gun stock woes ...

[RobD]

the jackie brown smoothbore initially arrived with a number of visual and not-so-visual issues.  learning about how returns to jackie could yield an even worse firearm, i elected to not go that route.  the biggest problem was the hidden touch hole liner set of issues that's now well resolved.  the first external glaring issue was the butt shape ....

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... what in the world is that weird shape?  why convex and not flat or concave??

so i hacked it off ...

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... and fitted a home made leather boot with a kick kiler akton gel shock absorber ...

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the bare wood butt plate yields an LOP of 13-1/8".  what i think i'd like to to is replace the kick killer boot with a more "period correct" sheet brass butt plate, and maybe increase the LOP with a 1/2" or 3/4" slab of wood ... comments, please?

[rollingb]

Rob,.... if it was me, I'd add whatever wood it takes to get the LOP I'm lookin' for, then wrap it with rawhide and call it good. 

I mention this because my interests center on weapons, accouterments, and camp gear revolving around the "western fur trade era",.... and rawhide was the most widely used gun "repair" readily found in the west at that time.
Examples can be found in many museums, demonstrating how rawhide was as useful "then",... as plastic is today.

Looking at a gun's butt ,  any rawhide wrapped as I've described would be an indication that a native might'a removed the gun's original butt-plate and used it as a "tool" for fleshing hides, or made it into arrowheads (both of which they historically did ).

Wrapping the gun's butt with rawhide would not only be "period correct", but it also protects the stock's butt from the ground (when loading) and strengthens the stock's "toe" almost as good as an actual brass, or iron butt plate does. 
In your case, a rawhide wrap would also hide the "seam" where any added wood is fastened to the stock.

When using rawhide in such a manner, I'd give the rawhide (after it dries) a coat of Tru-Oil to help protect it from getting wet during inclement weather. 

[Ohio Joe]

I like Rondo's idea.

The best glue that I've found to glue hardwoods together is Tite Bond III... I use it on bows that I've laminated with another wood and I've never had separation of the hardwoods as it takes 24 hours for it to dry which allows great penetration into the joined wood's.

The rawhide wrap,,, great idea! 

[Hank in WV]

Tite-Bond is great glue but it is not a filler so you have to have complete wood to wood contact. Also, since its' end-grain, apply it liberally.

[RobD]

i really appreciate the suggestions and comments.  i think i'm just gonna screw on a 1/16" plate of brass and be done with it.  the LOP as it is now ain't bad.  with eyes closed and brought up to shoulder and aimed, she's purty good.

fwiw, i use a fair amount of tb3 in my work, but in this application i'd forego that for slow set marine epoxy.   

from this past friday's smoothie testing of the new and real white lightnin' liner ...