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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 3,964 Likes: 89
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 3,964 Likes: 89 |
Never tried bending myself but watching Jack Rowe do it years ago he said he always bent the wood by hand so he could "feel" the wood. Thought there was way too much risk of breakage if done mechanically. So he did it very similar to you, Chuck. He only used hot oil constantly poured over the stock--sorta messy and risked a fire (not nice).
When an old man dies a library burns to the ground. (Old African proverb)
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Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 3,437 Likes: 34
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 3,437 Likes: 34 |
Smaller (than my 2") knobs would give a better feel if you elect to push the stock over by turning knobs instead of pushing by hand. Maybe some small plastic ball/knobs? Seems like bigger knobs would give you finer control because rotation at the perimeter would translate to less movement at the stock. Personally, I am a fan of big knobs.
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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 13,880 Likes: 16
Sidelock
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OP
Sidelock
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 13,880 Likes: 16 |
Paul, When I was doing these, I was learning along the way. I would agree that trying to bend prior to heating thru is risky. I think that's why I simply pushed some deflection in the stock and then let it heat until it wouldn't springback when the pressure was released. That little test indicated that it had sufficiently heated thru. Of course that took another 10-15 mins beyond my initial 10-15 mins., which matches up with your experience of waiting 30 mins or so. JC, That's a nice clean, simple fixture. It's approximately the thickness of a friend's base for his fixture. Mine is overkill on the thickness. But I wanted to ensure I wasn't flexing the base, just the wrist of the stock. Joe, Thanks for the insight about how Jack Rowe did it. Comforting to get a hint that I have some instincts, even if Mike doesn't think I have shooting and hunting instincts. Rp, I think fine control is not needed. If it were, I'd use a finer thread pitch on the jackscrews. The "feel" of how much pressure is being applied is more important, IMO.
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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 13,880 Likes: 16
Sidelock
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OP
Sidelock
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 13,880 Likes: 16 |
Before the terminology police catch you guys, I thought I should warn you that these things are not "jigs", they are "fixtures". I swear on my monoblocked gun.
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Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 244
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 244 |
I have been looking at bending fixtures over the years and have seen many different designs running the gamut from lightly-built (as exemplified by Mike Orlen's bending fixture shown in JayCee's post ) to heavier-built (as exemplified by Chuck H's fine looking bending fixure). All of these designs apparently work quite well. The simplicity of Chuck H's fixture has finally inspired me to make my own.
Since the stock bending process requires the wood to be softened to the point that it is easily moved (i.e., requiring much force beyond finger pressure to move the wood indicates that either it has not been sufficiently heated or you are at the limits of the wood's bending potential), I am wondering if a heavy duty fixture is functionally necessary? My thought is that if finger pressure or slightly more is sufficient to bend the wood, then as long as the fixture is straight, stable, and reasonably well constructed, a lightly-built fixture should work fine for stock bending purposes . . . ?
I ask because I don't have much in the way of wood or metal working tools, and making a heavy duty bending fixture similar to some that I have seen, as impressive as they are, is beyond my meager capabilties. However, a carefuly constructed, lightly-built stock bending fixture is something I can pull off, but if it won't reliably make good bends, I won't bother.
What do the stock benders say: is not much force required to bend a properly heated stock and thus a lightly-built fixture will function perfectly fine for stock bending?
TIA
--shinbone
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 775
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 775 |
I have a fixture that I built some years ago to Mike Orlen's pattern. The base is made of two pieces of 3/4" plywood glued together to give a nominal 1 1/2" thickness. The end piece that creates the bending force is made of 2x4 lumber. I use common bar clamps to provide the force. So far (about 10 years)it has held up very well for my hobby use. I use good quality cooking oil to soak the cotton cloth around the wrist, and heat it until it begins to smoke before trying to bend the stock. After bending, I leave the stock clamped in place until the cloth is cool to the touch before removing the clamp(s). I always get some spring back after the clamps are removed, but have never had any later change.European wood seems to bend with less force than American walnut.
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Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 244
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 244 |
Tom Martin - Thanks for the input. Chuck H's fixture looks really good to me, but Mike Orlen's fixture is more within my capabilties (it is the welded aluminum that I can't do).
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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 13,880 Likes: 16
Sidelock
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OP
Sidelock
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 13,880 Likes: 16 |
A 2x4 jackscrew frame would be plenty sufficient, IMO.
I would still use a thick base since you don't want to flex the base at the same time you add pressure. How thick is thick enough to prevent flex? I dunno, but wood is cheap and I don't have to haul this around and up and down hills. I was trying to minimize the parts count and assembly tasks and still have the fundamental functions of the more complex fixtures out there.
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Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 244
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 244 |
Chuck H - makes sense to me. A 4x8 beam for the base is indeed super simple and super effective. And, a 4x8 wood beam is inexpensive for the rigidity you get.
BTW, how are the threaded inserts in the 4x8 held in place? Screwed into a predrilled hole? Epoxy?
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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 13,880 Likes: 16
Sidelock
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OP
Sidelock
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 13,880 Likes: 16 |
They're just screwed into a drilled hole. I bought them at a woodworking supply house, Rockler. But I think I found some more at a hardware store. I layed out a hole pattern that I thought would cover a wide range of gun lengths and gauges.
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