Wooden dowel in buttstock - did they add weights ?

[MD*GSP]

Could some of the mystery holes have been drilled to remove checking in the end of a pc to ensure the crack does not continue opening thus destroying the stock over time?

I would guess that would save many a blank from being deemed unsuitable and unusable.

[OH Osthaus]

Originally Posted by Scot Cardillo

Could some of the mystery holes have been drilled to remove checking in the end of a pc to ensure the crack does not continue opening thus destroying the stock over time?

I would guess that would save many a blank from being deemed unsuitable and unusable.

i suppose anything is possible - but the holes seem to have been centered and drying checks I have seen are not always that accommodating

Plus - with Parker's pride in their product, I'd like to think they were not that miserly

[MD*GSP]

Originally Posted by Rick Losey

i suppose anything is possible - but the holes seem to have been centered and drying checks I have seen are not always that accommodating

Plus - with Parker's pride in their product, I'd like to think they were not that miserly

As you pointed out most checking would not always lend itself to removal by this technique but certainly some blanks could be saved that way.

After the build and as a repair this seems feasible..it's obvious that these holes are there to balance the gun during the course of manufacture...it's Phil Yearout's pc which causes some mystery..could have just been an overzealous removal of material & then a craftsman's judgement call feeling as if it caused a weakening of the wood & then feeling it necessary to re-strengthen by installing a dowel to occupy the space.

If I am understanding Phil's description correctly..the dowel occupies the entire 3 inch deep cavity which the x-ray revealed?

On your point of a miserly build..agreed 100%

[Phil Yearout]

Originally Posted by Scot Cardillo

If I am understanding Phil's description correctly..the dowel occupies the entire 3 inch deep cavity which the x-ray revealed?

Yes; the dowel definitely bottoms out in the hole.

[Dean Romig]

Originally Posted by Scot Cardillo

Could some of the mystery holes have been drilled to remove checking in the end of a pc to ensure the crack does not continue opening thus destroying the stock over time?

I would guess that would save many a blank from being deemed unsuitable and unusable.

I think inserting a dowel into the hole would defeat the suggested purpose of preventing checks. Now the stockwood wants to shrink against a solid core thus causing cracks in the thinner stockwood.