When the stock arrived I was very
happy with its appearance, but was concerned with the
butt. It was reduced similar to a K98 Mauser as you
can see in the picture above.
As with most projects, you must
sometimes turn setback into opportunity, so I
rummaged through my junk boxes and found a nice black
recoil pad to install.
A little time at the belt sander
resulted in a slick pad job ready for hand finishing.
While hand sanding, I took off the thin layer of
finish that appeared to have been applied by a brush
to the whole stock.
I used a wood glue and sawdust mix
to fill the bayonet recess. The stock required some
minor fitting to the receiver with a wood rasp. This
resulted in a snug and solid fit.
Since the laminated stock didn't
come with any hardware, it was necessary to salvage a
stock bolt from a broken sks stock. I made a crude
stock bolt tool by drilling small holes through a 1x2
the appropriate distance apart, then driving nails
that were slightly larger than the holes through the
board. The less the nails stick through the board,
the stronger the tool will be.
I toyed with the idea of dyeing the
stock purple,
but the composition of the laminated stock didn't
seem to want to absorb test liquids evenly.
After final sanding with 320 grit paper, I applied
a light coat of boiled linseed oil inside and out,
followed by four thin coats of Formby's low gloss
Tung oil finish to the out side.
I applied the same finish procedure to a well
sanded regular wood handguard. I didn't end up with a
perfect match, but close.
on to the
Barrel
SKS Index
