filling a selector cutout with wood patches

Claven2

Claven2

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Some people like to have selector cutouts filled with wood. It closes off a big opening where junk and debris can get in the firing mechanism, provides a little more support at the heel, and if you are going to bed the stock, it improves the available bedding area.

There is no "right way" to do this this, but this is how I do it.

I use black walnut to fill black walnut stocks. These walnut scraps came from a junk Lonbranch sporterized enfield stock. I test it with a little oil to ensure the color is close.

cut and shape the block that fills the inside of the inletting first. I shape it on power sanders and check for fit often. I drill a few 1/16" deep 1/16" holes in the stock and patch to give the epoxy something to grab. I use 2-part clear epoxy to glue in and let set. The patch is pre-notched for what will be the outwardly visible patch later.

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Next I fill the D-shaped section on the outside. I leave all these patches proud and then file them flush after the epoxy sets.

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Last piece.

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File flush, sand and chisel a small radius where the connector bar inlet joins the patch.

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Check for fit.

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Then oil it to match the rest of the stock.

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I think it's a fairly close match.
 
Nice job. Some company in America made wood selector fillers
for wood and plastic m14 stocks. Don't remember who anymore
 
can14 said:
Nice job. Some company in America made wood selector fillers
for wood and plastic m14 stocks. Don't remember who anymore
Click to expand...

They were selling said filler kits back in the 90’s. I bought a bunch of them from SARCO or was it Fulton (Clint stopped selling to us terrorists in the 80s) Armory?

Claven2, that’s a great job. Thanks for showing us!

Cheers, Barney
 
I haven't seen pre-made inserts in years. But if you are ok with wood, you can do as nice (or better) on your own. This is a great mod if you are going to bed a standard GI stock.
 
I got some Boyd stocks that were made with the glass bedding cuts in
The proper places. Never glasses them yet
 
Very nice work Claven.

I'm too old school to touch-up anything on original stocks.

I go back to the converted/auto days.

God, I miss those days.

If I really need that hole filled, I would just go buy a Boyds.

Same with bedding, I used Boyds for any projects.

Now, the hole is fine with me.

I'm an original M-14 glass stock boy.
 
cigar_man said:
Very nice work Claven.

I'm too old school to touch-up anything on original stocks.

I go back to the converted/auto days.

God, I miss those days.

If I really need that hole filled, I would just go buy a Boyds.

Same with bedding, I used Boyds for any projects.

Now, the hole is fine with me.

I'm an original M-14 glass stock boy.
Click to expand...

While I understand your sentiment, I find the USGI stocks to be better made, inletted and contoured than the boyd's stocks. And while the original stocks can be considered collectible by some people, the reality is that other than a small number of C/A safe queens, and obviously the guns still n service, the majority of M14's that were made were demilled by the Israelis or the US Government, so there are FAR FAR FAR more orphan USGI stocks than there are original M14 rifles in the world.

I don't consider a nornico, LRB, etc. M14 built by me to be "collectible" in the sense that a milsurp version is.

Back in the 1990's I used to fill these selector cutouts all the time for early chinese M14 shooters that wanted improved bedding. Boyd's wasn't really an option back then, the guys who bought commercial stocks generally got them from Fajen - and they were pricey compared to GI stocks off demilled rifles we could buy for $20(!)

I also like the fibreglass stocks for some builds. If the stock has nice original paint, I leave the selector cutouts alone on those. If the stock is going to have to be painted, I'll often fill the cutout. I have a method and am pretty good at making it look "factory" ;)
 
I don't consider a nornico, LRB, etc. M14 built by me to be "collectible" in the sense that a milsurp version is.
Click to expand...

Dont count youself short.

Your rifles are excellent.

The next best thing to an original M-14 for being collectable is what you do when you use all original GI parts and an aftermarket receiver.

There is nothing else out in the world that compares.

I would not give my recent heavy barrel kit on a norinco receiver up for anything.

I have my share of c/a's to compare it with.

I know there are alot of original stocks out there in m-14 land, but I will say, not as many as you think.

Decent ones are getting hard to find.

I do all my shopping in person.
 
So someone PM'd me asking about the front cutout for the connector rod and whether I fill those too. The short answer is no, I don't usually bother. Back in the 1990's, a few guys wanted this done and I did a few for people. Most thought this would adda additional betting area, but the extra area is negligible because you have to thin the patch out to almost the edge of the receiver to clear the connector lock. That said, you do get almost 1cm of extra bedding surface toward the back of the opening and it is a cosmetic improvement if you've also filled the rear selector cut.

Anyhoot, the question inspired me to do another one and post a how-to in case anyone is crazy enough to bother with this. Truth be told, I usually talk people out of it, because my charge to do the work isn't worth the cosmetic effort IMHO. But if you do it yourself, free is a good price ;)

For reference, this is the area I'm talking about. This is a Winchester stock that I stuck a stripped receiver into so you can see there is a gap below the op rod rail, and a gap between the face of the receiver and where the stock shoulder starts.

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It's important to realize, this is a thin part of the M14 stock. I would NOT just shape a patch to fit he stock contour and glue or pin it in place - it would definitely fail if it got knocked or whatever. When I have to patch thin areas like this, or alongthe side of barrel inlets on sporting guns, I use what I call a "French Repair" - mainly because I shamelessly copied the technique from French Army manuals. You see these repairs ALL THE TIME on old WW2 era Berthier rifles. The idea is to undercut the patch so it's dovetailed into solid wood. Done correctly, the patch is a pretty tight fit even without glue.

So basically you chisel, cut and file the stock until you have a nice dovetailed opening in the stock with a nice flat bottom that I check with a straight edge. I file the dovetail ends to a nice point using a triangular file with a ground safe edge.

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Then I shape a piece of matching wood, in this case black walnut, and I glue it in place with 2-part wood epoxy and let it dry. The patch should be a snug fit.

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Next I file, plane and chisel it to approximate shape. When I get the patch close to the lines of the stock, I use inletting black on a stripped receiver to get a nice tight fit that matches the rest of the stock's contour. I do NOT fit the forward shoulder tight to the receiver face. If this area touches, it can impact accuracy.

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Here you can see the inletting black shows nice even contact along the original stock and onto the patch in a nice straight line.

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On the original stocks, the factory workers did a little hand fitting with sanding drums to ensure the stocks cleared the connector lock without too much clearance. I use dremel sanding drums and just inlet the patch to match the original factory fitting pattern.

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And then I finish sand the outside and oil it. This is one coat of RLO. It will darken to match after a couple more coats.

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If anyone tries this, go slow. You can remove material easily, you can't really put it back on in a way that will look professional ;)
 
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