Stock Modification - DIY raised cheek piece on a Boyd's Tacticool (Savage 10FP)
My 13-year old son and I have been competing in local scoped rifle matches for the past couple of years. We've been sharing a Savage 10FP in .308 which has worked, but being selfish, I slowly been accumulating the pieces to put together a rifle specifically for him so I could have mine back! A friend of ours provided a donor action and barrel - a Savage 10FP with a stainless steel fluted barrel chambered in .223. I purchased an aftermarket recoil lug and, direct from Savage, detachable bottom metal hardware. Since we didn't have a lot of money to spend on a stock, we opted for a Boyd's Tacticool. Priced at about $100, it wasn't a bad choice to keep the project rolling and I've been really happy with my stock purchases from Boyd's in the past. To properly hold the action, I installed pillars (using lamp rod) and bedded the action to the stock using Brownells Acraglass. A fair amount of work was required during the bedding prep to ensure that all five rounds would feed reliably from the magazine. It was definitely not a "drop-in" fit, but after doing some research I've found that there are a couple of different bottom metal patterns. I'm not sure exactly which one we ended up with, but it all works.
Once we had the action properly bedded, we began looking for a suitable optic. Trying to stay value-minded, I kept leaning toward the SWFA line-up of fixed-power scopes. I have had both 10x and 20x versions in the past and each proved to be a worthwhile investment. The 20x had been mounted atop a Barrett 50 BMG and was useful for 1000 yard matches. Where we shoot, however, the mirage quickly takes over during the morning matches. That and I figured that it would be a bit much for our local matches which max out at about 600 yards. I was eventually able to pick up a used SWFA 12x scope with TPS rings for a good price.
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With the scope mounted in the low TPS rings, my son and I were both unable to get a good view through the scope while maintaining proper cheek weld. We took the rifle to the range and ran 15 shots through it just to check the bedding job and see if the rifle would shoot. We were both shooting slightly less than MOA groups with the rifle paired with some 69gr. factory match ammo. With some more break-in, and maybe some hand loading, it should do even better.
In order to address the eye/scope alignment issue, I chose to do a DIY raised cheek piece. I had employed this "fix" to the Bell & Carlson Tactical Medalist that my .308 rides in, and thought that the same basic process would work on the Tacticool. While commercially available hardware is available for this mod, it is hard to beat the DIY route - using about $8 worth of hardware from the local Tractor Supply store. I began by laying out the profile of the cut to the stock with blue painters tape. I found this technique to work really well for visualizing the shape of the cheek piece and for also following the cut line with the blade. Next, I made a right angle jig to hold the stock. Once the stock was leveled and secure, I cut out the cheek piece on the band saw. After some light sanding of the stock and cheek piece, we laid out the locations for the stop collars. Finding the center of the stock was easy as it contained 23 layers of even-thickness laminate. I counted in to the middle section and center punched it. Since the stop collars are 3/4" in diameter, I chucked up a matching Forstner bit in the drill press. A level vial with double stick tape was secured to the stock to ensure that it set level on the drill press table. A second level kept us drilling square to the stock in all aspects. While I held everything steady, my son plunged the bit into the stock.
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After drilling the 3/4" holes deep enough to accommodate the stop collars, we moved onto drilling the holes that would allow the riser rods some room to move. We drilled these holes slightly over sized, which really wasn't necessary. The holes will eventually fill with epoxy and will be drilled out later on. When they are drilled out, only a 3/8" bit can be used due to the collar's inner diameter. In hindsight, one could probably just drill for the stop collar, epoxy it in place as I've done here, and then drill the counter-bored 3/8" hole.
Next up, drill 1/4" access holes for the height adjustment. Using a square, I extended the center lines of each original hole drilled for the stop collars down the side of the stock. After center punching the location of these holes it was back to the drill press.
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Next, we installed the collars and ensured that the access holes were in line with the set screw threads. We simply installed some 1/4" bolts to be sure.
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I wanted to make sure that the stop collars held securely in the stock, so the first step to accomplish this was to undercut the 3/4" holes a bit. I used a Dremel tool with a wood-cutting bit to do this. Each stop collar was then clamped in my vise, released, turned slightly, then clamped again. This was repeated and effectively knurled the stop collar, providing some "tooth" for the epoxy. I prepped the stop collars for installation by cleaning them with lacquer thinner. Using a Q-tip, I applied paste wax to the inside of the stop collar and the threads. The stock was taped off to protect it from excess epoxy and paste wax was applied to the exposed wood. The areas coated with paste wax should prevent any lock-up where it isn't desired. Two sections of 3/8" rod and the two 1/4" bolts were used to secure the stop collars in place while the Marine Tex epoxy cured.
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After allowing the Marine Tex time to set up, I sanded off the extra. I then made small locator pins out of short sections of the 3/8" rod. I sharpened the rod on the grinder, to a somewhat flattened point.
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I set the cheek piece on top of the sock and held it in place with an even reveal. I had my son lightly tap on the cheek piece with a small hammer. The resulting transfers were perfect. Each fell exactly on the middle piece of laminate. We then leveled the cheek piece on the drill press and bored 25/64" holes for the riser rods. We over-bored for a couple of reasons; one, to allow adequate space for epoxy and, two, to give some wiggle room in case things weren't perfectly square.
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Using my cordless drill and some sandpaper, I dressed up the riser rods just a bit. I used 120, 220, 320, and finally 400 grit paper to give them a nice brushed finish. Using the same technique that I employed to knurl the collars, I clamped the first 1/2" inch or so of the riser rods in the vise several times. Hopefully this ensures that they will provide some "bite" for the epoxy.
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All that was left was to install the cheek piece. I began by prepping the surface of the stock cut and the cheek riser. I didn't want epoxy to adhere to these surfaces so I coated them with some paste wax. Using a Q-tip, I cleaned the interior of the freshly drilled holes with lacquer thinner and did the same to the knurled portions of each riser rod. I then mixed up another small batch of Marine Tex, inserted it into the holes in the cheek piece, and taped everything in place. With the epoxy still pliable, I separated the cheek piece from the stock. The excess Marine Tex was easy to clean up with a utility knife. A few days later I hit the stock with Duracoat Tactical Black. It's a bit on the flat side and this may be due to my aging hardener. The mix ratio was spot on, but the hardener is getting a little more viscous then when new. I think I've had it for over a year now.
Next up, cheek piece adjustment. I had my son lie on the floor and close his eyes as he made a good cheek weld. Once he opened his eyes, we loosened the set screws and played with the height of the cheek piece. We repeated the process as we worked toward a clear view through the scope.
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I order to take some stress off of the small set screws and to make reinstalling the cheek piece repeatable, I picked up some 3/8" inside diameter, zinc-plated steel sleeves at Lowe's today.
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I measured the height needed and cut each sleeve slightly oversized with a hacksaw. I then chucked them in the drill press and lowered the spindle, pressing the cut portion of the sleeve onto a piece of coarse sandpaper. This was repeated over and over, effectively "sneaking up on the length", until both sleeves measured right on. The final step was to chuck each sleeve into my hand drill and use some files to de-burr and chamfer the cut ends.
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The finished project(s): my son's rifle (the black and silver rifle in .223) and my rifle (green and gray in .308). Ready for the next match.
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