Making a new stock

[Autumn Daze]

Joe,I have been fortunate to have been able to study two very early pantograph machines that were used in the Parker Bros.era.One was at the American Precision Museum in Windsor,VT and the other is located at the Springfield Armory in Springfield ,Mass.Both of these machines used stock blanks that were not finished at the head and butt. When using a modern day pantograph to duplicate a stock there is always risk of some damage although some times very minor.The stock that is to be used as a "Master" has to be fixtured to the machine.This entails making mounts at the head and at the butt.Most times a block of wood is epoxied on and then removed. Using the CNC method the "Master" would have to be scanned and then loaded into a CAD program.Somewhat time consuming and not realy cost effective for a "one off" stock.Although you may find someone willing to do it. Good luck on your project.

Bruce- thanks for the e-mail. David detailed it exactly, and the old term of "economy of scale" rings a bell. If I wanted to duplicate a no. 1 & 1/2 frame Parker buttstock with straight hand grip, head inletting and tangs, and wanted to produce a thousand such rough blanks, the duplication process would pay off.

But for one stock- not so. Wenig is a very good start, if Mr. Skeuse or any of the US based employees of the Parker Reproduction operation are extant, perhaps they could shed light on this. CAD and then CAM programs to run one stock- very costly, as David pointed out.

A pantograph uses a stylus to trace the outline, in one dimension- not with a X and Y axis- so there is always the possibility of some scratching to the master. And it must be positioned so no movement is possible to affect the trace accuracy.

I have not heard of a pad with spacer that could "mold" to the contours of a Parker gun butt with the SSBP- especially the heel "spur" inletting- but, never say never!! Good luck--