I would like to rebarrel my LA 110e from .30-06 to .35 Whelen. Already received my Boyd's JRS laminated stock, near perfect drop-in, just needs tiny bit of inletting around rear of trigger guard. So far so good! As it is w/ the .30 Savage factory contour barrel, there is decent free-float gap all the way to the lug. I don't plan to bed initially, will see how it shoots first.

This is to be a hunting rifle, MOA is acceptable. My question is about the stock barrel channel---the Boyd's is STANDARD LA factory channel, but the 110 A&B barrel in 35Whelen is a factory MAGNUM contour---any suppositions on how much wood would need to be removed to permit the new barrel to free float? How big a WOOD project is this? (I know I'll need to headspace, etc.)
Does anyone know IF opening the channel is even necessary for this particular conversion?

I've read some tips on opening the channel(eg. sanding drum, sandpaper-on-a-dowel,etc) but would appreciate any actual experiences with this specific project. All insights appreciated.
Thanks, CF