Custom Carbon Fiber Stock

Continuing the learning process with version 2:
 
I’ve decided to jump into the deep end and make my own carbon fiber stock. This will be going on a M700 7mm Rem mag, which currently wears a wood stock.

I did a ton of research here, read a lot of @Formidilosus posts, and decided I wanted a vertical grip, negative comb stock. I’m taller, so I’ve always added spacers to get a proper LOP and have recently added spacers under a stock pack to be a proper check weld. A custom stock would solve both of these, and cut some weight from a pretty heavy gun as well. My main influences were the first gen Gunwerks Magnus and the Peak44 Bastion.

My wish list was a 14 3/8” LOP (1” longer than stock M700), negative comb, trim forend for weight and carrying (I rarely shoot off bags or front rests other than tree branches), relatively straight toe line, and flush mounted Arca rail close to the central balance point.
I started out with an $8 takeoff stock from eBay for a good pattern, and laminated polystyrene insulation board for my mold. I cut and carved it most of the way before realizing it was too soft for my vacuum bagging process. So I repeated the process with green insulation board from Lowe’s, which is stiffer and finishes much nicer.

I also bought a bare long action bedding block from Stocky’s, the Arca balance rail from SRS, and a Microcell recoil pad. The skin will be carbon fiber, the aluminum bedding block will be bonded in place with Marine Tex with two carbon fiber rods as cross bolts through the bedding block.

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I am going to use a low budget vacuum bagging setup (vacuum storage bag from Harbor freight) with peel ply and a breather layer. The shell will be from a carbon fiber sleeve, like the “sock” in the infamous Sako video.

I was going to wait until I had a successful layup before posting, but I want to ask: any input on stock design or build process?

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Hell yeah man!
 
This is too cool, and has my brain going all
Sorts of places. Specifically…could I adapt this to making a chassis for my savage. I have an accustock that s going unused, and that
has the aluminum bedding block inside it that I could cut out and adapt.

Interesting. Will report back.
 
I’ve decided to jump into the deep end and make my own carbon fiber stock. This will be going on a M700 7mm Rem mag, which currently wears a wood stock.

I did a ton of research here, read a lot of @Formidilosus posts, and decided I wanted a vertical grip, negative comb stock. I’m taller, so I’ve always added spacers to get a proper LOP and have recently added spacers under a stock pack to be a proper check weld. A custom stock would solve both of these, and cut some weight from a pretty heavy gun as well. My main influences were the first gen Gunwerks Magnus and the Peak44 Bastion.

My wish list was a 14 3/8” LOP (1” longer than stock M700), negative comb, trim forend for weight and carrying (I rarely shoot off bags or front rests other than tree branches), relatively straight toe line, and flush mounted Arca rail close to the central balance point.
I started out with an $8 takeoff stock from eBay for a good pattern, and laminated polystyrene insulation board for my mold. I cut and carved it most of the way before realizing it was too soft for my vacuum bagging process. So I repeated the process with green insulation board from Lowe’s, which is stiffer and finishes much nicer.

I also bought a bare long action bedding block from Stocky’s, the Arca balance rail from SRS, and a Microcell recoil pad. The skin will be carbon fiber, the aluminum bedding block will be bonded in place with Marine Tex with two carbon fiber rods as cross bolts through the bedding block.

View attachment 589633
View attachment 589632
View attachment 589634
View attachment 589635
View attachment 589636
I am going to use a low budget vacuum bagging setup (vacuum storage bag from Harbor freight) with peel ply and a breather layer. The shell will be from a carbon fiber sleeve, like the “sock” in the infamous Sako video.

I was going to wait until I had a successful layup before posting, but I want to ask: any input on stock design or build process?

View attachment 589637
View attachment 589638
View attachment 589639
View attachment 589640
View attachment 589641
Based on your experience, is there any reason this basic method wouldn’t work for a chassis style stock instead, with a slot for an AR grip and a pic rail in the back for folding stock?

I have a full length aluminum bedding block and foreend reinforcement form a savage accustock to embed as well
 
Based on your experience, is there any reason this basic method wouldn’t work for a chassis style stock instead, with a slot for an AR grip and a pic rail in the back for folding stock?

I have a full length aluminum bedding block and foreend reinforcement form a savage accustock to embed as well

I think it would work really well, as long as the area behind the grip is reinforced enough to handle the leverage put through the pic rail section by the buttstock. Does the Savage aluminum bedding block extend backwards from the action? If not, I would just use a few extra layers of carbon in that back “stub” section.

I’ve had a similar project, just with a normal stock vs a chassis, but I wanted it to be folding. I specifically chose one of the Bell and Carlson stocks to start with because their full length bedding block has a section of aluminum tube that runs through the stock wrist/grip.
Here’s an internet picture:
1778204037662.jpeg

I cut the back end of the stock apart to do a more vertical grip, longer LOP, and negative comb. I haven’t added the folding mechanism yet, but i did run into the aluminum tube during sanding of the top of the wrist portion and it seems plenty beefy to handle the leverage from the folding stock on a small cross-section. You can see a bit of that aluminum tube after rough sanding through the first layer of carbon:
1778204317192.jpeg
 
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