Boyds Classic conversion to centerfeed

[onesureshot]

I got a deal on a couple of Boyd's Classics and plan to use them on some prjects over the next few months.

The one I am working on now I ended up with a new Stevens 200 centerfeed mag and have read over the different info on converting them. I feel pretty comfortable doing this, and while I do not have much stock tweaking experience, I have had to make a couple work in the past and this seem pretty staright forward.

In comparing the Boyd's to the factory take off, I was thinking of using a chisel to scrape out the rear area that needs to be fit, then gluing some cut to fit wood into the front and bottom of the mag well to support the magazine.

For the front action screw, I have read it needs to be moved forward 1/16th to 1/8th inch, depending on where you read. I was thinking about it and was trying to come up with a way to drill the hole, but not have the bit wander into the existing hole. What if I filled the existing hole with JB Weld, let it set up for a few days, then marked and drilled the new hole and counterbore to fit the estuchion that comes in the stock?

I figured rather than leaving the small gap in the rear of the hole from moving everything forward, it would leave just a small crescent shaped spot of JB Weld, which would give it a more finished look than having a gap.

Is there and easier / better way to do this? I have gone through the threads here, and looked on other forums to try and find a "How to" pictorial on the conversion, but came up empty handed.

Any advise / input is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[glockeyed]

i did this to a featherweight.

the "1/16th to 1/8th inch" is closer to 1/4in. i didn't do it, I like your JB weld idea.
and more than likely your action screws will be too short. a trip up to ACE hardware can solve this.

not sure of your caliber, but to shim the mag, i used the large home depot paint stirrers. a piece on the other 3 sides snugged up pretty good.

[onesureshot]

That is funny, I was planning on trying the paint stir sticks from Home Depot. Did you put a piece under the mag at all, or just on the sides? When I sat my mag in place, it seemed a bit low, like it needed something on the bottom, but maybe that is because I was just playing around and didn't have the action in place above it or the stock inlet to allow the "L" shaped piece to sit down in properly.

[rjtfroggy]

When I did it the piece I removed for the L clip was the perfect size for the front of the mag.As for the hole I opened up a little wider then used a piece of lamp rod,made a pillar and epoxied in place,filled in the gap.The bottom needed nothing but the sides were a little loose so I epoxied a small shim in place.

[glockeyed]

nothing needed on the bottom. the side fit, and the "front" was the really snug one.

[tj66]

I've done a couple of these. For the front hole I had good luck drilling it out to accept a aluminum piller and then epoxy it into place then bedding them. Have also used strips of aluminum to shim the mag boxes. Hope this helps.