DIY RokStok in maple

[HighUintas]

That's looking great, @Mtnmilsurp ! How does the grain look through the wrist? That's been my only hesitation on making a wood rokstock/vertical grip. I'd be a little bit worried about strength in the wrist without having perfect grain flow though it.

 

[Mtnmilsurp]

That's looking great, @Mtnmilsurp ! How does the grain look through the wrist? That's been my only hesitation on making a wood rokstock/vertical grip. I'd be a little bit worried about strength in the wrist without having perfect grain flow though it.

I think this will be okay. There’s a slight downward bend in grain toward the toe which is great, but more importantly it seems to me that this curly maple is almost like OSB. The grain “waves” on about a 3/8” cycle which I think makes it tougher. If you’ve ever tried to split beech it’s kind of like that. Hopefully that property contributes to strength and stability but more experienced woodworkers can weigh in. I can also imagine how the discontinuity of the grain could be a liability. With a straight grained walnut I would definitely want proper grain direction. Now if it was hickory…

 

[Macintosh]

The wrist grain on a vertical grip stock is a lot of peoples hesitation, its why you dont see a lot of wood stocks in this configuration. Theres a guy I bumped into who builds VG wood stocks who said he hasnt run into any problems, but I’ve seen enough issues with grain runout in the wrist in shotguns subject to high volume shooting that it cant hurt to adress before its an issue. I think the curl in the grain will help, but also one possibility I was thinking about would be to drill a decent-sized hole up into the wrist and epoxy in a hardwood or solid carbon fiber dowel or similar, or 3-ish smaller holes and bed each with 1/8” threaded rod.

Edit: splitting beech is almost as much fun as splitting elm! Not much around left to split, but old timers will remember “fondly”.

 

[Decker9]

I think a lot of that grain flow issue has to do with recoil, Iv never been around a 6mmai, but suspect the recoil would be tame?

As Mac mentioned, a rod up through the wrist would help a lot if a guys thinking it may be an issue.

 

[Mtnmilsurp]

I’ve considered making a vertical slot in the top of the wrist behind the tang down to the back of the grip maybe 1/8” wide and 1/2” deep and epoxying a strip of aluminum in there. You would just see the top edge of that aluminum flush with the top of the grip area.

 

[Mtnmilsurp]

The wrist grain on a vertical grip stock is a lot of peoples hesitation, its why you dont see a lot of wood stocks in this configuration. Theres a guy I bumped into who builds VG wood stocks who said he hasnt run into any problems, but I’ve seen enough issues with grain runout in the wrist in shotguns subject to high volume shooting that it cant hurt to adress before its an issue. I think the curl in the grain will help, but also one possibility I was thinking about would be to drill a decent-sized hole up into the wrist and epoxy in a hardwood or solid carbon fiber dowel or similar, or 3-ish smaller holes and bed each with 1/8” threaded rod.

Edit: splitting beech is almost as much fun as splitting elm! Not much around left to split, but old timers will remember “fondly”.

Would a section of CF arrow shaft be strong enough to help?

 

[HighUintas]

I think it would help depending on how it's implemented.

I'm not sure if I would do anything proactively. The greatest risk of it breaking (unless you're shooting something that has TONS of recoil) is through dropping it... Which would suck to have happen in the field.

If I were going to insert some reinforcement, I'd probably drill a diagonal hole between the lower buttsock immediately behind the grip and the rear action screw, then epoxy in a threaded rod. A snug fitting CF arrow may help, but may not be rigid enough. I've never heard of someone using that to reinforce a grip. If weight is a major concern, I'd use a thin snug fitting aluminum tube with notches cut into it for better/more epoxy fill.

I honestly probably wouldn't worry about it. A cushioned recoil pad would likely prevent a break if dropped on the butt. If it breaks then reinforce it.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Edit: splitting beech is almost as much fun as splitting elm! Not much around left to split, but old timers will remember “fondly”.

Never split beech, but too many cords of elm to count. I never really had a problem with it so long as the logs weren't more than 16" or so. Any longer and they definitely made a guy sweat. Mulberry on the other hand, woof. That stuff is awful unless dried for a couple years.

This stock is awesome, and I actually checked in with Boyds last week to see if they had anything in hardwood or laminate similar to the Rokstock or Gunwerks Clymr in the works. They got back and said they do not and to consider the varmint pro if I was interested in a straight heel and adjustable comb.

 

[Macintosh]

Yeah, I agree with highuintas. I dont think an arrow will help—maybe a solid piece of rod that size, but not a hollow arrow. If you arent worried you arent worried, and as he said dropping it on a recoil pad is a lot different than onto a hard buttplate. Cumulative recoil is a thing too though, so if you are worried go to the hardware store and get a couple 4”-ish threaded 1/8” bolts, cut the heads off, drill a hole from inside the inletting that crosses the grain runout in the wrist but doesnt reach the bottom of the stock, and epoxy one or two of those inside the grip, and no one will ever know its there. Absolutely no need to make anything visible even if you do reinforce it.

 

[Billy Goat]

I'd think a 200 spine shaft would hold a lot. Epoxy it in.

Can double up shafts too. A "Standard" carbon arrow is .244-.246 inside. Lots of the micro diameter shafts can easily fit inside.


How many 1/4 rods could you hang 2 pounds on in the middle of a 28" span and it only sag .2" or less?

Years ago I made some doubled up shafts that deflected less than .1".

 

[Mtnmilsurp]

We shoot 127 LRX’s (hunting) and 108 scenars (practice) both at 2,750ish FPS (nearly identical BCs and POIs) so recoil is no concern for stock damage.

 

[Mtnmilsurp]

Now on to the bottom metal bedding/poured pillars. More taping, claying, waxing, and cleaning.

Once again let’s hope and pray I can get this all pulled back apart tomorrow!

 

[Stearinlys]

Success???

 

[Mtnmilsurp]

I got the barreled action out of the stock. The bottom metal and stock are chilling in the freezer now. I have to be careful with it because the epoxy is still curing…

 

[NWBLKTAIL]

The suspense is killing me, looking forward to seeing the finished project

 

[Mtnmilsurp]

I’m going to call it a win. I now have front and rear epoxy pillars and that .020” gap between magazine and receiver that Nathan Foster tells us will keep a Mauser cycling reliably. (CORRECTION: the gap is for accuracy—maintaining tension on action screws to hold action tightly against the stock)

After another day of curing I’ll scrub out the clay, reopen the trigger passage, and open the action screw holes so there’s no contact

The black staining on the pro-bed is inletting black that I didn’t get totally cleaned up before the bedding job. If you’re concerned about pretty bedding you want to make sure that you clean that stuff up before you bed.

 

[RepeatPete]

Looks great - really well done!

 

[lak2004]

This has to be one of the coolest diy projects on rokslide, nice work!

 

[03mossy]

Well done!!!!!

 

[Scottyboy]

Speechless. Simply incredible work!