doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com A satisfying *CLICK* and the inletting's done!

Finally the release latch clicks up to the barrel hook and woo-hoo!
Inletting this boxlock O/U fore-end has been a humbling experience. When I started the project I didn't realize the F-E is much more difficult than the buttstock! The wood and metal learned me a bit; the buttstock has a single direction of inletting - just push the darn thing in, but the F-E has about 3 major axis of inletting. Downward for the barrels, inward for the fore-end iron, and upward for the release latch. And they all have to meet up rather well, or it can be done again. This is my second go at it. The first was not pretty.

Now for the fun part - shaping, finishing and checkering, which I've done before.

Congratulations! Now, the fun part begins. Wish I could do that.

I tell people that the fore end has about ten times as much fitting as the butt stock. You have metal coming in three directions, a long area of barrel to fit properly, ejectors and fore end metal tang and the fun areas of release to deal with. The outside is fairly simple to deal with compared to the inside. This explains why 95% of the restocked old guns just got a butt stock and not a matching fore end. Too much work to do unless you have a Dam---- good reason to do it. Nice job by the way but looks like your double is deformed by 90 degrees.

Nice job. Looks like it will swing like a fence post tho...

The flat surfaces make for easy checkering, though!

Try a wrap-around pattern just for the challenge

Shaping and checkering? I don't see why you can just leave it like it is.

Nice!! Looks great, I've been waiting for these pictures...can't wait to see it as it progresses further.

Congratulations on a nice looking execution. Keep us posted on the final stages of your shapeing and finishing. Remember, your file is as good an "engraver" as a chisel. Go slow and check often on where your file is going. No need to have "free engraving" on your barreled action metalwork because you got in a hurry. OK, experience speaking here. Not fun to repair your mistakes and pay for it in time, money, and frustration afterwards. A word to the wise.

This is the flatbottomed shape the manufacturer's tell us is "THE" shape for stability needed for targets.