I have a 1926 fox sterlingworth that I'm restocking, which of course has about a 3" drop on the (non-original) wood...it will eventually wear new wood, although I'm not sure if that will be a straight stock, a POW or semi-pistol. I drew out a pattern on a big piece of paper today to aid in shopping for blanks, and realized in looking at the difference between where the comb is and where I want it to be, that the nose of the stock has the potential to be quite...protuberous, shall we say. I now understand why some choose to bend tangs...even for a pistol grip. On the other hand, someone recently showed me a straight stock (off the gun) for an unbent fox...

One friend says that he's never bent a tang on his several foxes, and having seen his stocks they look smashing. Another guy says he always bends the tangs, but in a way that I can't quite wrap my feeble mind around. Are these guns tangs different enough between various individual guns that some would need it and others wouldn't?? Or is this the personal preference of the owner?

So, I'm hoping to hear all sides of this coin...what do you think about this, and does anyone have more info on this tang-bending stuff?? Cost, before/after photos so I can understand (and usurp your project ideas), dangers, is this something I can do myself (beginner wood guy, not a metal guy--imagine there's more than simply bending involved), etc??

Thanks in advance,
Dave

Sounds like the answer may be as close as comparing the tang angles on your fox to those of your friend. I've seen enough broken tangs to know you wouldn't want to risk a cold bend. The dull red heat you'll need will entail stripping the action and ruining the case colors. By the time you finish, it may be cheaper to get silicone implants in your cheek to get your proper fit. Best of luck.

If you are planning on re-color caseing the action, annealing said action would be your first step ($30.) and color case after bending ($175.) --- Classic Guns doing the work. Once the action is annealed, the tang can be brought to a yellow glow. With upper tang screwed to trigger plate, The tang can gently be bent to raise comb. I'd suggest Glenn Fewless for this work, he can be reached on this board. Give me a call if I can be of any help. Ken

David, is this what you are talking about?

FINE GUNMAKING: DOUBLE SHOTGUNS (1998) by Steven Dodd Hughes
New, out of print, hardback, and 170 pages, large format,. An in-depth look at the creation of custom shotguns, lots of color and B&W photos. Special section on building custom Fox shotguns. Foreword by John Barsness.
$45 ppd

Steve, I should have mentioned your book. Its the primer on how to do this type of work.

Amen, Mr Mann;
Not just "the primer" but also the inspiration to keep trying after you hit the wall on the first one.
Kraft
P.S. How can this be that Mr. Hughes only has three stars???

That top action is lovely.

Your absolutely right Mr. Kraft. Steven Hughes should be well recognized for bringing this type of metal emblishment back. Thanks Me. Hughes. You should get his new book --- shows re-working an LC along with other valuable stuff. I bought it, used some of his ideas and am just about ready to have my 20 ga. E field gd. LC stocked. If you are an LC or sidelock fan & want to up-grade, this is the book for you. Lots of great ideas on what you could do. Ken

Since I am planning a Fox project, I will dig out Steven's book and reread the information on tang bending for custom projects. However, although Steven bends tangs, we have to remember that the change in drop at comb for most of us is the difference between 2 3/4" on an early Fox to maybe 2 3/8" or 2 1/4" on our custom guns. Possibly more than we would want to make up in extra comb nose height, but for some of us it may not be too much. My early A project gun has about a 2 1/2" drop at comb so I won't need much of a bend unless there is some other reason for a straightened tang that I will find out when I reread Steven's book. Doug and Steven, is there a reason to straighten the tang if the difference in drop at comb is not too much different?

Hello Mr. Murphy;
We bent the first one for no other reason than to make a straight grip gun from a pistol grip. At the time, the comb dimensions would have came out OK either way. Little did we know what we were getting into with the trigger blade to safety geometry --- The screw holes, I'd rather not talk about. This was before I read SDH's first book. The books are THE place to start for any rookie such as myself.
Hoping this finds you well;
Kraft

Thanks all...so, does this also require retapping the tang screws?
I think eightbore hit on my next question--IF the comb nose height was ok, is there any reason to do this?

I start with the comb dimensions and work backwards, on paper. Most Fox guns have plenty of rise from the grip to the comb without adding anything to it. I just saw a photo of a 'custom fox' somewhere (I thought here) with about 2" of comb rise off the top line of the grip. I thought, "that's why I straighten the tang."
Apparently some stockers/hobbyests don't notice the difference?!?!

If interested in any of my books drop me a line: sdh(at)montana(dot)net.
The new book has custom Elsie, Fox and M-21 projects by other crafsmen.

I can't express the gratification I feel from so many folks enjoying these books,
Thanks!
Steve

Dumb question maybe, Doug, but now that you have removed the engraving from the gun pictured, are you going to have it re-engraved or leave it the way it is? Are you going to have it recased, too?

I'm still wondering from Dave's original post if there is much difference in his tang angles and those of his friend whose stocks were pleasing and without the huge comb nose. Those nose problems seem common on even otherwise good amatuer restocks and often make me wonder. I was of course, being facetious about solving the problem via cosmetic surgery, but if it would raise my percentage on grouse, well... Steven Dodd Hughes' self promotion of his book is much deserved and I refer to my own copy frequently even though I am not doing upgrades. Really, a wealth of information, and it has been great knowing that men of his talent are willing to share their knowledge so freely with the rest of us on this site. Another thing worthy of note is the fact that many of my gun reference books have performed better as investments than my guns.

I, too, have SDH's book and found it a good ref.

On the grip angles, the subject of a lower grip vs. the high straight grip is discussed by Michael Yardley (in "Gunfitting") when he refers to work done by Churchill or some other maker of the past. Basically, the position by the early maker was that the lower grip helps keep the shooter in a better ergonomic position, if I can generalize from memory. On the other hand, the high straight grip looks so cool. (he mentions that as well).

Jimmy, that isn't a dumb question at all.

Both Foxes belong to clients and have been annealed. The frame on top will be engraved in a custom pattern and recased. This frame has since had some minor refinements done to it to further clean up the shape but overall what you see is what you get.

The bottom frame has also been annealed and is in the raw state and does not yet have the tangs bent. The client originally just wanted the tangs straightened and that would be the end of it. He has now decided that he wants a "C" grade pattern engraved on the gun which is, I feel, is a very wise choice.

The reason I posted this picture originally was to show the difference was to show the "before and after" of tang shapes and how it might radically change the appearance of the finished gun.

I should mention that both of these guns are small frame ejector Foxes the top gun being a 20 and the bottom a 16.