Australian Coachwood fore ends without copper recoil blocks?

[Son]

I have a foreend somewhere where the recoil plates have turned in toward the center pivoting around the screw just as Peter suggested might happen. That particular foreend is well and truly drenched with oil that has probably run back from the barrel when over oiled and racked upright. The coachwood has turned into soggy mess just like the worst of the walnut ones we have seen, allowing the part supporting the inside edge of the copper plates to compress. Of course, once any movement is present, the damage gets very bad very quickly.

I would suggest this is avoidable, and therefore the exception rather than the rule with well kept, tight fitting coachwood foreends fitted with the copper plates.

As for tightening them if they do get loose... I cannot say I have ever came across any that were loose that did not show a good reason for being loose. Tell-tales like the square in the tie plate spread and burred from having the butt screw moved while the foreend is attached. This spreads the tie plate, and cracks and spreads the back of the foreend, stripping the grip of the threaded cross wire at the back, allowing the foreend to spread freely and loading the copper recoil plates more toward the inner edge as the gap between them is opened. The draws cracked out along the screw holes- pic below.

I have, on a foreend I have fitted plates to (and didn't get right first go), used shim material behind the plates to get them to even tension again. Another I did was on a H barreled range rifle that looked to have had the foreend removed by pulling down at the front first instead of tapping off at the rear. Luckily the motion seemed to only compress the draws slightly and few thou of shim each side tightened them up.

Attachment 82313