Gents,
Well, it was time to abuse the mill. It was so cold out recently, I couldn't get it to start. Therefore I put a light on it for some time, to heat up the belts.
I ended up running with Padauk, but some how trashed the wood selection. I therefore fell back on trusty walnut.
First up was to take my dimensions from the existing wood stock. This gave me barrel channel depth, width and also length. Then it was time to load up the 1/2in round router bit into my mill (which you can use a router table if you have one).





Then it was time to verify the cut against the original barrel:




Next up was to start to profile the lower handguard. Using an existing duffel cut and the original stock, it was time to start cutting!!



Photos were a little out of sequence, but you get the point.
And yes, I could have used a table saw to make more precise cuts that would have been faster. As you can see, there are multiple ways to arrive at a good restoration! Just quality first... and save your fingers!

More to come, when I get home from my trip!