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Quick fitting of a Stock and and Forend for a 682 Gold E

A new left hand stock and forend for a 682 Gold E.
The customer shot with a right handed 690 E that had been cast to fit him as a left handed shooter, the problem was it had cracked across one of the cheeks and not really worth attempting a repair.
The problem was sourcing new woodwork and it did take a little while to find something suitable. Eventually a cardboard box with a brand new stock set arrived and it was time to put everything together.
Fit on Berretta stuff is usually very close however some fine tuning is always required. Time to get the best chisels out.
Our workshop is a mix of machinery, office, counter and benches, we have lathes, mill, heat treatment, horizontal and vertical band-saws, surface grinder and numerous other things including work benches in the lower level of the chapel.
In the raised lower section under two huge windows for the maximum light is my wood working bench. It is a Sjöbergs that is probably 50 years old now and is very solid. Wood working benches need to be robust and not bounce around the floor and this is perfect for what we do here. However it is not all about big hammers…
I use Lie-Nielsen chisels for finer jobs and Marples for more general work. All of my chisels are sharpened by hand with a Veritas honing fixture using the ‘Scary Sharp system’ and the end result being the ability to literally split hairs, so a Beretta stock was not going to be an issue. Mallets if ever used include one made by myself plus examples made by my Son, my Father and my Grand Father. I also use chisels that have belonged to all three of them in the past.
I am sure the customer is going to be pleased.
This was the fourth time I was working on woodwork this week, first was a repair to a forend, then a second forend repair, this fitting job and oiling the final one.
This coming week also going to be a packed week on guns
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FELWG Minutes October 2021

The minutes to the October 2021 FELWG (Firearms Explosives Working Group) are out and I have added them to the repository linked below, I have also left a copy on this page to save you some click and scroll work.

Many thanks to Paul W for forwarding myself the copy.

https://shootingshed.co.uk/wp/category/felwg/

FELWG-Minutes-Oct-2021

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Disk set strikers/bushed strikers

Disk set strikers/bushed strikers.
You know what I mean, often found on Side by Side shotguns the striker (firing pin) is removed from the front and held in place by a bushing or disk that has two or three holes in it for a peg spanner to enable it to be screwed into the face.
The idea being that you pop your peg spanner in place, unscrew the disk, replace the striker and spring as required, put it back together and look at the next job.
The problem is the PCD (Pitch Circle Diameter) and the number of holes vary quite a bit so I need a few different tools. Yesterday I broke a tool on a Spanish gun and decided it was time to do something different.
The issue is the pegs snap off and the tool is rendered scrap so use needle rollers at the correct diameter, this way if I snap one I just replace it with another one and here is the tool ready to go in the HT oven when the final customer has been and gone.
The rollers are incredibly cheap so I buy 50 at a time and if I need a 1.8mm peg instead of a 2.0mm I just turn the end of the roller down. I will use this style every time I need a different size or PCD and should end up with all I need as time goes by. Plus it is always nice to make your own hand tools.
I have since heat treated and tempered the tool and it should see me out.
There are many different versions of this tool, this is my one.
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Machining Comparators in reverse

Look on this as a ‘Trade tip’
This is a custom comparator, so I am doing the finish machining on a manual lathe.
The most import part of the job other than boring the hole accurately is to keep everything concentric and maintain datums and dimensions.
So, instead of swapping tools and going through the ‘Cut, measure, cut’ process again, I put the drive in reverse and use the boring bar to cut the shoulder from the back of the job instead of the front. This saves me several minutes of faffing around and everything is ready for the other end of the comparator.
Machining is often about thinking outside of the box, not what you do, but how you do it.
The current operation always has an impact on the following op.
For scale, the boring bar is solid carbide, 4,0mm wide and bloody expensive, so I tend to look after them as they tend to not fare well under radial loads
and why am I telling you this? Because you need to know.
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The signature Carbon OAL gauge

I have always wanted to do this but never got around to it, so I recently built one for myself:

A stainless and carbon version of our standard length OAL gauge. Every time I build one of our carbon tubed rear bag riders I realise just how good polished metal and carbon looks, so here is the combination as one of our OAL gauges.

This one was supposed to be mine and I really wanted to keep it, however so did a customer so it has moved to a new home. So that really only leaves one question can you buy one? Yes you can and they are available by special order on our new e-commence site here:

https://shootingshed.co.uk/zencart/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=16

Thoughts anyone?