Customizing a field stock for a pump shotgun

[Highpower]

Next question:

I need to shave some wood off from the bottom of the wrist/pistol grip. (Below the red line.) Can you "draw file" with a wood rasp? Or should I just file it at an angle going parallel to the grain as much as I can? With the curvature of the grip I won't be able to file (rasp) straight down the line of the stock (if that makes any sense).   

[TomG]

Willie,

I wouldn't use a rasp that close to the finish contour. A double-cut half round bastard (not John) would be safer and more appropriate. Just get close and then switch over to sandpaper on a stick to finish up. Start with 60 grit and work your way down, extending well up into the curved section for a good blend.

Tom

[Highpower]

Thanks Tom. I'm thinking "rasp" may have been the wrong description on my part. I bought one of these Grobet "Vulcanite" files because it has both course and fine cut sides. I've seen them described as for jewelers, for carving wax molds? And I also see them for fine detail work on wood? I'm not sure what they are actually made for.   

http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/store...etail_File

At any rate, I'm just guessing filing across the grain is to be avoided at all cost - correct?
I'll need to work on thinning the comb a bit too because of my fat head, but I want to finish getting it fit to the receiver and get the recoil pad installed first. Oh.... and the replacement miter saw is a go!  No rust, 3/32" backlash at the blade tip, no burning smell and only took some minor adjustments to get the blade perfectly square to the table and the fence. 

But I've got other issues I need to deal with right now. Heater hoses on the wife's car and I discovered some rust holes in my furnace vent pipes. So now I have to clear a ton of stuff out of the basement to get at them. I can never finish a single project without interruptions. <sigh>
But the furnace vent gets priority of course because I'll have to turn it on here before long, and I'd rather not wake up dead some morning. 

Back to work......

[DaveH]

(10-27-2014, 06:31 AM)TomG Wrote: Willie,

A double-cut half round bastard (not John) would be safer and more appropriate.
Tom

   

DaveH

[TomG]

(10-27-2014, 10:12 AM)Highpower Wrote: Thanks Tom. I'm thinking "rasp" may have been the wrong description on my part. I bought one of these Grobet "Vulcanite" files because it has both course and fine cut sides. I've seen them described as for jewelers, for carving wax molds? And I also see them for fine detail work on wood? I'm not sure what they are actually made for.   

http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/store...etail_File

At any rate, I'm just guessing filing across the grain is to be avoided at all cost - correct?

Willie,

That is a double-cut half round bastard, just what you need. And filing across the grain is the best way to shape wood. Even sanding across grain works well for roughing. Use criss-cross diagonal strokes with the file and sandpaper to develop and blend the curves. Once the contour is finished though, sanding across the grain is a no no.

Tom

[Highpower]

Well there you go. Something else I didn't have a clue about with woodworking. I assumed shaping had to be done with the grain just like the final sanding. Thank you again Tom. My idea of woodworking is watching Norm Abraham on TV. That's as close as I'll ever get. Obviously none of what I have watched has stuck though.