M14 Cheek Pad: Anyone with Experience in Injection Molding?

[Richard Turner]

I am planning on reviving a cheek pad that I designed over 20 years ago. The original design required laminated leather spacers to give rise off the comb of the stock. The original design worked perfect; however, within a year, the one and only glue that would work with the set-up was discontinued and the formulation changed. It was a Non-Flam Aircraft contact cement that was very thin and was applied through pressure and would vacate water/moisture when under pressure then the glue would fill the void, but remain flexible. Kind of like laminated plywood. The folks who regulate solvents saw fit to ban the key ingredient in the glue that made the whole process work with the pressure molds I had designed. The original molds I had made was for an exact fit for the issue M14 stock.

What I am looking to do is still use the same outer shell, but have a closed cell foam that is the correct height and thickness. There should be a company that can either make the interior riser by injection molding the foam or maybe using a CNC or 3D Printed part. With the old design, one could vary the height needed by adding sheet foam or foam tape to give extra rise off the comb of the stock. With a proper molded foam interior, the piece will conform to many other stock profiles and has been used on the M40A1 and similar stocks. Up until the glue fiasco happened, about 1997, the USMC at Quantico, VA, was considering and evaluating its use on their then DMR which used the M14 platform. The lack of a suitable glue shot the whole project.

Any help, knowledge, or advice in the realm of injection molded/3D Printed products would be greatly appreciated.

Here is a photo of the cheek pad from Chandler's Book "Death From Afar I" showing how the cheek pad mounts to the stock. The whole point was to be functional, but still retain a military appearance similar to the M1C/D cheek pad. I also provided two photos so you can see interior of the original piece showing the laminated leather.

Semper Fi,

Richard Turner

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