Grind to fit recoil pads

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brybenn

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So i have a beretta 151 thats about an inch to short in the stock for me. Went to the local gun shop and bought a 1" pacmyer pad big enough to grind down
My questions are should i cut the stock wood 90 degrees to square it up or leave the current angle? Also what is the best sand paper grit to use to sand these types of pads? Wet or dry. Heavy grit or fine grit?
 
Take it to a place that does them often. A nicely done grind to fit pad is a lot easier said than done. Normally the butt stock should be flat to properly install a 1" pad.
 
There are videos on Youtube by Midway USA IIRC that cover the entire process. Very much worth the time to watch and will answer all your questions.
 
Before sanding wrap some tape round the stock to prevent marking. Use regular sand paper, needs to be fairly coarse. Wrap sandpaper around a flat piece of wood say 1x3 inches about 8 inches long to ensure you get a neat finish.....
 
This pad is invincible. It tears the grit off 80grit paper and 100 grit barely leaves a mark. I have the wood wrapped just wondering if i was doing something wrong as 15 minutes with a palm sander hasnt removed much at all
 
Sanding to fit is done with a belt or disc sander. Preferably with a jig. Without a jig, it is safer to install the pad, scribe around the butt, then sand to the line, watching the angle at the toe.
 
Can watch U-tube, etc. - I think from one of the recoil pad makers - guy is using a table mounted belt sander - coarse to finer grit belts - finishes up with soaking the finest grit belt with WD-40 to finish/buff that pad edge. Curtains of plastic hanging around that grinder - rubber stuff flying everywhere. Also really helps to get the jig that lets you rough shape to the outline before going for final fit. I have done three or four - that masking tape is good suggestion - but almost always ended up scuffing through and scarring the stock finish. Gets easier after doing half dozen, I am told.... From various gun smithing books - make sure to follow the lines of the butt stock - bottom toe is supposed to be long and pointy - not at 90 degrees to end of the wood - recoil pad should look like a smooth extension of the butt stock, not something attached to it.
 
brybenn said:
This pad is invincible. It tears the grit off 80grit paper and 100 grit barely leaves a mark. I have the wood wrapped just wondering if i was doing something wrong as 15 minutes with a palm sander hasnt removed much at all
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tiriaq said:
Sanding to fit is done with a belt or disc sander. Preferably with a jig. Without a jig, it is safer to install the pad, scribe around the butt, then sand to the line, watching the angle at the toe.
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Tiriaq's tips are something brybenn should consider.

If done completely by hand tools, then rasps are probably easiest to start shaping before files and finally smoothing with sandpaper. Density of the pad and plastic the rubber is mounted to will vary your experience.
 
Took it to a buddys. Belt sander and 40grit took it down nicely. Followed by 120 grit. Ill shoot it tomorrow to make sure its the correct length of pull then finish up with 220

Thanks for the tips
 
Some pads that are really spongy don't grind all that easily. Put them in the freezer, grind a bit, refreeze, until finished.
 
You don't need a jig, you can attach the pad to a block of wood and if you understand how the jig works, you just cut the block to the angle, rather than rotating the jig. And you would need to make two blocks to get the main angles. But it sorta assumes you have gear to easily work the wood and rubber.

The jig does two things. It sets the angle, and it lets you run the pad to the sander with the contact surface upwards, so you can precisely follow the scribe line.
 
brybenn said:
This pad is invincible. It tears the grit off 80grit paper and 100 grit barely leaves a mark. I have the wood wrapped just wondering if i was doing something wrong as 15 minutes with a palm sander hasnt removed much at all
Click to expand...

What you need is a belt sander. The orbiting won’t grab material and kick it out the other end like a one direction will. A palm sander will just kind of keep grinding it without actually removing it. You have to kind of pull it off and away from the surface, it takes a longer stroke than a say a 3/16 orbit. Also, as mentioned above, freezing it works too.
 
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