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Minelli stock review and fitting
Hello. I'm working on building a 1903a4 clone from a nice sporter rifle I bought cheap that a previous owner decided to play a game of baseball against a tree with. I got luck in that this rifle was already drilled and tapped for an original Redfield 2-hole mount. I thought I'd make a separate thread on just fitting the new stock. I've read several questions about the Minelli vs. Boyds stocks. This will be the third Minelli that I have personally fit. I have fitted two Boyds/cmp stocks that came on rifles that were just "dropped in", but not fitted. I have to say I prefer the Minelli stocks, but in all fairness I never bought a stock from Boyds...the ones I did were already on the rifle.
The very first time I fit a stock, I basically followed Doco Overboard's instructions at https://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=232416, reading between the lines with my own carefully analysis and intuition. I'm not a professional, but with thoughtful attention to detail, careful planning and research, measure twice cut once...the right tools for the right job etc, I'm generally successful at most things I take up, and the stocks I've fit have produced groups that more than satisfy me.
So here we go...unboxing a Minelli stock. What do we get? A stock with a light oil based stain, and handgaurd that is inletted for clips... no hardware, no cross bolts.
If you are comparing against original wood, you will be disappointed. USGI stocks came from "heart cuts" of American walnut. Minelli is not so selective. A previous Minelli I fit had wide grain on the right side, and tight/small grain on the left. The oil stain hides grain variation. It feels like wood, and certainly isn't "fancy" or "extra fancy", but is certainly serviceable walnut, so lets move on.
I first like to drop in the action (if it goes in) and get a feel for what I may be up against before checking the bedding. Tap it back so the recoil lug is as far back as it will go (hopefully engaging the wood), and take a look around the receiver. This one will certainly need relieved for the back side of the tang, and the right side (stock) is low..but this may fix itself when it's tightened up. don't panic.
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Next, you will notice the outer profile is very FAAAAT. All previous Minelli stocks I've fit were fat, this one is the same. The barrel bands won't fit, even with the screw backed out all the way. Here is how far the lower band goes on before it's too tight. Notice the stock shape doesn't match the barrel band, which is NOS, taken out of it's original undamaged USGI package. It's not the band, the stock is very wide. Fixing the profile will happen last. Plenty of wood to work with. Notice the extra "ledge" at the step.
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On a positive note, the handgaurd has always aligned perfectly with the forend. Can't say the same for the Boyds, they have always been uneven, getting pulled and twisted into alignment by the bands. I'm 3 or 3 on the handgaurd tenon not fitting into the ring on the Minelli stocks.
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Now check the exterior inletting...bottommetal and furniture.
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rear swivel is spot on, I've never had a problem. Barrel channel is always straight and even, I've had issues with both Boyds/cmp in the past with crooked barrel channels.
bottom metal has always been perfect...but with milled floor plate, this is the second time the wood slightly presses against the front corner of the floor plate. When the screws are tightened this makes it impossible to remove the floor plate. Easy fix. better tight than loose.
Butt plates have been hit or miss, but I don't think this is Minelli's fault. There is a lot of variation in butt plates. Here are 3. In each, the top screw is spot on.
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There is a 0.02 to 0.04 variation in the bottom hole location. The thickness at the bend in the plates makes them each hang slightly different. I plan to use the first buttplate, which will require the most work. Perhaps even re-drilling the bottom hole. Plenty of time to decide.
The screw holes are always too tight, and need to be cleaned out slightly, especially the upper part where the straight top of the screw sits. Here is how far I can get a greased bottom screw in without surely buggering the slot.
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Now, this is the third time that the receiver inletting has been nice and snug. I tighten the front action screw thumb tight, then start to tighten the back..just to test the initial fit of the wood. Every Minelli I've done, I've heard the wood around the tang creak. This one is no exception. We have some work to do, but plenty of wood to work with.
Last, with receiver pressed hand tight into the action, take a look at the length of the tang bushing. this confirms the depth of the inletting is correct. I always grind an eighth inch or so off the bushing, to ensure light compression of the wood when tightening instead of tightening entirely against the bushing
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the bushing always has a loose fit in it's hole, and I've had to glue the bushing in place. This one snug, but the bushing still falls through, The last Minelli it was so wide I had to wrap aluminum tape around the bushing.
next post, we will further check the interior fit, step by step, and identify what needs to be done. This one, other than the fat outer profile, is the closest to being "drop in ready" I've seen. In my overall comparisons the worst Minelli has been closer to drop in than the best Boyds.
EDIT: Another thing to check over is the initial depth of inletting around the chamber base. Tighten the action with the handgaurd ring on. If the ring should not interfere with the bedding of the receiver. We will have to address this when the time comes to fit the handgaurd.
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you can see where the ring was pressing into the top.
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Finishing the outer profile
There isn't much to the action area. With the action tightened into the stock, use a sharp pencil to trace out any areas where the wood is more than a pencil width proud of the metal. In the photos above, you can see I have a lot of work to do at the tang, and the rear trigger guard. All else is pretty close.
Don't sand too much around the cross bolt holes. The tolerances there are known to be uneven. We will take care of it when we fit the cross bolts later. for now, just knock the finish off as you work back.
NO MATTER WHAT, YOU MUST RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO USE ANY POWER TOOL...NO DETAIL SANDERS, NO DREMELS. Ask how I learned this lesson...ok I'll tell you. the first stock I fit I though...I have a steady enough hand. I'll use a Dremel to even out the pistol grip, I'll use 120 grit or finer on the the little spinny cylinder to rough it...then I spent days and days evening it out. It worked out, but my blood pressure was through the roof and I was a nervous wreck questioning every hour if I had ruined the stock. Trying to fix with a Dremel only made it worse...files and sandpaper and slow steady progress is what fixed it...and it was perfect in the end except for my new gray hair and lack of sleep for a week. Lesson learned...FILES AND SANDPAPER ONLY. if I have a lot of material to remove, like this one at the top of the tang and the rear of the trigger guard, I will use 60 grit. I don't like rasps because it takes a lot of effort to get the deeper scratches out. I like to work, then hit with 100 grit to quickly even out, and slide my hand along the area to check the feel. I don't like 1/2 hour of sanding out rasp scratches just to check the feel. Files and paper may take longer, but for me patience pays off. So that's my rant for the night. Back to the work...
I used a file and 60 grit on a block or on my thumb for curved surfaces, to level out most of the tang, down to the top of my pencil mark, and similarly for the rear trigger guard. For the latter, this effectively moved back the pistol grip, and made it more vertical. This was on purpose to help achieve the trigger position I like...tip of index finger touching the forward side edge of the trigger guard.
First up...I'm fitting this stock to MY hand...namely my left hand. No one else's. The vintage rules and military morals forces me to stick with the classic profile...but we can put in some minor, subtle ergonomics. I like the start of the comb to be steep enough that my thumb has a clean, easy to repeat, reference point. I like a small palm swell that tells me "yep...this feels perfect right here..." every time I slide my hand up into position. I like the tip of my trigger finger to touch the front side edge of the trigger guard. On a 1903, given how my finger is shaped, that gives me a perfect, repeatable trigger position. So, put the bottom metal in, and slide your trigger hand up the stock into your desired position.
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I trace out the areas I want to use as a reference. The rear of my palm, the pad of my thumb that makes contact in front of the comb, and the bottom pad of my index finger. This marks the "OD" the material to be removed. I then use a micrometer to measure those parts of my hand, palm pad, thumb width, bottom index pad, and use that as an estimate for the ID. Trace it all on the stock in pencil, then make symmetric markings on the other side.
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I worked these areas with a half-round file, pausing round out and even out the edges with sandpaper and remove most of the tool marks quickly, 100 grit works quick for me and the files I used. I check often by sliding my hand up the stock into position.
1) I started with the front of the comb as my main reference point. I made it a bit more vertical, and a bit deeper, providing the start for a narrower "waist", blending up to the tang which in the end will flush with the metal, or maybe wood a fingernail proud at most.
2) I next cut in the front of my palm swell, rounding to the underside of the wrist and into the pistol grip area. This completes profile for the wrist. I don't use a micrometer, and I don't have a set "size" for the wrist...I just go till it feels right for me. The minelli stocks start of sooooo fat that there is no curve in the wrist area and it's "slab sided" back through the palm to the but. Because of this and that my hands are big enough, I have zero worries of removing too much wood in the wrist.
3) I then work the rear of the palm swell. It starts at the base of the pistol grip and, following my palm, arcs up and gets lightly blended with the front of the comb. In order to keep the classic military lines, the swell is not pronounced here. Looking at the stock from the side you likely wouldn't notice it. A SUBTLE arcing blend up to the comb give the tactile feel normally achieved with flutes, but without being visually noticable. Subtle is the key...everything is enough to notice the comfort when the shooter slides a hand into position, but not very visually noticable.
Here is the left side (trigger hand for me) roughed in with the edges of the curves blended in. Slight palm swell in position
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5) Now I repeat the same process on the right side. Normally, perfect symmetry would be the goal. BUT...while I shoot predominately left handed because I'm left eye dominant, I am right handed...and the USMC taught me to shoot weapons that required right handed shooting and I got pretty good at it. Ever notice how holding something in the same way in one hand then the other still feels different? Symmetry gives me the rough idea, but I fit the right side to my right the same way I did the left. Rough in with a file, sand to even out the edges and curves, slide your hand into position to check the feel, and repeat until you like it. Perfect symmetry be damned. It'll be close enough to even that no one would notice it unless they pulled out a micrometer.
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6) I have been finish sanding all along with 100 grit so far for the whole stock. So now I blend in all the areas around the wrist and pistol grip and remove all tool marks. It helps find areas you miss by wiping your dust off with mineral spirits, or lacquer thinner. I circle areas with a pencil that need more work. Leave the butt alone.
7) my final finish will be 150 grit. Starting at rear. I sand the comb, then the underside, then the sides, and work my way forward. I always do the top and bottom surfaces, then the sides to make sure I don't miss anything. Wipe, circle any tool marks or areas that need a few more swipes. Don't worry about the handgaurd alignment...your not shaping just knocking the grain back a bit. Stay away from the butt, and be careful of the edges at the bands.
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most of the original stain is still on the surface around the butt.