best way to trim forearm and handguard area for middle band on No,.4

[newcastle]

I'm finally putting together a No.4 M1/2 sporter rescued to military configuration. I'm using a stock set of the dark turkish walnut which, while looking great ,is on the chunky side and needed plenty of relieving in various places to fit. The last place appears to be under the middle band, frankly there is just no way the band is going round and the sling swivel screw actually fastening. I bought a set a smaller wood chisels . How do I ensure relieving of this area under the band doesn't damage the forearm around it. Do I chisel from the side, which is across the grain, or go front to back into the depression or back to front or would i be better off actually filing it?

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[tbonesmith]

Make shallow cuts at the front and back with a chisel or knife then
relieve from the sides across the grain. Alternatively try a safe edge file in the groove

[Thunderbox]

I've fitted quite a few of these stock sets, and they are very oversize.

Generally I have to carry out two different operations:

1. reduce the overall height of the handguards (by rubbing them over sandpaper on a flat surface);

2. deepen the socket for the middle band (I use a triangular metal file, which happens to be the correct width and also maintains the clean edges to the socket). Here its often the width of the forend that has to be reduced in order to get the mid-band to close sufficiently.

Its often also necessary to slightly reduce the depth of the wood where the rear handguard inserts into the handguard retaining ring, and also clamp the two handguards together, so that the inserts under the mid-band can be shaped with a file to get a precise match.

[Peter Laidler]

All points covered but I use the maxim that you can take more wood off a fore-end than you can off a handguard. With new, full wood in the radial band slot, I use a junior hacksaw to just relieve the edges just a tad ('tad' is the technical phrase we use meaning just one small cut at a time.....) giving more emphasis to the underside than the sides. That way you can take a sliver away at a time until the band grips tight enough to hold the handguards but not so tight that it prevents the sling swivel moving. As an apprentice, it was a big NO-NO if, with the band screwed up and handguards tight, the band gripped the sling swivel anything more then finger tight

Regarding rear handguards, where they were very tight or even no-go under the ring, retaining rear handguard, I was always loath to remove wood from the ring part of the handguard. Preferring to take wood from the underside of the length of the handguard, with a shallow set plane tapering rearwards so that a) the handguard sits squarely and evenly over its full length and b) there was always full wood under the actual retaining ring. Don't forget that the ring part of the handguard is the thinnest part of it

Just my two pence worth...........

[newcastle]

Great advice thanks folks. Will post pics once this is finished. Come to think of it, IF ANYONE has a painted middle band and swivel and screw that would be appropriate for a Faz 1950's FTR'd Mk 1/2 I'd like to hear about it. This one is blued and is the only piece which doesn't fit the profile.