Does anyone have any experience in installing a buttstock oval to cover up an existing sling swivel hole ? I've searched for a video showing how it's done but have had no luck.

Is this something better left to the professionals ?

Thanks in advance

You might get a better response moving this question over to the DIY Gunsmithing forum listed on the main forum page.

Sounds like a perfect way to rid yourself of a sling swivel hole.
Karl

Time and patience is what is required. I soldered a brass screw to the back of the oval to help anchor it into the stock. I superglued a small nail to the face of the oval to use as a handle during inletting. Put a taper on the edges like anything should have that is being inlet into wood to get a tight fit. It's traditional to use shellac as a glue to anchor the oval. That's so that it can be removed by touching with a heated soldering copper. I just used epoxy. It can also be loosened with heat and is stronger.

Doing it without any spot refinishing would require a perfectly bent to shape oval that is inletted to the perfect depth.
Oherwise, you would inlet, secure and file/sand it flush with the wood and spot finish.

Putting an oval in place of a sling swivel is a good idea, however a lot of times mounts are lower on the stock that an oval notmally would be.

Brian,

The sling swivel hole is 4 3/8" from center of hole to end of butt plate.

Is that about typical of where the oval should be ?

Thanks, Karl

Classicioi,
I have 3 guns with them. The Merkel measures 2 1/2 in. and the two Browning sidelocks measure at 3 1/2. The buttstocks are 14 3/8 in. lenghth of pull from the front trigger.
Hope this helps.
Karl

Thanks Karl I also have three with ovals and they range from 2 1/2" on my English gun to 5" on my Beretta.

I was just curious if there was a standard distance they should be at.


Thanks, Karl

The brass and (german) silver ones have some thickness. They are easy to form and can be filed down a bit to fit the contour of the wood. The gold ones are very, very thin, and require a delicate touch to install.

I did it, Karl. I made mine from scratch from a thick piece of sheet brass I had laying around. Sawed it out with a jeweler's saw, filed a draft on the edges, roughed up the back real good so epoxy would grab it, and inletted it. I finish filed it and polished it down perfect with the surrounding wood, then refinished the wood. Turned out real well, I think. Been there about 8-9 years.

The front swivel hanger was soldered onto the under rib. I ground it off, polished where it was, and you can't tell it was ever there.

Glad I did it all.

SRH

if you have a gunsmith do it expect to pay trough the nose as it is very time consuming.....$300-450.....

A great inlay can be made from a pre 1964 silver quarter.

I didn't have a clue it would cost that much....

I may have to try it myself or just learn to live with it

If you have or can find a copy of Jim Carmichael's "Do it Yourself Gunsmithing", it has a good how to for this project starting on page 213.

I have lost count of the number of ovals I have fitted for all sorts of reasons though one of the commonest was after a gun became to old off the face the only valuable part left was the silver oval and so they where removed. To fit a replacement is not that difficult and the tools required are few in number. A short bladed sharp craft knife. Desirable is a small gouge with a very open curve, but you can manage without this. Though importantly you do need a small cranked chisel lets say blade about half the length of the oval, you can make one of these that will last long enough to do the job by heating and bending a small screw driver and just keeping it sharp. Over on this side of the pond I use a Victorian silver shilling available here for a couple of pounds. I am sure that you did have some silver coinage that you could use. First thing to do is shape the oval from the coin to match the stock curve in the position you want to place it, I find that heating the coin to red heat and letting it cool slowly softens it enough to make bending easier. Now if there is a secret if it is a secret to fitting an oval from scratch this is it, you file a 10 degreeish slope all round the edge of the oval. this will in fact make the base of the oval slightly smaller, then mark around the oval base and remove the wood slowly to about three quarters the depth of the oval. next place the oval on the position you have cut out but it will not drop in so far so good. Now comes the reason for the slope tap the oval with a piece of thin wood covering it with a small hammer the wood to reduce marking it, as the oval is taped into the stock the sloping edges swages the wood out slightly making a perfect fit. It sounds complicated but it is quite quick and easy to do, I then fix the oval into the stock with an epoxy resin adhesive when set file the silver down to the surface of the wood.

The oval should be positioned so it looks to be in the right place between the checkering and the toe . Doing it by eye is often better than a set measurement .

Thanks for all the good information provided.

Marty, I bought the book and should be here in a few days.

Regards, Karl

Karl,

I got mine when I was 18 and had joined the Outdoor Life Book Club. I pored over that book until I about had it memorized. Good luck with your project.

Marty

Thanks for sharing damascus.