I get all my F-Class stocks from Alex Sitman at Masterclass stocks. His workmanship is incredible and his bedding absolutely perfect.
The stocks come to me unfinished and I then customize them for my needs. For those that do not know, F-Class is shot in the prone position with the fore-end of the gun resting on a front rest (F-Class Open) and the rear of the stock riding in a rear bag. The tracking of the gun is critical to landing good shots and anything that can be done to improve tracking is a plus.
The following is a sequence of things that I do to my stocks. I am going to break up the posting into several posts so that all the photos post well and will show the finished gun at the end. Hopefully, I'll be able to load the complete process before someone makes a comment so that the whole thing will flow well.
The initial setup on the Mill
The first thing that needs to be done is to channel the fore-end so that it does not rock when it is in the front rest. I use a simple carbide tipped dish cutting router bit from Grizzly.
The next step is to install a tapered flat base on the bottom of the rear of the stock so that the gun rides on a wider flat surface. I have a mating rear bag for it. The stock is flipped on the mill and set up again. I free float the second vise and only clamp it down to the mill table after it has been tightened to the stock.
I use a 15 degree bevel HSS milling cutter to mill the recess that will accept the mating base I have made out of Ebony using the same bevel cutter.
Dry fitting the Ebony base block.
The stocks come to me unfinished and I then customize them for my needs. For those that do not know, F-Class is shot in the prone position with the fore-end of the gun resting on a front rest (F-Class Open) and the rear of the stock riding in a rear bag. The tracking of the gun is critical to landing good shots and anything that can be done to improve tracking is a plus.
The following is a sequence of things that I do to my stocks. I am going to break up the posting into several posts so that all the photos post well and will show the finished gun at the end. Hopefully, I'll be able to load the complete process before someone makes a comment so that the whole thing will flow well.
The initial setup on the Mill
The first thing that needs to be done is to channel the fore-end so that it does not rock when it is in the front rest. I use a simple carbide tipped dish cutting router bit from Grizzly.
The next step is to install a tapered flat base on the bottom of the rear of the stock so that the gun rides on a wider flat surface. I have a mating rear bag for it. The stock is flipped on the mill and set up again. I free float the second vise and only clamp it down to the mill table after it has been tightened to the stock.
I use a 15 degree bevel HSS milling cutter to mill the recess that will accept the mating base I have made out of Ebony using the same bevel cutter.
Dry fitting the Ebony base block.
