I have a Savage Model 12 and I hate the cheap plastic stock it came with. I couldn't find anything I really liked online, so I decided I would try to make my own wood stock. I laminated an Oak core with some Catalpa on the outside (Oak is hard and dense so a great back bone and the Catalpa is lighter with a nice grain, plus, I had plenty of each so I wouldn't be out any cash if this turned out to be a disaster). The wood I used was kiln dried, and I have actually had this stuff for about 20 years so I knew it was stable and dry. I used a digital caliper to measure and reproduce the in-letting from the factory plastic stock and made pillars out of brass 3/8 inch barb fittings epoxied into the Oak. I then epoxied bi-axial fiber glass cloth to all the inner surfaces of the in-letting to increase rigidity and seal the wood, then bedded the action in JB-Weld steel reinforced Epoxy. The barrel is completely free-floated, and the recoil lug bedded solidly in epoxy. I in-letted for the original blind magazine, but I always like to shoot single shot so I also made a sled-style single shot feed ramp that drops in place of the magazine. When I cut out the stock, I left the length of pull long, then once I had all the carving done I gradually shaved down the butt stock until it fit my arm perfectly. The adjustable cheek riser was made using some 1/4 inch stainless steel rod, more brass barbs for the shafts, then nut-serts with allen inserts to lock it in place. For the finish, I used Rit Dye to dye the wood first graphite, then a couple light washes of navy blue, and finally a semi-gloss clear coat to give it sort of a chameleon effect. Depending on the light, it looks Grey, Black, Blue, or some combination of all three.
I made a few mistakes along the way, and when I did, I just ran the stock through the jointer to square it up and glued on new wood. Took me about a week working on it in the evenings after work, and it was really satisfying work. I learned a lot from this first stock and already have 3 more in progress. I am pleased with the way it turned out for my first one and am excited to incorporate what I learned on new ones going forward. Once I get good, I might switch over from free leftover wood and try something a little more exotic.
https://i.postimg.cc/151n8s1x/IMAG5402.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/TYkLK5VK/IMAG5403.jpggif upload site
https://i.postimg.cc/fbsNZBVm/IMAG5404.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/SxyBvj3f/IMAG5397.jpgpost a picture
https://i.postimg.cc/GtbpgbC8/IMAG5400.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/FRs1F9Yy/IMAG5409.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/fRf9MqHh/IMAG5398.jpg
