist).

While this slight gap is not noticeable or bothersome to many, I noticed it and it bothered me. As a result, I have stopped bending guns for the most part. My question is when bending a stock, do you sometimes unintentionally ruin/alter the metal to wood fit? Do sidelocks bend more easily than boxlocks or visa versa? Or is their a difference between bending a traditionally attached stock as opposed to a stock with a through-bolt? Is there a way of measuring the temperature of the stock to ensure it is ready to bend?

I use the hot oil method and heat white heat lamps like in Docs picture trail. I would hazard a guess that if the stock separated from the receiver it was because the through bolt wasn't tight enough. I've never had that problem bending a through bolt gun. How do you tell if the wood is hot enough? Does the stock bend easy? If not, it's not hot all the way through [ to the middle ] . Just because the oily rag is hot to the touch, it doesn't mean the center of the stock is hot. I've never heard of useing tin foil. To me, that would reflect the heat. Besides, I've never had the hot oil hurt a finish. I've heard of some guys useing a micro wave oven with holes cut in the ends to heat wood when making recurve bows. There are probably ways we've never heard of that work. Paul

Could it be also that the hole through the stock needs to be inlarged a little? There could be pressure on the bolt resulting in seperation