doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Stock bending questions

Greetings all,
I was wondering what the limitations are when bending stocks for drop and cast. Referring to vintage English doubles, what is the maximum that can be realistically bent? 1/4"? 1/2"?
Are semi-pistolgrips more difficult to bend than straight hand?

I've only bent a few, but one vintage Parker, friend Mark and I bent, went fully 3/4" up at the heel without cracking. It may have had something to do with the oil soaked stock. I don't know. But the grain was right down the line of the wrist and had no figure. It was a semi pistol.



Another Spanish gun, I bent had a slight angle to the grain thru the wrist and it cracked slightly with only 3/8" of bend.

Hi Chuck:

Did the stocks that you bent return to their original positions after they were bent?

Thanks,

Franchi

Franchi,
I have not measured any creeping back of my stocks. I bent a Parker Repro about 3/8" down and it was bent about a 1/4" earlier. It has stayed there for more about 6 months. Mark has his gun with the "big bend" so I don't know about that one. Maybe he'll see this and check that gun.

I don't have enough bending experience to conclusively say, but I think the creeping back over time has to do with residual stresses. I believe that letting the stock set in the desired bend position and keeping the heat on for a longer time relieves those stresses.

I was not able to post yesterday. Chuck H is correct. Each stock is an individual. Each one is an adventure. If the bender knows what to do and when..... the guns will NOT bend back over time. The average rule of thumb is: no stock may be bent past 1/2" in any direction. Each stock is different. I have bent many stocks in the past 30 years. No two were alike in how they reacted to the bending process. The bender is the one who uses his eyes and ears to do the job well. The actual process has been detailed out carefully for many years. It is not rocket science....just science applied to organic composition to make shooting more fun!

One additional suggestion: inspect the stock very closely for earlier repairs. I just had a stock bent (straight-grained wood with a half hand grip that was bent less than 1/2") and an invisibly repaired crack appeared in the head. Fortunately, it was relatively small and will be easily repaired, but it was a reminder that bending can present surprises.