want to build a fiberglass stock
- Thread starter chasseur
- Start date
Thats who I am talking about,known him for quite a few years now and I highly recommend his work as he is one fussy mother fukker...and on top of that a great and easy guy to get along with....
maple_leaf_eh
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Contact my friend Colin through his page ( http://zoneballistic.com/ colinsballistics). He published a book on what and how to make fibreglas stocks at home.
Ian Robertson on this forum of course makes a living and feeds his family making extremely high quality target and hunting rifle stocks. Your call.
Ian Robertson on this forum of course makes a living and feeds his family making extremely high quality target and hunting rifle stocks. Your call.
Mystic Precision
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Summerland, BC
In simple terms, a male plug is first made that is identical to the final shape you want.
Layers of glass are 'laid up' over the male plug to form the female mold. Either in halves or multiple sections to accomodate the different features of the plug and allow the final part to be removed.
Mold is separated from the plug. You now have a negative of the item you want. usually, nuts and bolts are used around the perimeter of the mold to allow the halves to be reassembled during curing.
Glass and the appropriate resin is then applied to the inside of the female mold and the sections reassembled into one unit. Once cured, the mold is removed, flashing removed, reinforcements added to keep the sections from splitting, any filler added, then inletting/pillar bedding to complete the stock.
If you start with a tuperwear stock, alot of the hassles are eliminated as making the male plug is the hardest job. But it is still labour intensive to make the molds and then pull your stocks.
Hope this helps.
Jerry
Layers of glass are 'laid up' over the male plug to form the female mold. Either in halves or multiple sections to accomodate the different features of the plug and allow the final part to be removed.
Mold is separated from the plug. You now have a negative of the item you want. usually, nuts and bolts are used around the perimeter of the mold to allow the halves to be reassembled during curing.
Glass and the appropriate resin is then applied to the inside of the female mold and the sections reassembled into one unit. Once cured, the mold is removed, flashing removed, reinforcements added to keep the sections from splitting, any filler added, then inletting/pillar bedding to complete the stock.
If you start with a tuperwear stock, alot of the hassles are eliminated as making the male plug is the hardest job. But it is still labour intensive to make the molds and then pull your stocks.
Hope this helps.
Jerry
I built a fiberglass stock for my Husqvarna 30-06. I made a mold using the original stock as a template and then laid up the glass a bit at a time. I hollowed out the area for the barrel and action and glass bedded everything for the final fit. The end result was fantastic, but it was a lot heavier than I expected. PM or e mail me if you would like any further info.
Chris
Chris
while i'm currently only making custom fiberglass stocks for the m14 type rifles...... I am actively pursuing other models now as well. As mentioned above..... molds ain't cheap..... 2000.00 per mold set is reasonable..... I paid 5000.00 for just one style of the 3 i make.
to do a one off, just fer yerself..... can be a long and tedious project but can also be very worth it. my first custom molded 22 stock was made first with balsa wood.... in halves to make the "male" molds then I cast those halves out of dental plaster or "hydrocal" and these were my female molds. then i had to make an "action inlet" male mold.... and .... too many details to list but after a year and a half, I had a functional, attractive target stock for my cooey 64 b
now i lay my stocks up in machined aluminum mold sets ..... which ain't cheap hehehe
to do a one off, just fer yerself..... can be a long and tedious project but can also be very worth it. my first custom molded 22 stock was made first with balsa wood.... in halves to make the "male" molds then I cast those halves out of dental plaster or "hydrocal" and these were my female molds. then i had to make an "action inlet" male mold.... and .... too many details to list but after a year and a half, I had a functional, attractive target stock for my cooey 64 b
now i lay my stocks up in machined aluminum mold sets ..... which ain't cheap hehehe
Where do you get the materials to do this?
a quick google search didn't answer this for me (but I did find resin).
Are there specific things to look for in the products (ie. don't be a resin that contains ###).
I would have thought michaels, but didn't see anything online.
Also, how thick should the fibreglass need to be before deaming it safe for shooting?
I see ebay has some fibrecloth...is there an actual place in canada to pick it up? (roles like being sold on ebay)
a quick google search didn't answer this for me (but I did find resin).
Are there specific things to look for in the products (ie. don't be a resin that contains ###).
I would have thought michaels, but didn't see anything online.
Also, how thick should the fibreglass need to be before deaming it safe for shooting?
I see ebay has some fibrecloth...is there an actual place in canada to pick it up? (roles like being sold on ebay)
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i borrow all my materials from the marine industry I use epoxy based resins and fillers. Polyester resins actually attact and "corrode" many epoxy products while they are curing so i try and stay away from "bondo" type fillers and standard (availlable at canadian tire) polyester fiberglass resin.
also epoxy resins and fillers are 100% water proof, where as polyester resins and fillers can and will absorb moisture wherever they are not fully sealed. This will lead to osmosis , a fiberglass "disease" that overtime degrades the stock's integrity. Boat builders and hot tub makers will know what i mean.
I use fiberglass cloth (not mat) and in some stocks i use kevlar cloth. Both i aquire through a marine supplier.
hydrocal plaster can be aquired from a hobby shop type store... you will also find balsa there.
It would take me some time and many paragraphs to explain the process. My advice is get a copy of a "fibergass boat repair" book and read about the products and procedures therein.... then with that knowedge in mind..... approach your project.
also epoxy resins and fillers are 100% water proof, where as polyester resins and fillers can and will absorb moisture wherever they are not fully sealed. This will lead to osmosis , a fiberglass "disease" that overtime degrades the stock's integrity. Boat builders and hot tub makers will know what i mean.
I use fiberglass cloth (not mat) and in some stocks i use kevlar cloth. Both i aquire through a marine supplier.
hydrocal plaster can be aquired from a hobby shop type store... you will also find balsa there.
It would take me some time and many paragraphs to explain the process. My advice is get a copy of a "fibergass boat repair" book and read about the products and procedures therein.... then with that knowedge in mind..... approach your project.
Fiberglass cloth, resin and hardener is available at any Canadian Tire store. I also got some black dye to mix in with the resin, giving it a black color throughout. As funny as this may seem, I also used plaster of paris to make a mold of my original stock. It's only a one shot thing, because you will have to break it apart with a hammer once you are finished, but it's cheap, easy to work with and it worked great.
Chris
A shooting friend used to harass me about spending a couple of bucks at crappy tire to make a stock for several hundred, "you just pour it in, right?". Anyway, I am tempted to offer courses in how to do it. How about $5000 for a one week course on how to do it? Total info with no secrets to the best product on the market. Offer applies to the first taker only!
Yup..... 5000 for a week would be about right hehehe
I dunno if robertson composites uses techniques similar to mine....... but .... It took me a few years of trial and error, fartin around in my shop, wastin loads of material ( =$$$$$) ..... made my share of ill fitting, overly brittle rejects hehehe
a few years in the custom marine fab industry.... a machinist friend..... and a good source in the wholesale marine products industry, and these days i am confident in demanding good $$$ for one of my creations
I dunno if robertson composites uses techniques similar to mine....... but .... It took me a few years of trial and error, fartin around in my shop, wastin loads of material ( =$$$$$) ..... made my share of ill fitting, overly brittle rejects hehehe
a few years in the custom marine fab industry.... a machinist friend..... and a good source in the wholesale marine products industry, and these days i am confident in demanding good $$$ for one of my creations
Well now Mr Robertson from the way it sounds I could install a screw and some ballast tanks on one of 45ACPKINGS stocks and go whale watching at 150 fathoms. Can you do that with your stocks? He he he he he he he he he he he he he he. Rod
LOL 
THAT WAS FUNNY.
seriously though, everything i learned about mold making, plug forming, material selection ect... ect ect... came from a couple of extensive marine fiberglass manuals..... and i watched "how it's made" a few times.... AND I stayed in a holiday inn express last night
THAT WAS FUNNY. seriously though, everything i learned about mold making, plug forming, material selection ect... ect ect... came from a couple of extensive marine fiberglass manuals..... and i watched "how it's made" a few times.... AND I stayed in a holiday inn express last night
Saw a .22 metallic silhouette rifle built on an Anschutz 54 action. Chap had carved out a slightly undersized foam stock as the core, then covered it over with resin and glass. Smoothed and finished it in a conventional manner. Hollowed out the top, moulded the inletting the same basic way he did the outside. It certainly worked, based on the way he could shoot it.
Its appearance left a bit to be desired compared to Ian's stocks.
Its appearance left a bit to be desired compared to Ian's stocks.
