Building and fitting an adjustable butt plate

[ovenpaa]

This has been started in a new thread to save hijacking the original.

I have been thinking of putting an adjustable butt piece on my Marlin, like you have on yours - but as it's the only rifle I've ever bought from new, I don't want to cock it up. Was it a straightforward fit, or did you have to alter the plate or rifle in any way? Also is it reversable if you don't like it?

Interesting that you should ask that Dougan as that is what i am just starting to measure up for right now.

My first ever attempt was fitting a Tubb 4 way to Christel's thing, this meant the butt needed shortening by 40mm which is the scary part as you have to get the end of the butt totally flat or you will see gaps between it and the plate. Once done the plate was screwed to the butt and marked for the extension rod, the hole was drilled by eye with a Forstner bit and the plate marked for fit and files/sanded to form. Then it is just a matter of sealing the freshly cut wood then attach and adjust to suit. The rubber pad on this one is over size as that is what Christel wanted and the bag rider was added a bit later as an experiment so it should really be taken off and tidied up.

Today I am repeating the process with the S&L however it will be made from scratch to keep the weight down. Here it is in kit form.

Looking at the existing butt pad it looks to be glued on which is annoying so first job is to remove it carefully and then mark the plates to fit the butt end.

Fitting a butt plate is incredibly easy with a few tools and some nerve, the one part that always took a while was grinding it to fit the profile of the butt, I use a belt sander in a vice with a home made vertical guide to act as a stop and to ensure the edges are square.

[ovenpaa]

Well that is the rubber pad removed, it had been screwed and bonded down but came off very easily.

Next job is to mark out the profile of the plate, I did not have any layout blue to hand so a thick permanent marker was used so I can more clearly see the line I will be cutting to. next job is to cut out three of these plates and profile them to suit so a fair amount of hacksaw and file work is going to be needed. This is going to give length of pull and also the pad drop and cant so three axis however my primary interest right now is just getting the first two cut, one will be the base plate which is fixed to the butt and the other the section that is extended.

24C outside and closer to 30C in the SHED, not ideal conditions..... :roll:

[ovenpaa]

Work so far, the plates are sawn and roughed to shape but will need some work yet to smooth them off and a final polish.

We have a strong need to keep this rifle as light as possible and that set me thinking, do I really need a third plate? The easy answer is no. So the plate against the butt now needs boring for the bar and slotting it can me tightened up against the bar which is the means of adjusting the length of pull, the outer plate will then be slotted to allow up and down movement, probably around 30mm total so the heel can be raised/dropped by 15mm from the centre line and locked in place with an M8 caphead accessed via a hole in the middle of the pad. So two screws to control all of the movement.

Dougan, I hope you are taking notes So far I have used nothing out of the ordinary apart from a lathe and that was not strictly necessary.

[Robin128]

Good skills Ovenpaa...brilliant!

[Dougan]

I see you've been busy in the shed!

It doesn't matter how many notes I take...it won't make up for the lack of skill - to cut a long story short, I tryed to fit an Anschutz 3 position adjustable butt plate on my TR...then found on first use that it was not right...so having already cut the stock (something I would not do again unless 100% sure), then had to attach a 'Bisley' butt plate, with 3 spacers...doesn't look good :roll: . The one you've done on Christel's rifle looks a real pro job

Is this one for your 'field hunting sport rifle' (forgot the DK word)? Are you keeping the weight down, as there is a limit...or is it 'self-imposed' due to the courses of fire?

Please keep up the thread with pics - apart from being interesting as a project, even some of the 'basics' you are showing are helpful. Did you really do the rough cutting with a hacksaw? Also, I know you said the bonded rubber came off easily, but how were you going to go about it...just pry it off?


Have you already got a project in the pipeline for a cooling system in the shed for next summer yet? :)

[ovenpaa]

Yes this is for the Jagtfeltskydning rifle (The S&L) It is a self imposed weight restriction, I need to shoot off hand with it and walk maybe 3kms in a competition so keeping weight down is important.

The butt pas was fixed with two screws, easily removed once found then a sharp chisel blade slipped between the wood and the pad separated it.

I remember quite clearly shortening the stock on Christels rifle, I removed that action and barrel, marked the line of cut, taped every thing up to protect it and Christel held it whilst I cut it :lol: Sanding it flat to take the new 4-Way took a while as it had to be kept perfectly square however it turned out very well so we were both happy.

[Dougan]

Now you just be careful when you're jagtfeltskydning! :P

OK ..'sharp chisel'.....noted :geek:


Look forward to the rest of the process and finnished rifle

[Meaty]

Made something a bit similar for my Win M70 a while back. Because I am tall it has given me the extra reach and adjust-ability to get comfortable when prone-still cant hit sod all thou :lol:
Regards.
Ian.

[Dougan]

Made something a bit similar for my Win M70 a while back. Because I am tall it has given me the extra reach and adjust-ability to get comfortable when prone-still cant hit sod all thou :lol:
Regards.
Ian.

Nicely done :goodjob: That looks similar to what Ovenpaa is doing...

[ovenpaa]

Yes very nicely done. I will be back on mine this weekend, next job is bore the hole in the plate, slot it and skim the face so it looks nice so some quality time with a hacksaw and file again.

I need a Milling machine!