The Ruger Spencer Carbine Part 2

Now that we have assembled our parts (see part one here), it is time to start modifying the stock

This is what we are starting with, a new 10/22 wood stock, which is either birch or maple. 
The 10/22 already has the barrel band and the semi-crescent butt stock, so we just need to create a straight grip profile and shorten and taper the fore end.

Notice the splotchy finish, birch, maple and beech are notorious for resisting stain (which will make refinishing a challenge).

 The first step is to cut off the pistol grip cap

Using a straight edge we can see that we have a lot of material to remove.

After much rasping, filing and sanding we have it close, the tape is for the modification to the fore end

I then cut flutes in the front of the comb, I may remove a little more material in front of the comb to accentuate it more

I start on the fore end by marking a line and then cutting the line in with a fine tooth saw

 I then start rasping, filing and sanding

The final cut is made with a wood chisel

 Almost fits perfect, we'll clean it up before refinishing the wood

 Now we mark a line to start changing the taper to the rear of the barrel band

Some rough guidelines, don't worry, I am not removing all of the material outside of the lines, I am just using the lines to remind me not to remove too much inside the lines.

I started with the rasp

Then went to the file

 Then I started on the nose, I drew a line and began tapering the fore tip

but I forgot I wanted to shorten it, so I cut 1" off the end and trued it up with my disc sander

Then I worked the nose, tapering it and rounding the edges

Next I softened the sharp edges at the comb

Here it is after the 1st round of sanding with 100 grit

I posed it with an unmodified factory stock so you can see what has changed. The Spencer stock looks much more abbreviated than it is, we only removed 1".

Time to inlet the saddle ring loop and the rear sling swivel. This is a skill that I have been wanting to practice.

First I find the most appropriate location (I had to be mindful of the location of the receiver) and I outline the plate with a sharpie

Then I begin removing wood using my Exacto knives

 Almost there

done...I'll just sand the sharpie marks away and it'll be ready

 Same with the rear swivel mount. 
I had never noticed that the No1 Enfield rear swivel was offset. While it may not look symmetrical, it has the look of a quirky military part.

 almost there

 

 Done

I will using brass oval head #8 screws (supplied by the Bolt Depot) to attach the sling mount & saddle ring, according to their chart I need to drill an 1/8" pilot hole.

 I used a center punch to dimple the wood and help keep the drill bit centered. Then I drilled the four 1/8" holes

I then test fit the screws, adding a little wax to help them go in easy.

The rear swivel was pitted, so I cleaned it up a bit

Now I will fit the front sling mount, it is a bit too wide to fit the barrel band, so I will file it a little thinner. Here it is next to the Uncle Mikes sling swivel.

Filed down and fitted

The brass screws I bought for the butt plate were a bit too big to fit in the countersink hole, so I opened up the countersink to make them fit just above flush

References
Civil War Antiques
Rimfire Central
90th Infantry Division Preservation Group