PathFinder
WKR
After spending weeks combing through and mulling over all of the stock options for my Tikka 6 UM build, I finally decided that it was time to do it right myself. Every stock on the market had at least one obnoxious design flaw, and nearly all had a lead time ranging from inconvenient to humorously absurd. Paying someone to get it wrong didn't seem like the thing to do, so I did this instead.
In terms of complexity I'd say this is just a little more difficult than bedding a stock. Anyone with the ability to bed a stock and watch YouTube could pull this off themselves. I believe that @ResearchinStuff did his own Tikka factory stock as well that turned out nicely.
The stock was originally a Manners EHT. I had previously shortened the LOP, added a 1" limbsaver, and added flush cups. There were 3 things to address originally, and I added a couple more later on.
Mark out and cut stock for changes. I cut the grip, top, and bottom of the butt off
Carve/drill into the foam and filler so that the new foam can mechanically bond
Re-shape cut off pieces as needed. I reused the top and bottom of the stock but not the grip. They were positioned using wood screws to set the height. Something lighter could have been an option. Tape in place.
Fill with polyurethane foam. Pour foam would probably be better, this was canned Loctite Tite Foam and it was at least as good as whatever Manners filled it with. It does need oxygen to cure so the tape had to come off.
Carve foam down to shape. Leave room for Bondo layer and CF layers.
Use glass filled bondo to give additional structure and a smooth profile before adding CF. This step adds weight and may be omittable if the foam work is perfect. Mine wasn't so I added the Bondo.
Grind/file/sand bondo to smooth profile.
Do CF layup. I used a kit from Amazon with twill weave fabric. It does a pretty good job of following the contours of the stock. There are tutorials on Youtube on how to do it. I was being lazy and didn't use tape or a vacuum bag for consolidation, just a squeegee to remove excess resin. All three layers of fabric were done in one application. After that cured I added on more layer of resin to smooth things out. There were a couple stray fibers so I filed them off. The entire stock will be sanded and rattle canned in the next few weeks.
In terms of complexity I'd say this is just a little more difficult than bedding a stock. Anyone with the ability to bed a stock and watch YouTube could pull this off themselves. I believe that @ResearchinStuff did his own Tikka factory stock as well that turned out nicely.
The stock was originally a Manners EHT. I had previously shortened the LOP, added a 1" limbsaver, and added flush cups. There were 3 things to address originally, and I added a couple more later on.
- Vertical grip with correct distance to trigger
- Flatten the bottom of the butt of the stock
- Raise the top of the stock, and angle it upwards.
- Carve a bunch of the bondo like substance out of the barrel channel, open up the barrel channel for a 3B contour. Add in two carbon fiber rods (arrow shafts) and fill with MarineTex mixed 50/50 with chopped carbon fiber.
- Add carbon fiber pillars, again from arrow shafts
- Fully bed with MarineTex.
- Permanently bond Lumley bottom metal
- Finish & paint
Mark out and cut stock for changes. I cut the grip, top, and bottom of the butt off
Carve/drill into the foam and filler so that the new foam can mechanically bond
Re-shape cut off pieces as needed. I reused the top and bottom of the stock but not the grip. They were positioned using wood screws to set the height. Something lighter could have been an option. Tape in place.
Fill with polyurethane foam. Pour foam would probably be better, this was canned Loctite Tite Foam and it was at least as good as whatever Manners filled it with. It does need oxygen to cure so the tape had to come off.
Carve foam down to shape. Leave room for Bondo layer and CF layers.
Use glass filled bondo to give additional structure and a smooth profile before adding CF. This step adds weight and may be omittable if the foam work is perfect. Mine wasn't so I added the Bondo.
Grind/file/sand bondo to smooth profile.
Do CF layup. I used a kit from Amazon with twill weave fabric. It does a pretty good job of following the contours of the stock. There are tutorials on Youtube on how to do it. I was being lazy and didn't use tape or a vacuum bag for consolidation, just a squeegee to remove excess resin. All three layers of fabric were done in one application. After that cured I added on more layer of resin to smooth things out. There were a couple stray fibers so I filed them off. The entire stock will be sanded and rattle canned in the next few weeks.
