adding recoil pad

[quiknot]

can someone tell me the best way to add a recoil pad...i see most have to be ground down to fit the stock.....are there any special tools needed or can it be accomplished with ordinary shop tools?....

what is a good type of recoil pad to get...i am adding it to a 7.62x54 Russian

thanks

 

[Sniper4Life]

Yes a recoil pad can be installed with screwdriver, a hacksaw, files, and some sandpaper. But it is alot slower. The type of pad that you get is your personal preference

 

[Sunray]

Yep. Cut the thickness of the pad off the stock(if you don't you'll be adding about an inch) using a mitre saw or box. Then mark and drill for the screws(a new pad usually comes with a template). Install. Put some masking tape on the wood in several layers and rasp, file or sand off the excess. A bench mounted belt sander makes short work of it.
Plan 'B' is a slip on pad. Pachmayr makes both types.

 

[Clark]

I have added allot of pads to allot of long guns.

I can do a great job if I have a belt sander, a power miter saw, and an oil finished stock.

Those spray finished stocks do not turn out.

My current favorite for reducing recoil is the Limbsaver. It makes the 300 Win Mag kick like a 30-30. It is not as durable, so watch what you sit on when hunting.

http://www.simsvibrationlab.com/Products/Firearms/Default.aspx
http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/catsearch.aspx?k=limbsaver&ps=10&si=True

I put the belt sander in the vise and get my eye down on the same plane as the belt, so I can see when and how to rotate the stock.

 

[rcmodel]

You can do a pretty nice job with an electric drill & a sanding pad if thats all you have. Clamp the stock & hand-hold the drill with two hands for the best results.


rcmodel

 

[ranger335v]

It's best/easiest to put a pad on a stock you are going to refinish anyway. Put a layer of masking tape fully around the planned cut line to reduce splintering and use a fine tooth cut off (miter) saw. I seal the raw wood with a thin layer of 5 minute epoxy before installing the pad.

I'm a fair wood worker but can't do a neat job with hand held tools at all, that ALWAYS gets sanding run-overs on the stock finish! But a sanding disc on a stationary tool can allow me to sand the pad within a couple thousants of a shiney finish without damaging it. Start with a coarse grit to remove the excess down to maybe 1/32", then go to a finer grit to finish. Work slowly and turn the stock frequently to reduce overheating the pad.

My favorite sanding tool is a 10" sanding disc mounted on a 10" radial arm saw. I made a plywood sanding "fence" to help me hold the gunstock well clear of the stock itself, move the motor and disc out in about 1/16" increments until I get really near the cut line and then move it less for each pass. It works but I did have to take the time to make the fence to fit the saw and properly surround the disc.

Done that way, it's easy but slow. Done by hand is faster but far less precise.

 

[Clark]

I use the masking tape around the butt, just in front of the pad I am sanding.
When I start to scratch the tape, I am within .005" of the finish.

If it is an oil finish, one can sand right through the tape and the newly exposed wood will be light in color. Rub some oil on the new wood, and it will match.

 

[Big Az Al]

heres another touch

Mark the amount of stock you want to cut of, leave a 1/32 to 1/16 of an inch so you can use a 10 inch sanding disc to true up the end of the stock, that way if the saw had walked while cutting everything will be true with no swells or gaps.

Position the pad on the stock so it has the best position possible, that is low enough so that the toe of the pad can trimmed to follow of the line of the stock.

Scribe the outline of the stock onto the pad. being carefull so you don't touch the stock with the grinder of choice, cut the heel and toe of the pad so it has the lines of the stock.

Now remove the pad and grind it to the scribed line, being careful not lose the lines of the heel and toe.

If free handing it this way is to difficult, Brownells sell several grinding jig to help hold the lines.

 

[JohnBT]

I fit a Pachmayr Decelerator to an 870 using a block of wood with some 60 or 80 grit sandpaper wrapped around it and then finished it off with finer sandpaper. Just sand until you reach the masking tape. As I recall it took the better part of two football games - with lots of breaks. Turned out just fine, too.

Would I do it again? Maybe, but it's been about 15 years and I haven't.

John