Wooden stock warping.

XYZ

Well-Known Member
Guys,
Has anyone had any problems with a wooden stock warping and touching the barrel? If so, how did you overcome the problem?
I have a Steyr-Mannlicher Classic Halfstock in .243. I've had the rifle since April and has only had 25 shots through it. It has always been kept in my cabinet which is in the cupboard under the stairs and therefore the environment is stable with minimum humidity or temperature variations.
Over the summer I've been noticing the fore end of the stock creeping closer to the barrel but up until now it hasn't touched. I got the rifle out this evening and put a till receipt between the barrel and stock at the chamber end. It slides along freely between the stock and barrel until it reaches the fore end where upon it jams and requires tugging to pull it through.
Obviously this may cause problems with accuracy so has anyone got any tips for solving the problem? The wood is fairly slim in that area and not much to play with. Sanding may not be an option because I feel if I take anything off, the wood will continue to warp if I give it more room.
 
a. was your rifle leaning at an angle with pressure on the barrel? wood doesn't just 'move' in stable conditions..are the action screws tight?
otherwise,,
b. Get a gunsmith to straighten it
c. buy a decent synthetic stock as a replacement
b. chop the fore end and replace with a new rosewood one, or similar ...on that thought, is there a white plastic 'spacing' around the fore end? has the glue come loose letting it bend upwards?
 
If the rifle was bought brand new it might be a lack of proper seasoning in the wood. Discuss it with the vendor
 
a. was your rifle leaning at an angle with pressure on the barrel? wood doesn't just 'move' in stable conditions..are the action screws tight?
otherwise,,
b. Get a gunsmith to straighten it
c. buy a decent synthetic stock as a replacement
b. chop the fore end and replace with a new rosewood one, or similar ...on that thought, is there a white plastic 'spacing' around the fore end? has the glue come loose letting it bend upwards?

Thank you for your replies so far Gents. To answer PKL's questions above........

a. The rifle is stored upright and with no angle to put pressure on the barrel. The foam spacers in my cabinet are low and actually support the stock so the barrel has no weight bearing on it. All screws appear tight, there is no movement where there shouldn't be any.
b. What does this involve?
c. Noooo way can I get a crappy placcy stock!!!! :eek: (No offence meant to those who have synthetic stocks! ;)) Personal preference - I like a piece of wood on my guns! :)
d. No plastic spacer as far as I know, there is nothing after the barrel leaves the action. The stock touches before the rosewood end so not sure if it's anything to do with that........?

I spoke to the seller earlier and I'll take it back for them to look at.
 
One of the wonderful things (to me and the work of the Devil to those who favour synthetic stocks) about wood is that no matter how old it is, it's still 'alive'.

There are two possibilities and it can sometimes be very hard to work out which it is. The first is that the stock is moving (i.e. what is often called warping) and the second is that it is localised swelling in the area of the barrel. The problem is that the remedy in each case is exactly opposite.

If the stock is moving, it is because there is a difference in moisture content. It's not always so simple to work out in complex situations, but basically the outside of the curve is 'wetter' than the inside. That difference can be caused by heat removing moisture or by moisture being added. The good news is that it is always reversable.

I would expect that the barrel side of the stock in that area is more permeable than the other side, and so regardless of how stable the moisture content is, there is a differential rate of absorption. This can be caused by pretty much anything. I've seen instances where the barrel channel was never finished, where someone has just refinished the 'easy' bits of the stock, or where I suspect that the sheer build-up of hand grease, dirt and oil did it.

In order to get it to move back, you either need to make the side nearest the barrel wetter (obviously not when the barrel is there) or the other side drier. The fastest method (and most dangerous) is to apply heat to the side away from the barrel, whilst the safest (although not always successful) is to increase moisture on the side nearest the barrel by removing the stock, covering the rest of the stock with something impermeable (cling film etc. or temporary finish) and placing it in a slightly more moist environment (such as washing areas).

However, if it is localised swelling (again caused by moisture absorption at a failure of the finish in that area), the solution is to apply heat to reduce the moisture at that point - exactly the opposite remedy.

If I had to guess, my bet would be (since you suggest that the gap progressively narrows) is that is moving. In either instance, patience and caution are your best tools - go steady.

HTH
Knots



To
 
i would take the barrel off so you dont put any pressure on the stock where the action is bolted on and put it somewhere it can dry out properly not too fast it should go back to as it was if care is taken . after its fully dry re build if it need a light sanding use a dowel to keep the channel straight after that spend time in oiling the stock inside the channel as well as the whole stock . can i ask if the stock is varnished or is it oiled as it might not have had enough oiling and treating in the first place,atb wayne
 
Thank you for the further replies, I appreciate your thoughts and suggestions.
Whatever moisture that is in the wood or could be causing the movement has been there prior to me purchasing the rifle. It has never been out in any wet weather or been exposed to an environment where condensation has occured. I am quite conscious to keep the gun in a stable atmosphere to avaoid any issues such has happened.
The stock is lightly oiled, not varnished and was quite dry when I bought the gun so it has only had a very light oiling of the woodwork using CCL Gunstock Conditioning Oil when I first got it home, the apparent warping didn't become noticeable until about three months after. All other gaps, wood to metal fit has remained the same, it is just in the one area.
I've attached a pic below to try and show the problem......
 
The old way of bedding a rifle was to have a wooden pad at the end of the barrel channel that actually puts positive pressure on the barrel. Indeed some rifles respond to this. What causes problems is inconsistency - a full bedded barrel can shoot well, a barrel that is sometimes bedded sometimes not would be more difficult.

If its a ne rifle take it back to the dealer. If its not then problem easily solved with a bit of sandpaper and then seal the barrel channel with some stock oil / varnish.
 
dont get a synth!
horrible nasty plastic things with no life in them!

sorry just read this and deleted my post. if it is new then take it back!
 
Wood will always move - fact. The only way to get around it is to dress the area around the barrel out by a good margin, but the rest of the stock will still move and could cause problems. If you like the feel and properties of wood, you could replace it with a laminate which will give the best of both worlds. Although wood looks nice, it is unreliable, easily damaged, and therefore not suited to a working tool IMHO! I'm sure others will disagree, but i want something i can use in all weathers and have total confidence in. I therefore choose to use synthetics!:)
MS
 
The old way of bedding a rifle was to have a wooden pad at the end of the barrel channel that actually puts positive pressure on the barrel. Indeed some rifles respond to this.

what, are you trying to make Brithunter come in his pants? LOL :D
 
The old way of bedding a rifle was to have a wooden pad at the end of the barrel channel that actually puts positive pressure on the barrel.

Absolutely - I've seen it done often by clamping the gun upside down by the stock, hanging a weight (usually 1 1/2 to 2lb for reasons that no-one has ever been able to explain to me) from the end of the barrel and measuring the resultant gap between the barrel and forend. This was then replicated in the forend inletting depth or by a shim - theoretically giving an upwards pressure on the barrel of the same force (although I suspect that the stock would deflect a bit over time to reduce this).

The old boys who used to do it would have had a fit at the idea of a floating barrel, and the guns they stocked did seem to shoot well. Perhaps it was more appropriate for the nature of older actions/barrels?
 
Absolutely - I've seen it done often by clamping the gun upside down by the stock, hanging a weight (usually 1 1/2 to 2lb for reasons that no-one has ever been able to explain to me) from the end of the barrel and measuring the resultant gap between the barrel and forend. This was then replicated in the forend inletting depth or by a shim - theoretically giving an upwards pressure on the barrel of the same force (although I suspect that the stock would deflect a bit over time to reduce this).

The old boys who used to do it would have had a fit at the idea of a floating barrel, and the guns they stocked did seem to shoot well. Perhaps it was more appropriate for the nature of older actions/barrels?

Not it was because they were using decnet air dried walnut and not the crappy klin dried stuff that foisted upon us as quality walnut now by the manufacturers. Once again it's all in worship of the Great God Excessive Profit.

You will notice that proper quality gunmaker buy wood and they hold in in drying stores for a minimum of FIVE years before offering it to their clients. I have rifles that are over 100 years old and the bedding and inletting is still fine. At least one of the rifles has bee stored damp as the rust i had to deal with on the rifle shows and it had not been molly coddled either seeing as how it was used against the British Army by the Boers. Strange though the stock is still straight but then again it's made of air dried walnut ;) oh yes and of course properly bedded. Not floating barrel and one only has to read the skirmish and battle reports to find out how well the Boers could shoot with iron sights to learnt hat one does not need a floated barrel fro precision on target :smug:.
 
Adrian, are you quite sure this rifle was free floated previously? Seems you have only fired it a few times, have you tried it recently?

I only ask as I had a Mannlicher classic for some time. It came from the factory with aluminium pillars and a forend pressure tip. Take the barrelled action out of the stock, check how it is bedded, ie are the action screws seated in little aluminium tubes in the stock? Is there a raised "pad" of wood about half an inch square near the tip of the stock in the barrel channel.

The description you give - free space from the shank along the barrel, and then a point of contact near the end of the forend - sounds like a forend pressure point.

Shoot the rifle before you condemn it or take any drastic action.
 
Adrian, are you quite sure this rifle was free floated previously? Seems you have only fired it a few times, have you tried it recently?

I only ask as I had a Mannlicher classic for some time. It came from the factory with aluminium pillars and a forend pressure tip. Take the barrelled action out of the stock, check how it is bedded, ie are the action screws seated in little aluminium tubes in the stock? Is there a raised "pad" of wood about half an inch square near the tip of the stock in the barrel channel.

The description you give - free space from the shank along the barrel, and then a point of contact near the end of the forend - sounds like a forend pressure point.

Shoot the rifle before you condemn it or take any drastic action.

Hi Brian,
Thank you for your reply. The rifle was free floated when I got it, I checked it out prior to me firing it to make sure no foreign objects had lodged in the free space during manufacture, transit etc.
I haven't condemned the rifle nor will take any drastic action, I haven't fired it since the problem became obvious so therefore don't know how it affects the grouping. I was under the impression the barrel needs to be free, it now isn't, hence my question and thanks to generous advice and comments I hope I can get the issue rectified.
Are you saying that the rifle should have a contact point by way of a pad of wood within the stock to keep things square?
 
Adrian, I am not saying the rifle should or must have a pressure tip. Most modern rifles are built with the barrel free floating. However, it was long establish practice for better quality rifles to be built with a pressure tip. My Mannlicher certainly had one. Yours may not, and I re-looked at your photo and it does seem the the forend has shifted to the left as you look down the barrel, but that might be the angle of the photo.

If the stock has genuinely warped on a new rifle, I would send it back pronto. The sportsman who import these should be able to give you a new stock in short order rather than a whole new rifle needing a variation.
 
Thank you for clarifying Brian. Yes, you're correct, the stock has shifted to the left at the fore end as per the photo, it is not the angle. :)
 
Get in touch with the vendor/importer ASAP.

As for free floating despite what is being sold to us by a lot of folks it is actually a production short cut to cheapen production and not the be all and end all that has been foisted upon us by certain "experts". The only place one found a free floated barrel was on certain target rifles with very heavy barrels and even then a lot of those were actually bedded at point point along it's length ;).

The other reason for a free floated barrel is because the manufacturers are using cheap Kiln Dried wood which is prone to warpage unlike proper air dried wood. Again it's about profit not quality :cry:.
 
I had the same problem a couple of years ago with my Sako 75 Hunter. With the stock touching the barrel it would not group sub 6”!

So, I took the action and barrel out, sanded quite generously the stock, so there is a good gap between barrel and stock.
I then left it until the end of the summer when the ambient air had been dry for some time and this is when the stock seems at its straightest. I then varnished the exposed grain where I had sanded it down. That’s done the job. It does still move a fraction between winter and summer but the gap between barrel and stock is large enough it toes not touch.
 
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