Restock photo test
 

Hope I can learn how to post photos and as long as I am testing will use a photo of an old VH that I am restocking. Regards, John Hancock

We're looking forward to photos of the finished product.

Thanks. You did well posting pics on your first try.

You did well with your first try on the pictures.

That should be a real nice V-Grade when your finished.

Mabee more info than you want, I have had this gun for about 15 years, never fired it, hunted ducks with a Mod 21. Had heart injury in 2000, was told would live only about 2 years from that time, not to energetic but still here. This old gun is 32" F&F and had 5 dented places in the bbls., I took the dents out and patterned it and it shoots well. Stock was broken and usual hard to shoot dims. so after having surgey early last month and being told to not lift anything over 10 pounds for 30 days got to work making up the stock while recovering. Told wife the gun is 8 pounds so could work on it, although did have to call a friend to lift the vise up on the mill table. I'll get it roughed out in time to shoot a few ducks when they get here (Texas) and finish it up in the next few months. What is done so far is the easy part. Thanks for the coments and will post a pic or two along. Regards, John Hancock

John, sounds like you have found good therapy, mental and physical.

Hope you join the PGCA.

I also have a big 32" VH in the wood hopper. However, I have no talent for stockmaking and have turned it over to a pro.

John, did you inlet the head of the stock by hand? How did you do that? Great decision to keep the hands and mind busy during recovery.

John great job and the wood looks really nice. Let's see somemore photos as the project goes along. Great job on the beavertail forend, you nailed it

English Walnut?

Inletting by Hand is a lot of work. I was doing that before I got my duplicator. And I am sure I am not done with doing it either.

What used to take me weeks by hand is done in a few hours on the duplicator.

John, Yes I have done all the work on the stock myself, my business which I sold to my son a few years ago had as a necessity metal working machines. I have a history, 40 years ago, of machine shop work in a shop that made a lot of dies. When my son and I came to terms it included in the buy out a new mill and lathe for me to take. I do all the internal cuts, in the stock and forend, that I can in the mill, it is manual but does have a dro, taking measurements from the action and bbls. Then the final fitting is done with chisels and scrapers ect. On the forend one can measure the taper of the bbls. and dia. and then use a .750 ball end mill to start the bbl. channels then scrape to fit. In the fairly near future I plan to restock a really beat up 20 gauge that I have used for quail for 30 years. If you guys would like, I could do kind of a show and tell from the start. To the collectors, these guns are only shooters, forgive my taking liberties in the restocking. Regards, JH