Thread: A Lee Speed stock

Looking good

Coming along really well. I'll finally make a start on mine next week.
Here's a link to a vid of another way to drill that butt hole.. its a bit simpler and faster on lathe.

https://youtu.be/nQJt_o6e-TQ?si=08yuw81esPwnrtRI

Originally Posted by Wingman

Coming along really well. I'll finally make a start on mine next week.
Here's a link to a vid of another way to drill that butt hole.. its a bit simpler and faster on lathe.

https://youtu.be/nQJt_o6e-TQ?si=08yuw81esPwnrtRI

Yep but you need a lathe large enough to do so, not the bench top model I have so other ways are needed and this one works and is accurate.

The butt plate being hollow needs careful sculping to get the fit right into the hollow. Quite a bit of time/patience later it is a nice fit. I like to file the waste wood away from the butt plate outline to make the fit up easier, but file it away from where it will eventually be and will return to that after the wrist nd grip cap is done when I can run the straight lines from there to the butt plate.

I don’t usually say this, but, nice curves dude

Starting the next stage requires a grip cap and as a horn cap was wanted I needed to look through some cape buffalo horn to find a nice piece to give me the thickness needed after grinding the back flat and the bark off the front to get a even thickness over the square.



I have a brass pattern so mark the two pins positions on both the horn and the grip area of the stock and drill in for the locating pins. I prefer the hidden pins over the central screw fixing method as it leaves a cleaner look to the finished cap.



I mark a line round the edge and another on the face to guide me in the filing in of the shaping then start with a file having a safe edge ground onto it.



After filing sanding is needed and a hardwood stick with nice sharp edges is used to get into the corner with 320 starting grit and going up through the grits.



After sanding a good go on the buffer brings it to its finished state.



With it sitting over the locating pins I can mark round the edge to give me the start of the stock shaping lines.



A preliminary shaping of the wrist and down to the grip cap on one face of the stock is the starting place.



The rest of this face of the butt stock is then giving its preliminary shape. I use the french Logier and a good quality horseshoe rasp.

It looks awesome. Well done! I can’t wait to see the final product.

Originally Posted by Aubrey

It looks awesome. Well done! I can’t wait to see the final product.

As I have posted when VG first started this, I've seen some if his work online (sadly only online and not in my hot little hands), and you will seriously be impressed. It certainly makes you think about how good an Lee enfield can look instead of usually poorly sporterised military wood

Finished the gross shaping of the butt stock. It is important to make sure the faces are straight so still a little to take off the middle at this stage.



with the grip cap fixed in place the wrist can be shaped. Slim is the watchword here but I have left to top of the wrist in the meantime as I am waiting for the bolt to arrives ao I can fit the tang safety. I may reshape the toe portion of the butt plate as it is still a little bulky through the underside of the stock and when I have checked the balance point, this is an area that can be slimmed down to lighten the weight and the improve the visual as well as the handling

With all the pre christmas knife orders done I could get back to the Lee Speed and spent the morning straightening and flattening all the lines and faces, refining all the curves and getting it all sanded to 120 grit



Next is to fit the tang safety so there is a pocketed inlet to do for that.



There is a broken screw to replace and replicate the file work on the head.

First working of the tang safety

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/sdzuV0p1sLY

Originally Posted by Von Gruff Knives

Starting the next stage requires a grip cap and as a horn cap was wanted I needed to look through some cape buffalo horn to find a nice piece to give me the thickness needed after grinding the back flat and the bark off the front to get a even thickness over the square.



I have a brass pattern so mark the two pins positions on both the horn and the grip area of the stock and drill in for the locating pins. I prefer the hidden pins over the central screw fixing method as it leaves a cleaner look to the finished cap.



I mark a line round the edge and another on the face to guide me in the filing in of the shaping then start with a file having a safe edge ground onto it.



After filing sanding is needed and a hardwood stick with nice sharp edges is used to get into the corner with 320 starting grit and going up through the grits.



After sanding a good go on the buffer brings it to its finished state.



With it sitting over the locating pins I can mark round the edge to give me the start of the stock shaping lines.



A preliminary shaping of the wrist and down to the grip cap on one face of the stock is the starting place.



The rest of this face of the butt stock is then giving its preliminary shape. I use the french Logier and a good quality horseshoe rasp.

Great work, looks to be coming up awesomely, can't wait to see it finished !

I recognize that Buff horn, it would be Water Buffalo & I think I know the guy that supplied that !

Originally Posted by Scout

Great work, looks to be coming up awesomely, can't wait to see it finished !

I recognize that Buff horn, it would be Water Buffalo & I think I know the guy that supplied that !

No that is cape buffalo from South Africa although I do use mostly water buffalo horn for knife handles that I source from a US firm who get it from an Indian bulk supply house.
Have had a lot of knives with short timeframe requirement so the stock is sitting waiting for fine sanding and finishing but will get back to it as time allows.

Sanded from the 120 grt through 320 and 600 and the first wet sand at 600. will do another at 600 and then go to 1000grt.

Have wet sanded to 1000grt and will now sit like this now till I am ready to apply the red oil. I had got a different lot of alkanet root this time (bark and root instead of powder) and it hadn't coloured as deep as I wanted so ground substantially more of the bark and root and added that to the jar with a little more oil. I keep heating the oil in a hot water bath and giving the jar a good shake and it is really starting to take a better colour but it may well take another day or two for the infusion to get it to the depth of red I want it to be. In the summer I would sit it in the sun and shake it every time I passed it but the colder weather needs other means to help the infusion take place.