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  • Doco Overboard

    Ultimate Member
    Decided to throw a Krag sporter together because, well I really don't know why come to think of it but anyway I collected a bunch of parts and picked up a model 96 action only because it had a 94 bolt in it that was worth more than the whole shebang put together and I needed it for another rifle so it all makes sense to me now.

    The real reason is, these little numbers which I have no idea what they mean but could be related to heat treat lot, shift, time date really I have no idea I think that info is lost to time,

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    and the final machine work involved in producing an early industrial work of art, plus 30/40 is a fun round to shoot and load.

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    Couple things about a Krag if you ever want to piece one together. In this picture you can see two barrels. The one on top is for a 96 or earlier action. It has on the barrel stub where it meets the inner ring a sharp edge. Trying to screw one of these into a 98 or later can lead to difficulty. The one on the bottom is for a 98. It has the edge broken over and will work in the 98 and earlier with no problem. Barrel steel is soft so you can machine and radius or even relieve that edge by hand if you want to fit an earlier barrel to a later action. Or you can buy a new one from the cmp and have a top notch barrel but they still need some work, finish ream, front site solder and relieve the stock channel slightly because of larger profile. I cant remember if I did all that on here or on the Krag forum. It's out there somewhere if you want to see how to do all that in your garage for a full military resto. Ill just be blowing some deer up with this one and killing clay pigeons that hide up on the berm or one of the kids get 75 dollars at a pawn shop for a new climber one day who knows.

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    I was able to source a barrel with a old Redfield banded site ramp that will pair up with a peep I have and a bright shiny beautiful bore. Some sadist whacked it off at 24" which I may regret not going new but cmp 22" to short and 30" too long 24 just right and I saved $150 but we'll have to see how it goes later.

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    Because I'm a glutton for punishment I decided to hard fit a 98 side-plate to the 96 body. Not worth it, just get a 96 and use it, there are minor differences in machine work and appearance but the machine work is compound and too time consuming. You have to work more than one surface at a time so its very time consuming. The next image only shows one side of slowly adjusting with a stone. Not worth it at all but I did it anyway. There's a small locating in on the reverse side that supports the ejector plus a longer screw for the peep and well..... you get the picture

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    Something else, a Krag butt-plate is not the same as an 03 butt-plate. Here you can see the difference. The Krag is a touch longer but very similar.

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    In this cut down stock, Arggg..... you can see a 96 bolt well which will need inlet into the wood on a m98 stock. It's a complicated affair underneath and on the backside that was prone to chipping at the very end of that little chute and was later changed to reduce production cost/effort but some have claimed it reduced strength a minor bit. I think only PO Ackley really knows for sure all I know is that I have to make this work. This is also one way to tell a 96 bolt from a 98, A 98 bolt has a longer shank and is slightly relieved back towards the flat square root and also helps reduce the chipping.

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    No going back now! ha ha. Here at the front top of the stock, the barrel channel has been relieved for some purpose. I think it was for a roundel that was fit just in front of the receiver. The barrel is .980 and smaller than the front of the action. I'll make one up later on just to help give a better appearance and fill that little area in. Sort of what can be seen on the newer Savage rifles. It will look like a barrel nut but just be for decorative purposes.

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    Later on Ill put it together, refinish the metal/ wood and maybe do a light amateur checkering pattern because it's been some time since I did any and my hands dexterity went to hell. This is a later stock so there's a lot of wood left around the wrist. Shame it was cut off to begin with, it was probably an act of desperation so I'm okay with it for now I guess.

    O, one more thing. I need to build a band for the fore-end. I might try to use a spring steel shipping band and a steel block radiused for the barrel or just make something else. Not sure yet.

    Lapped in barrel stub to receiver web face plus slightly better image of barrel ends. 96 vs. 98

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    Last edited:

    Doco Overboard

    Ultimate Member
    I have no idea what the numbers mean. Check with Joe Farmers (5madfarmers) or Dick Hosmer on the Krag forums- those guys know their shit.
    I have a '92/'94 rear sight and a reproduction '96 carbine handguard collecting dust if you're in need of them.

    I need to get Farmers new book. The 96 barrel in this thread would be a great carbine barrel. I may reach out to you in the future but Im doing a 42 Savage at the same time and needed some woods for it and spent out for them at BDL. I need a mag for it maybe now that I think about it.

    Ill remember when I need one though thanks for the heads up. Things are getting hard to find anymore.
     

    Doco Overboard

    Ultimate Member
    I'll be watching. Interested in when you headspace it.

    Right now with the barrel hand tight it's at .070
    I figure with the estimated 15 degrees rotation needed to meet the index marks, (really its about nearly 20sh I don't want to get too happy) that would be good for about maybe another .004+ advancement on 10 TPI threads minus half of that at the very least in crush. In one of those pictures you can see the barrel stub lapped to the front web so it turns up nice and smooth without a lot of stress.
    If I'm lucky it will just touch on my .067 gauge but more than likely not, Sammi max or field is .071 for the 30/40 Krag minimum is .064
     

    Doco Overboard

    Ultimate Member
    Alright it's cooled off a little so I decided to get back to finishing the rifle. Maybe I can have it together in time to shoot some deer with it.

    A couple weeks ago I made a collar to slip over the barrel shank. The reason is my stock had some in-letting issues right in front of the receiver. I wanted to hide them so the collar will need to be fit to the wood. It's stepped half the distance from the top of the receiver to barrel. When the barrels indexed you slide it up and tighten the set screw that's underneath and out of sight.

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    The donor stock was covered in what I suspect as Tru-oil or g-96 poly stock finish so that stuff had to come off. It was a mess with a couple of applications of stripper needed. Finally it came to the point of scraping with a razor blade to get the tough spots off and then a coat of stain.
    I decided to checker the stock around the grip area so giving a light coat of stain allows for a nice contrast when your cutting master lines and getting your pattern started.

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    Here you can see a simple diamond pattern taped to the stock. I use a pounce wheel to trace an outline then flip the pattern over to the other side by using the obverse.
    You can then adjust the pattern to get it even and start over once it's leveled up. A checkering tool kit comes with flexible diamond pattern that you can use as a gauge to determine lines per inch. This is for when you want to freshen some up or add to the pattern later on. The diamond is oblong and you can use it to make the pattern. The one I used is 3 1/2 diamonds long than they are tall or you can use the other side which is three x long as tall so you need to make sure you don't get it crossed when making a pattern. Lines per inch are 20 because I'm not real good at it. Better tools are oval shaped so you can look through them as you cut the lines in but more expensive.

    Once you get all the lines cut in, use your scraper to clean up outside the border to get rid of the run-over lines. The trick is to not press so hard, let the tool do the work, make your pattern lines intersect as perfectly as you can. Take your time and practice a little first on old gun stocks, ball bats or shovel handles to familiarize yourself with how the tools work. Cut your stain and linseed oil back with turps and brush in so you don't clog up your work.

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    Once you get the lines cut in you follow up with a checkering file. The file is triangular shaped and turned up at either end like a long pointy shoe. I haven't been able to locate mine yet, it was about 30 bucks!
    Each end is turned up to a different angle for reaching different points of the stock.
    The file when found will straighten your lines because each end is about 3/8's long and at the same time will point the diamonds up. Different angled files will form points on top, American style or make flat English style. I think I got that right but anyway Ill leave that for later because there's more to do with the stock yet. This is about 60% completed.

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    Holding the work while you cut is very important. In another thread I described an elaborate checkering cradle that a piece of pipe large enough to fit a V8 connecting rod. A dowel is lashed to the barrel channel and then a cup is made at the end to hold the butt at the recoil surface. The pipe and rigging is fit to a wooded plank that fits in the jaws of the vise. The dowel fits into the small end of the rod and the big end on the pipe. It can then be loosened and adjusted to fit the work as it is slid back and forth or rotated. It's crucial to not allow the work to get away from you. It must be securely fastened to something or you will blow it.

    For this project I used one that was in my barrel barrel because it was easy to pull out right next to the bench. ( found an old bolt action 20 ga in that sucker too) The other good one is stashed in the rafters of the garage.
    Using a tooth brush to clear out the wood dust from your pattern will keep the skip line tool from jumping out of the layout lines. Keep the cutter tool swept off frequently. Other tools will cut a border with a gap around the pattern, some will double cut two lines at a time, a veiner will save you when wood density allows the tool to get away from you and straightens up runaway lines as well as helps to cut initial master lines.

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    More later, I have to make either a barrel band or fit a milled sling band that I have laying around. The stock has been cut off right in front of the fore arm groove. I think an original Krag band will supplement the final appearance of the rifle because Im not extending the stock with a nose piece. What ever route I take it must be done to avoid cracking the stock behind the action. Recoil will surely make that happen without a handguard or nose cap to support the thin wood work underneath the action body.
     

    Doco Overboard

    Ultimate Member
    Well.... decided to stretch the front end out a little bit anyhow. I needed to find a way to attach the front sling so I'm going to use a Krag rifle band. I also don't want to hide the joint under the band in case I want to pull hard on the sling. The stock had been cut horribly short to get decent lines and the narrowing of the fore-ends appearance just wasn't going to cut it for me.

    In order to get the rifle band around the stock the nose has to be slimmed quite a bit because the band is going to have to be right up against the grooves in the fore-end contrary to its usual position on the slim forward part of the Krag rifle stock where its already substantially narrower.

    This creates the problem of appearance. What I want to accomplish is a smooth flow and transition from the finger grooves around the scupted band and then to a tapering nose that compliments the square and rounded receiver lines of a well sported Krag rifle.

    What I did was go into the old stock wood barrel, whack a sported P14 forearm off a junk stock, re-shape the nose into something that looks like a m1905 bayonet pommel and graft it onto the stock with some Acra-glass.

    You will need to carefully lay out your parts and pre-fit every thing. Then trim off what is not needed while keeping them square. I use a miter box and a sharp trim saw with carefully placed scrap blocks of wood to accommodate the taper of most stocks. Make sure to clamp everything securely to keep it from wiggling around while you make your cuts or the cut line will be readily apparent when your done. This image is before being cut in the miter box because you have to account for the stock lightening cuts inside most milsurp barrel channels and be able to pin the parts together either when you join them or after they are firmly attached.

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    Prep all your stuff and have it laid out. Do a dry run for making sure your method of clamping is going to work correctly the first time or you may end up with black goo all over everything. The inside of the two parts are relieved to allow the wood to bond very tightly together without being pushed apart and then will be reinforced from the inside with a threaded brass stock nail or pin glassed in.

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    I like to use black dye so its hard to see. If you really wanted to overdo it you could mix oil paint pigment into the approximate color of the stain you want to use but may sacrifice a little strength. Acra gel is one to one for mixing and easy to use, mix thoroughly bringing in the dye so you can watch the colors blend. If I did alright I should end up with a very small black line here that only we'll know about, fingers crossed. I can always go back and gouge out the line and blend further but I don't really want to have to do that. Here we can see the rigging used to hold the parts together.

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    Once everything is clamped together resist the urge to smear the joint with your finger. This isn't an old camper shell we want to waterproof and black lines matter. When this is done I'll want to scrape and snap off the excess so the slump doesn't become pushed down into the grain of the wood. Hopefully it works out okay and looks decent. Ill also not fiddle with anything for at least 20 hours because of the outside temperature in the shop. I can do some metal prep in the interim or work on something else like an Aforgery that's getting nursed along.

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    Doco Overboard

    Ultimate Member
    Flashed over enough to see the results. Bare wood one can hardly tell, add a little stain in the mix and you can clearly see a line, subsequent coats with a little sand cloth blending and it will nearly disappear, rubbed out and carded with the grain filled and oiled up it should be even harder to see.

    Getting the band over the schnabble tip requires moving the band to the smallest barrel diameter at the muzzle and then rotating the action into the stock while sliding the band back at the same time once the front site is in place.

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    Doco Overboard

    Ultimate Member
    Getting close to being finished. Barrel installed, table top blue and fitted some Redfield sights.
    The final steps will be fitting a shaft to replace the stem of the cut off lever, cutting a notch in the nose of the comb and then final polish of the bolt group and trigger.
    Once all that done I can card the wood and finish the wood with turps, wax and Blo.

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