Not a silly question but it does make a hard job out of an easy one. A through-bolt suggests to me a not-so-old gun and the job suggests a non-original collector's item. The way you mentioned sounds like the best way, a separate piece of wood, covering the bolt hole and held on by the skeleton metal. If you want fancy, I'd suggest a leather covered recoil pad and enjoy shooting it, instead.

> Jim Legg <