Zebra wood stock. Ready for the range. Final post.

[sparky123321]

Both barrel and action are just over 1.3" and I used a 1.25" router bit. I needed to open it up a little by hand so the barrel will be free floating and there will be a little extra room for the bedding epoxy under the action. I was going to use a 1.5" bit, but that was a little larger than I wanted to go. I did remove extra wood using a 1" flat bottom bit down the center of the channel, so even with the zebra wood it's not too much work to open it up. I use a piece of pipe wrapped in sandpaper.

[deerhunter85]

Man that stock is sweet I need one for a 110fp how much and I would like one in walnut

[redlabel]

You could maybe incorporate another piece of zebra wood laying flat on the bottom of the forearm to stiffen it up

[sparky123321]

That's a great idea. Luckily, the additional forearm wood seems to have taken care of the problem. I'm going to let it sit and slabilize for a while before applying the finish, but so far so good.

[nd-hunter]

looks really good. :) Are you going to leave the zebra wood natural when finished?

[sparky123321]

I was leaning towards a natural satin finish, but I haven't decided yet. I'd really like to keep it from ambering, so I might go with a polycrylic. I'll try a few tests on some scrape wood.

Had a little set back while bedding the action. The steel epoxy didn't setup properly. I might have been off on the ratio or it was a bad batch. I had to dig and drill out the semi hardened epoxy. I'll give it another try in the day or two.

[nd-hunter]

natural satin finish yeah that would really bring out the woodgrain nicely. excellent work :)

[Eric in NC]

Zebra is tough to work with AND it smells like an outhouse when you work it (my experience anyway). Did a guitar body a while back - turned out nice, but I would worry about it being stable enough for a precision stock even if it is laminated.

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd314/erbeckerdite/zebra.jpg

[shovelheadave]

That's a great looking Tele too !!

[sparky123321]

I just finished bedding the action and the first inch or so of the barrel on the first zebra wood stock. This was my second attempt, since the first batch of epoxy didn't setup properly. I did get one small bubble around the center action screw. That was really my fault though, I let the stock slip while wrapping the first inner tube. This pour was a little bigger than I normally do, due to the fact that I had to redrill the pillar holes and around the recoil lug area to dig out the the epoxy that didn't setup properly on my first attempt. I made sure to use measuring cups this time around to make sure my mix ratio was right on the money. I could fill the small void caused by the bubble or skim coat the entire area, but I'll probably leave it as is. The bedding came out great and I hate to mess with it just because of that small void.

Hopefully the pictures will be enough to show the bedding process I use. I only drill through the rear action hole to help properly align the stock. I drill the holes for the pillars almost all the way through the stock. I will back drill those holes to the epoxy with a Forster bit to ensure my action screws have a flat and solid contact area.

I'm hoping to have my 6" cross slide dill press vise tomorrow, so I can inlet the trigger and trigger guard areas this week. I have not used a drill press vise before for my inlets, but I'm planning to produce a more exact and professional looking inlet this time around. After that I just need to do a final shaping of the tang area, cut the butt to length, install a recoil pad, final sand and the finish the stock.

I can't wait to get this one to the range!!!!!

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h457/zargon123/IMG_1630.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h457/zargon123/IMG_1632.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h457/zargon123/IMG_1633.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h457/zargon123/IMG_1634.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h457/zargon123/IMG_1635.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h457/zargon123/IMG_1636.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h457/zargon123/IMG_1637.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h457/zargon123/IMG_1638.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h457/zargon123/IMG_1639.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h457/zargon123/IMG_1640.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h457/zargon123/IMG_1641.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h457/zargon123/IMG_1644.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h457/zargon123/IMG_1645.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h457/zargon123/IMG_1646.jpg

[sparky123321]

I completed the inletting of the trigger guard and trigger area today. I also did a little more shaping on the tang area. Not much left to go. I just need to do the cutout for the bolt handle, install a recoil pad and give it a final shaping and sanding. I plan to have it completed, including the finish, within the next week. Here are a few more photos. I won't be posting anything else until it's completed and ready to go to the range.

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h457/zargon123/IMG_1649.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h457/zargon123/IMG_1648.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h457/zargon123/IMG_1647.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h457/zargon123/IMG_1651.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h457/zargon123/IMG_1650.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h457/zargon123/IMG_1653.jpg

[tinkerer]

OK, I give. Why no pillars during bedding?

Larry
Tinkerer

[sparky123321]

I pour the pillars using steel epoxy. The pillars are around 1" in diameter. The pillars and the action bedding are one solid piece of steel epoxy. Very very strong and a nice tight fit.

[sparky123321]

Just going to hit it with a little bleach and then do a final sanding before I apply the polycrylic. I'm really happy with the way this one turned out. The pictures don't even do it justice.


http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h457/zargon123/IMG_1654.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h457/zargon123/IMG_1655.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h457/zargon123/IMG_1657.jpg

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http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h457/zargon123/IMG_1659.jpg

[frank1947]

just FABULOUS, you did a really good job.

[03mossy]

Simply amazing!! nice job!

[sparky123321]

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h457/zargon123/IMG_1662.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h457/zargon123/IMG_1663.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h457/zargon123/IMG_1664.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h457/zargon123/IMG_1665.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h457/zargon123/IMG_1666.jpg

[frank1947]

WOW!

[Eric in NC]

Tough stuff to work with. Did you find the smell pleasing? ;)

You must be a great wood worker to get a stock out of zebra wood!

What finish did you use? Did you fill it all?

[sparky123321]

Zebra wood is definitely the toughest wood I've ever worked with. It beats the "you know what" out of bits and blades. I guess it's lucky I've had 3 sinus surgeries because the smell really didn't bother me too much. I didn't want it to amber or yellow anymore than necessary, so I used polycrylic instead of polyurethane. I didn't use any filler. I was very careful when I picked out the wood, laid out the patterns and made my cuts.