The 870 Wingmaster Project Part 3

If you missed parts One and Two click on the links below

Part One
Part Two


We will be shifting gears, I had been going back and forth on which direction to take this project......then I went to the gun show and found a factory plain walnut butt stock for $5, I am not 100% sure it is for a 12 gauge 870, as Remington had different stocks for different gauges and even some rifles came with a stock that was very close to the 870's.


It matches (not in color, at least not now) the walnut 870 Police forend that I have had in my parts bin

So now I am going to cut the barrel down to 18.5" and create a classic 870 Police Wingmaster. Something like the two examples below

No tactical, no extended magazine, just the way it would have been issued to the CHP or LAPD or NYPD or any other law enforcement agency in 1974

 Before committing, I checked the fit of the stock

The new stock originally had an aluminum butt plate (you can tell by the slight curve), so I needed to shorten it in order to add a recoil pad, here is the old stock on top with the new one on bottom

I wrapped some tape around the wood to help prevent splintering and cut it with my compound miter saw

Only the lower screw hole needed to be plugged, so I drilled it out with a 1/4" bit and plugged it with some dowel rod
 

After the glue dried over night I cut and sanded the dowel flush with the back of the stock

I am using a newer vintage Remington recoil pad that I had in my parts bin, it is slightly smaller that the stock, but is in otherwise great condition.
I found a perfect center punch in my tool drawer that fit the hole in the recoil pad perfectly 

After drilling the holes I coated the screws in carnuba wax and screw them in

Almost 100% fitted, a little more sanding and we will be there

Before doing the final sanding I attached it to the receiver, so I could get the wood to metal fit closer.

I started on the fore end by coating with Citristrip, after sitting for an hour I used an old tooth brush and acetone to completely remove the old finish 

Then I sanded the wood with 150, 220, 280, 320, 400 and finally 600 grit sand paper

We'll be using Minwax Antique Oil Finish

Here they are after the first coat is rubbed in by hand

The second coat gets sanded in, we wet the wood with the oil and using a small piece of 600 grit sand paper we sand with the grain using the oil as a lubricant. The slurry of oil and sanding dust is then pushed into the grain by wiping both with and against the grain.

Here it is after three rounds of sanded in coats, I will sand it once more, then wipe against the grain with a lint free cloth

once finished I installed a sling swivel stud in the hole that was in the stock
Then I installed a matching one in the magazine tube cap

Stay tuned for part 4