We Do Stock Modification and Wood Working, too!

Indian Valley Gunsmithing
Published by Dean Brackett
Hi there again…
We are asked quite a bit if we do woodwork. Yes, we do lots of woodwork. From installing recoil pads, glass bedding, repairs, fitting, floating barrels, installing recoil reduction systems, refinishing, touching up old checkering and even making a brand new stock from a big block of wood.
I do know my limits and realized a long time ago that there are better people than me in some areas. We don’t do initial checkering… I have a nice lady in Oregon that does outstanding work and of course charges accordingly for her services. We also do not do relief carvings, we have someone for that as well.
Wood work for guns is a specialty that can only be learned by hard work, cuts, scrapes, bruises… love, care, perseverance and serious attention to detail. Being able to work in curves, sweeps and swales and right angles is as important to a gunsmith as level and true is to a carpenter. Different woods react differently to not only working it but also to different finishing techniques. Synthetics, be it carbon fiber, poly or glass add another level of difficulty to the jobs and require thinking much differently than working on wood of any kind. So… in answer to the question, do we work on wood? Yes… I can be found terrorizing a piece of wood at least weekly if not more often. Take care, happy shooting and be safe… till next time.