Pat: The real wood workers can chime in on this. I recall learning several months ago on the forums that stock blanks are made from quarter sawn lumber, which I assume applies to the fore ends as well. If that is the case, it will be important to know how to cut the stock to retain the quarter sawn end grains in the correct perspective. If I understand "quarter sawn", then I think the first cut would be through the full length of the stock, leaving two mirror image slabs. The newly exposed wood would become the inside of the fore end, to be inletted for the iron,and the old finished side of the stock would become the finished side of the fore end, to be inletted for the latch . Without actually doing it, it seems at least 4 fore ends could be made from one butt stock.
How bad are the stocks that may become fore ends???
Jack
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Hunt ethically. Eat heartily.
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