Here is the link to the old thread you can pick it up where we left off…. a lot has happened since I asked for the opinion on the B grade checkering pattern, took a few liberties… hope the Fox guys approve of where things are going!

http://doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=255244&page=1

The big Fox is close to being finished, the wood work is done so now I need to concentrate on all the other messed up areas in need of repair, mostly cosmetic stuff and a bit of ejector work.
The bottom of the action, the trigger plate and guard are full of little dents, probably as a result of the previous butchering/restocking. Also the removal of the brazed tang extensions left a few scars but overall it is a great old Fox….and it shoots like a cannon, I put it all together and tried it out for function on some clays this past weekend, had a couple of boxes of old 1 1/8 oz AA handicap trap loads in 7 ½’s saved up for it, it reduced a few incomers to fine dust but the most fun was putting a ridiculous amount of lead on the high tower and crushing the targets to tiny little pieces at 50 + yards….now that was something.



New slightly oversized guard screws made



All dents struck off as well as the border engraving….will need to re-engrave. It was at this point that I realized the direction I needed to take, the work was turning out too nice to allow any of the old wood to go back on



To my way of thinking, a big straight grip gun like this looks better if the lines and proportions are correct, so I decided to make a new fore end.
A graded Fox ejector for end takes as much time to get perfect as a stock does….especially one this long and slender which also involved the re-setting of the latch at a different angle….lots of work there





I settled for a long and slender semi beavertail…I think it looks great and feels even better on the hand







After a lot of meticulous shaping, flat sanding and many hand rubbed coats of oil…she’s starting to look like something

Very nice! I particularly like your inletting work. Looks perfect.

I like the thin wrist but hope it is strong enough.

It's not as thin as it looks....picture is deceiving
CJ

Very nice!
Did you clean the place up for the pics or is it always like that?!
..elves perhaps..

I'd have to draw a circle around the work so you could find it in a photo taken in my shop...

That is perhaps the most "fluid" stock profile I have ever seen...hope your checkering pattern compliments it, gorgeous:)

Nice understatement Claudio. Can't wait to see the completed gun.

I am constantly amazed at the skills of the folks that hang out here.

Wonderful job. Bobby

Excellent inletting. Just how "big" is that Fox? You're shooting 32gm handicap loads with no recoil pad? I wince at 2.75 DE 1-ouncers in my 8 lb Fox. I have to do some soul searching to decide if it's worth stepping up from 7/8 ounce just to break a target. I have enough choke that it seldom is.

Looking forward to the continuation.

Mike it weighs 8 lbs 6oz, 2 7/8" chambers....and it's a pleasure to shoot with those loads
I was just fooling around with them because I had two full boxes left and wanted to see what it would do...will shoot 7/8 oz reloads out of it for the most part from now on.
More pictures on the way...

CJ

Here's the stock checkering...28 lines on the pannels and 24 on the grip.

Not like the original style but I think it works

CJ, very nice work to include your superb heading and inletting. I like that wood! These custom Foxes really stand out and especially so with "honey and smoke" stocks.

Not to hijack your thread my friend, but here's another one on a Super Fox that was factory ordered with many bells & whistles.... XE stock, Kautzky single trigger/rear, cheekpiece, monte-carlo comb, swivels and Silver's pad. Original stock was trashed when I got the gun, and this one was done in Turkish by ACGG stocker Craig Libhart to its original manufacturing card specs and weight. Frank

Thanks Frank…no problem, got lots of pictures left to post.
That’s a nice piece of wood on your gun…I was just down in Ohio and picked up a few great Turkish blanks myself…but that’s material for another thread
As you know from our previous conversations this gun I have was never going to be seen as original because of its unfortunate past, so it was a good canvas to paint a new picture, so that’s what I’ve tried to do….more pictures on the way

CJ

Very tasefully done. Is that a true continuous wrap around behind the tang? Very challenging for a point pattern. I'm a fan of execution versus flair and you certainly seem to have nailed it.

CJ, you did wonderful work on that canvas!

I had a friend email to me about that swivel eye. Yep that's the original one that Fox-Phila put on the Super.

I assume Mike asked about the Super Fox. If so, the checkering at the top of the wrist doesn't wrap over. We had the original XE grade stock to use as a model, and this one duplicates its checkering.

Actually, Frank, I was referring to CJ's checkering wraparound behind his triggerguard. Tang was the wrong word, sorry for the confusion. I knew yours was a true restoration so I'd assume the panels probably meet at a point on top of the wrist? In duplicating the original style did you alter the dimensions to fit or were the originals close enough?

Yes Mike it's a full wrap around.
Checkered butt and a very slender semibeavertail...

There ya go! I'll wraparound on a fill pattern, but ending in a forward point border? Superb.

I don't see any plugs...how did you balance that manly gun without adding a half-pound radial?

I hope you're a good shot, because you can't hide when you carry a gun like that.

Mike I can hold my own besides it's a Fox it almost shoots it self......no plugs needed the wood is heavy and dense and has almost 15" of pull, the forward forend wood levels off the weight well...it's balaced just about 1/2" in front of the hinge pin

CJ

I have to say the checkering is absolutely beautiful.
I have tried my hand at doing some re-checker and from a distance looks good, but on a close-up like yours all I can say is WOW.
A true artist.

CJO,
Love your work. Very nice beavertail-smart move. I would like to have seen some nice mullered borders on the checkering to frame the patterns. Nice any way you look at it, though.
JR

Thanks David, glad you like the work but I don't like doing it, I much rather spend the time working on the shapes and getting the lines correct as well as perfecting the finish.

John, I like mullered borders too but I wanted this one to look sleek and functional without overpowering the rest of the work...sometimes less says more

CJ

Here is a picture of the whole stock, the last of the wood sanding and shaping was done with 600 grit paper.... worth the extra effort I think
CJ

Stunning craftsmanship. A real beauty!

Here’s the whole thing, will have to set the decoys out a bit further this fall….just to be fair

CJ, That is the first beavertail I have ever seen that adds to the beauty of a shotgun. Beautiful!

Canvasback, +1; it is stunning!

Claudio, fantastic work as usual.

What did you use for a finisher?
Wet sanding?

Felicitaciones,

JC

Gracias Juan Carlos, the finish is basicaly a french polish using True Oil
cut with pomice and brought back with rottenstone at the end...no shortcuts

CJ

Thanks for the info.

JC

OK, Claudio, this is my first comment on your big gun. My big Parker will not look as good as yours when it is finished, but my decoys will be placed as far out as yours. If you want to do another long barrel B Grade Fox, let me know. Bill Murphy

By the way, Claudio, great minds think alike. My straight grip big Parker project was designed with a very long simple checkering pattern on the grip to exaggerate the length of the gun when viewed from the side or the bottom. To further exaggerate the length of the gun, the splinter was made about 12 1/2" long with a Becker style ivory inlay on the tip. Odd but wonderful. It would be nice if we could get them together at the Southern, but I don't know that mine will be finished. Murphy

This is good opportunity to learn how to post pictures. Why don't you let us see pix of Parker,work in progress?

Thanks Bill, If I make it down the Southern I'll bring it along...I have a long bbl Lefever to do next, probably next winter's project.
Your Parker project sounds interesting...N E is right some pictures would be nice.
The length of the FE on this one is just under 11" but I did that to create the illusion of shorter bbls and a sleeker line seems to work, but it is still a big gun.

BTW...I sold that Browning we spoke about sometime ago...worked out well for me

All best

Claudio

Very nice Claudio!

Sexy and sleek. Nice clean lines there Claudio. That forend just flows off the barrels.
Very Nice

I'm bringing this thread to the top so my friend Tom T. can look at the pictures of the big Fox.

very nice

Beautiful work as always CJ.

Beautiful work!