No 4 Mk1 Savage Stock bedding question

[pasadenatim]

I have NOS Savage No4 Mk1 forestock that I'm attempting to fit. I've researched various articles and especially the write up's by Mr. Peter L. on this site. As expected, the receiver did not go directly into the stock, and using a sharp chisel, I removed material from the draws to get the stock to begin seating to the point that I can place the trigger guard on and tighten the rear and main screw. There is firm contact at the receiver wrist interface. Prior to this I dabbed the receiver lugs, and reinforce area with engineers blue (pics attached) to determine the contact areas. There appears to be firm contact with the draws, but only minimum contact underneath the reinforce. Also, this stock has a cone shaped hollowed out area where the main screw and collar would attach to the receiver and normally have firm contact with the receiver. I can attach the trigger guard and screws and I tightened them to determine the contact points at this time and reflected by the pics. The trigger guard does not sit flush and when attached by the rear screw does not fall in place naturally, but is springy and sits proud around the main screw. It appears the stock does not fully seat as there is approximately a 1/16th inch gap remaining above the trigger guard to the stock. The trigger was hard to get in place underneath the sear. So, at this point, I don't want to move further and possibly "cock up" the stock if not already done so? My thoughts are that a little more material needs to be removed from the draws area to allow the stock to seat further down into the stock in order to get the required contact at the reinforce and front trigger guard areas. (I did have to lightly tap with a rubber mallet to seat to this point). As of now, the barrel appears to sit centrally in the stock channel, and is free from the reinforce up to the front sight. Any advice and guidance is greatly appreciated. I have this stock for a sporterized Savage No 4 that I recently obtained. This to go along with my No 4 (T) , Ishapore 2A and Faz. No4 Mk2. Really enjoying the Enfields. Thanks in advance.
Cheers,
Tim

Information

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[Doco overboard]

If your sported rifle has the earlier bolt release ,look carefully at your stock to that arrangement for interference to the area immediately to the front right of the sear lug as viewed from the top.
Sometimes the spring and plunger where it needs to travel downwards could be the cause for some difficulty.
The body will want to tend to tilt left and bind as it is lowered to its bearings.
It would be a mistake to continue to remove wood from the draws as it all comes together rather quickly there.

[pasadenatim]

If your sported rifle has the earlier bolt release ,look carefully at your stock to that arrangement for interference to the area immediately to the front right of the sear lug as viewed from the top.
Sometimes the spring and plunger where it needs to travel downwards could be the cause for some difficulty.
The body will want to tend to tilt left and bind as it is lowered to its bearings.
It would be a mistake to continue to remove wood from the draws as it all comes together rather quickly there.

Okay, Thanks for the info. With this Savage, there is no bolt release, which at first threw me off. However, I found that you move the bolt forward to where there was a cut out to pull the bolt head vertical for removal. I'll check for other areas of interference and not touch the draws at this point.

[Doco overboard]

pasadenatim, I see your not that far from me and I know your area relatively well. Small World.

Based on your pictures which I can see more clearly now, it could be that in order to gain as much bearing at the front of your action body the possibility for additional interference could exist.
The areas where the engineers compound shows contact at the body sides could could be preventing full contact and bottoming of the barreled reciever at both the front and back of the initial assembly.
I think the barrel reinforce at the sides/body sides could be improved as you work towards bottoming. When the bearings are good its only the bottom third of the reinforce and bottom of the body that should bear at front and back.
No interference around the sides of the body, barrel reinforce, clear out the barrel to the muzzle end except the underside third again.
Once you get that fitting accomplished for full contact at both the front and rear of the body, the next course of action would be fitting the trigger guard so that it falls right in place with both them main screw and rear guard screw in perfect alignment.
Making sure the trigger guard is perfectly flat is crucial, no stress when mating the upper and lower components together with the fore end sandwiched between them.
What I do is candle black soot the entire body/barrel reinforce, keeping in mind as the in-letting occurs it must be done simultaneously as the pieces come together. It'll happen all at one time.
At the same time, a little soot out towards the end of the barrel will reveal the bearing at the barrel bottom at the pad built into the wood. This will need to be done repetitively with scraping-clearing thoughtfully done as you go. Its a trial and no error proposition as you cannot put wood back, slowly as each step occurs with each part of the process influencing the other.
If you like, pm me and I can provide some pictures from fitting projects I did and some resources that could be helpful.
Its a rather difficult process to describe in words, but when your done that forearm should snap into place and need to be driven clear from the rear of the body with a wooded drift from the rear sides it'll fit so well. The trigger guard should go right into place with no tension on application of front/rear screws. Once done, the bearings will be clearly be evident at all the recognized/important locations.
I have found at least for me, that those draws and the way they contact the sear lugs have a lot of influence for how the rest of the fitting goes. It seems, that the more contact at the top, the more pressure at the muzzle bearing as the fore-end meets its bearings points at the bottom of the body becuase they lever the front of it downwards as the parts all come together. And not forgetting that the rear of the fore-end interacts with the front of the butt socket too like a wedge. All at one time so every thing snaps together, so slowly as it goes is the key. And, there is the trigger guard fitting revolving around all this.
Nice project, good luck- its a wonderful system and have fun!

Brian