I have a benchrest stock made by McMillan from the early eighties and was wondering if there is a two part foam you could mix and add to the hollow buttstock. I don't want to use great foam because you have to do it in layers or it wont dry believe or not. I don't want to add any real weight but some is tolerable.
I have some ideas but which one depends on why you want to fill it, so I have to ask "Why do you want to fill it"?
Maybe leave the butt plate so it can swivel on one of the screws and the hollow is partially open, then use a dowel and pack it full of Styrofoam packing peanuts??? You wouldn't have to wait for it to dry and if you have to remove it no mess. Foam rubber from an old pillow or egg crate style camping pad might work and be a little more substantial.
Maybe a hairbrained idea/ maybe not :becky:
I have filled stocks with foam insulation that comes in pressurized cans.
I want to fill it to add alittle weight and have something to attach a butt plate to by adding a small piece of wood over the foam.
^^This. You can get the regular foam or the expanding foam. It adds a little weight and stiffens up the stock a bit.Quote:
Originally Posted by short round
Not to discourage or detract from your idea, but I found that adding the Nylon Cheek-rest on my 10FCPK (Blackhawk with pocket) added the weight needed to balance it out and I was able to raise my cheek-well with foam insert wrapped in gorilla tape. I keep two extra box magazines, a bore-snake, a lens pen, and cloth in the side pocket and it works great. Pictures in my post on the picture area.
This is a benchrest stock and I shoot free recoil so no need for any hardware whatsoever.
Roger that. Please disregard my last! Good luck with the filler!Quote:
Originally Posted by jonbearman
I think I would use an epoxy and Styrofoam mix. You may even consider mixing wood flour, wood shavings or even saw dust. The more wood product you use the less weight you will add, and the mixture will hold a screw. To further reduce weight you might want to aerate the mixture. The only thing that would concerned me is the volume of the epoxy mix, it may generate too much heat. I guess you could wrap the stock in a wet towel while the epoxy cures.
If weight is not your real concern, just epoxy a block of wood in place and skip the foam. I've actually skipped the wood and glued an aluminum butt plate directly to the butt.
There was one time when shooting heavier bullets got the best of me, and I added a butt pad made from the sole of a flip-flop. The weight of the foam sole was light enough not to put me over the weight limit, and I attached it with contact cement, just in case I had to remove later.
Go to a hobby store and find a big chunk of Balsa wood. Then trim it down to fit the buttstock and take up most of the room. Mix up some 2 part epoxy from Devcon, Loctie, etc. and fill the rest of the stock with that. You could use wood shaving/sawust but the epoxy adds most of the weight so adding the balsa wood cuts down on the weight by taking up space.
I used Bondo Body filler to fill a stock before, just make sure it's the chemically hardened stuff and not the air dry stuff. Not overly heavy, but made it real nice and solid with no cheap hollow sound. Careful if you choose the expanding foam have seen pictures where guys cracked their stock open from the expansion.
Sharpshooter,that isn't a bad idea. Does anyone know what McMillan uses to fill their stocks with that white stuff?
What McMillan uses is some kind of proprietary mix, that is very hard and light but also chalky. It reminds me of gypsum the way it scrapes off, and nothing seems to want to bond very well because of the lack of density. I've never seen it used in any other stocks.
I haven't tried this, but someone on another forum recommended using plumbers putty. It would not add rigidity like bondo, but would be very easy to remove if you decided you wanted to try something different. Also, if you decide later that you would like to add some weight, it would be easy to add in some bb's or lead shot.
Ive heard of people using plumbers putty to fill stock and add weight, I have never tried it but heard it works well.
Sorry didn't catch post before me, Oh well that's 2 for PP
Washers and then stuff it with couch foam to prevent rattling. Removable.
Over the years as a gunsmith, have done this for several customers, Savage and Rem rifles. Customer wants a shortened stock, new recoil pad fitted. A lot of times you cut off the section that has the plastic threaded pillars for the pad screws. I fill with foam from a can, cut off the excess next day. I then relieve the foam inside, and cut a slab of Poplar that will barely fit inside if you tap it in. I get this from a cabinet makers shop, strip is 3/8 thick, 4" x4 ft is $3 or so. I then notch the sides of the poplar plate, mix up some thick acra glass with the fiberglass floc, coat the sides of the stock inside the cavity, and a generous coat for the notches on the side of the poplar piece, all the way around. I tap in, let sit overnight. I then fit my pad, drill 2 tiny pilot holes,and screw it on. Poplar is less likely to split, than any other wood out there, learned that from my cabinet making friend.