My 2nd Krag

[ssgross]

Since all the pictures were lost, I went digging to recover some of them. here is were it all started last spring - just an old sewer pipe and a paper weight (receiver)

I collected all the missing parts, including a beautiful NOS bolt with fine NOS case hardened, peacock blue extractor. While I sourced a stock, I learned to slow rust blue for the first time, practicing first on some old parts I had lying around then refininishing all my parts. The rear sight came out especially nice. I think it was butlersrangers who said somewhere on this forum that the ladders originally came in the white. Very sharp.


Stock fitting woes then commenced. I bought a pretty nice replacement stock. I was able to fit the receiver very well, but there was not enough meat on the forend and the lower band left a large gap underneath. I set it aside for a couple months to chew on my next move, considering gluing in more wood under the band and blending it best I could. Then heard here on milsurps that https://www.prestigiouswoodstocks.com started making full length krag stocks. I bought one. See my last post about fitting it last weekend. I finished the details tonight. The handgaurd required little work to fit. It's much thinner than the one on my original krag. It didn't have the opening for my rear sight, so I did that - came out nice and tight. I measured fore and aft, marked a centerline by putting a dab of black on the top of my calipers, and gently touched them to the handgaurd, then removed the build of the material with a 5/8 forester bit. I then set the sight on it, and outlined with pencil and rough cut with my dremmel. I lastly carefully filed the corners square, and worked it open till the sight dropped in on the barrel through the wood. All that is left now is the clips and rivets.
I did have another handgaurd I bought from https://www.shop.macongunstocks.com/...-Handguard.htm. It came looking like a block of wood that someone dug out with a spoon. I finished carving it last night. It already had a rough opening for the rear sight, which was too long by over 1/4". I'll use it to practice riveting clips.

So here is where we are now. I'm pleased.

As you can see, not much meet on the hand guard - windage lever is no where near close to the top of the wood. Look at how the grain turns and flows up through the wrist, then curves again to flow down the forend!

EDIT: Inspected my original. Handgaurd rivets are blued steel, 1/4" flat heads, 1/4" long. I found these https://www.ebay.com/itm/35333891076...gAAOSw8RZaYnZ0. Hard part will be peening the inside. Now I need to locate appropriate steel for the clip. I know it is spring steel, which I can't seem to find. I've read of folks using steel pallet banding. Seems though this is only available in big rolls. Anyone have a small piece they might send me?

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