Is there anyone making reasonable priced replacement stocks for a Darne action shotgun?
No. At least not here in the USA. Gournet was taking Darne guns back to France a few years ago for jobs like that...cost was still north of 2k. From what I hear...he doesn’t take guns back to France anymore for gun work. There’s talented stock makers here in the US that could build a stock for a Darne....for many it would be a first and there would be a lot of trial & error involved until they could get it right.....which also drives up the cost of the finished product. For the most part....if you’re a Darne owner and would like a new stock..you’re pretty much SOL.
What that guy said.
Best,
Ted
There are plenty of people here, however, that can make decent repairs to the existing stock or graft a new butt to the original head.
Mike
I’ve never actually seen a graft on a Darne stock. There is a wood screw down the center of the wrist, that complicates things. It would be easier to start the graft behind that, but, you are well behind the wrist by then. It would be a tough job.
Not saying it can’t or hasn’t been done, but, I’ve never seen it. I’ve seen lots of Darnes that need stock work, however.
Best,
Ted
It is possible to purchase semi-Inletted stocks on Naturabuy but it it is a hit and miss proposition
Note naturabuy is in French only, so you need to take sometime to learn translations.
If it is semi-inletted, but, has not had the big hole jig drilled for the screw, you are wasting your time.
Best,
Ted
A fellow with your talent...
Old colonel, can you provide a link, I cannot find them. On another note for Ted, is it possible to send a blank over and have it semi inlet and returned. Do you know of anyone stateside who could drill the hole. All help appreciated.
Thank you skeettx, saw that earlier, just did not look far enough through the pages. Nothing appears to be pre drilled.
The blanks were mostly pre-turned by an outside wood monger, before they were delivered at the factory. Anything really special came in as a dry, unturned blank. The LOP was trimmed to be a little long, and the turned stock was fixtured in a lathe at the correct angle, and a two step drill did the hole at the precise angle.
I had a custom stock fitted to my R10, Herve roughed it down to about what the pre-turned stocks looked like, taking big, scary cuts with a spoke sheave, was duck soup to him. Then it was drilled, bolted to the gun, and about two hours later, unbolted and off to the checkering studio.
The problem with stockwork, even in France, is getting the hole right. You’ve got one try.
If you can get the hole right, at the beginning, I suspect a Darne might be a very easy gun to restock. That is the only gun I’ve ever seen being restocked, and I have no frame of reference, but, it went quick on my gun.
Best,
Ted
If you could get Bob to give up his secrets, you could probably save some money by transforming a stick of black walnut into figured French Walnut:
Total Stock Blank Transformation: How is it done?
Anyone with a pantograpgh can duplicate an existing Darne stock. The hole is drilled ahead of time and becomes the axis upon which both the pattern and the blank are turned. Same way a Ballard or any through bolt gun is done.
It isn’t a through bolt. It is a wood screw with a straight shank that interference fits with the hole in the wood. The wood screw has machine screw threads down the hollow inside, that receive a screw from the action side, holding the action into the wood. Most of the guns have an elegant, rounded wood to metal fit in that area, that complicates the fitting. The hole was drilled AFTER the stock was rough turned, at the factory. I was there.
If it was easy, it wouldn’t be a problem getting a stock made for a Darne.
But, it is a problem. Yes, it can be done. But, there are few volunteers, here, or, in France.
Here is a live one, a guy looking for the work. You do wood work, SKB, right?
Best,
Ted
It has been sometime since I have had a Darne stock off the metal but I seem to recall the setup you describe Ted. I would need to look it over but I think I would still put my hole in first and use it as a reference. Sometimes the way things are done in a factory is not practical in a small shop, building jigs etc. I have plenty to do right now including running a few client patterns. Depending upon demand and profitability I could be talked into it.
Bingo.
Drill the hole before you start shaping things so you have all those flat square surfaces to work with.
Use the hole as your datum line.
Sounds like everything pulls forward along it.
Then, just remove all the wood that doesn’t look like a Darne stock.
Even bOb could never love a bumpur zack...
Thanks for all the answers. The existing stock is intact, but really ugly, so I will leave it as is.