Tang bolt hole in a new stock

[JDHasty]

How do you like to it?

I have a buddy that goes from both sides with an egg beater and about 1/8 inch drill then uses a rat tail needle file and finishes it with a reamer he made. I can never get the two 1/8 inch holes to meet in the middle.

[Mk42gunner]

Careful measurement, gently locking the stock in a vice, then use a drill press.

Usually works fine. A good egg beater drill works a lot better than most people think these days.

Robert

[country gent]

I lay out front and back then put an angle plate on the lathe compound align with center in chuck and tail stock. then drill straight thru. Little more set up but its accurate, And I have the lathes power feed to drill with.

[JDHasty]

Careful measurement, gently locking the stock in a vice, then use a drill press.

Usually works fine. A good egg beater drill works a lot better than most people think these days.

Robert

I use my egg beater a LOT.

I’m thinking of clamping it up in a Vera Vise and swinging my radial arm drill press over it with 1/8 or so drill in it and lining it up eight ways from Sunday. Then after drilling a pilot hole through put the tang in it and if it’s centered top and bottom finishing it to size.

That old radial arm drill press isn’t as solid as others, but there are times it comes in handy.

[John Taylor]

I set the action in the mill vise. line up the holes with a drill and slide the stock on and then drill it. Always make sure to set the stop so you don't take the threads out of the lower tang.

[country gent]

I could do that in my radial arm, set a long screw in the action clamp in vise and then set stock on maybe one strap clamp on top to keep it from pulling off/shifting. may have to look at that. The drill has 10" of spindle travel.

[quack1]

Don't have a mill so I use a center post bolted through the table of my drill press. Carefully center punch through the holes in the tangs, put the point on the center in one center punch dimple, the bit in the other and drill. I made the center with a narrow enough post to fit through the width of the tang inlet.

[HWooldridge]

60 degree spot drill will help get the main hole started straight, then drill and ream. Slow and careful wins the day.

[James Wisner]

I make my own LONG drill bits.
An 12 to 18 inch aircraft brill bit, then silver soldered onto a piece of matching size drill rod.
And the most IMPORTANT part, I regrind the tip of the drill to a BRAD point

Mark both centers of the blank and then on the lathe between the tail stock and chuck the drill in the head stock.
Meduim RPM that would be 350 on my set up and slow, feed, clean chips, and repeat.
TRICK if the drill starts to squeek, then use some linseed oil to lube the drill in the wood

JW

[JDHasty]

I set the action in the mill vise. line up the holes with a drill and slide the stock on and then drill it. Always make sure to set the stop so you don't take the threads out of the lower tang.

That’s kind of how we have done bolt actions on my buddy’s mill. Maybe that’s how I’ll do this one.

[JDHasty]

Don't have a mill so I use a center post bolted through the table of my drill press. Carefully center punch through the holes in the tangs, put the point on the center in one center punch dimple, the bit in the other and drill. I made the center with a narrow enough post to fit through the width of the tang inlet.

Good idea!

[JDHasty]

I make my own LONG drill bits.
An 12 to 18 inch aircraft brill bit, then silver soldered onto a piece of matching size drill rod.
And the most IMPORTANT part, I regrind the tip of the drill to a BRAD point

Mark both centers of the blank and then on the lathe between the tail stock and chuck the drill in the head stock.
Meduim RPM that would be 350 on my set up and slow, feed, clean chips, and repeat.
TRICK if the drill starts to squeek, then use some linseed oil to lube the drill in the wood

JW

Another good idea.

[JDHasty]

I could do that in my radial arm, set a long screw in the action clamp in vise and then set stock on maybe one strap clamp on top to keep it from pulling off/shifting. may have to look at that. The drill has 10" of spindle travel.

Mine is an old Rockwell. I’m pretty fond of it. You don’t see many around.

[Cap'n Morgan]

Drill from one side, about 1/4" deep. Clamp a matching pin (or the shaft of another drill) in a vise on a drill press, protruding slightly above the jaws. Align the drill press drill with the pin/drill in the vise.
Hold the stock with the part-drilled hole over the pin and drill from the other side until the holes meet.

[PopcornSutton]

I do stocks on my mill, but a drill press can work. You have to hold the stock rigidly and have it leveled every way you can. But once set it place and ready, I use a 1/4" center cutting end mill. Drill bits have a habit of flexing and moving with the grain in the wood. An end mill cuts true, just plunge then clear the build up. Repeat.

[nekshot]

I must have missed something about a egg beater drill bit. Is that another name for a spade wood drill bit? Since I have been using my mill I have no fear drilling the holes for stock screws.

[K43]

Egg Beater Drill example:

https://www.amazon.com/Drill-Woodwor.../dp/B09S5V3BR6

[Rapier]

On pull bolt stocks, I use a tall, floor mounted drill press with ship auger bits and socket extensions, modified to hold the bit shanks cantered. The extensions are heated, drilled and tapped. The screw point of the auger bits keeps the bits on line

I select a blank and lay out the butt stock pattern, run a center line through the pattern, full length, then I square the ends to the center line, using a framing square, then bring the center line over to the two ends, mark the center, sided to side.
Staring with the blank butt up, locked in the drill press vice, I plumb the center line and drill the bolt head hole first, then I change bits and drill the shank hole straight through starting the shank bit in the head hole. Then I black the action and pull the stock to it using the bolt. Mark the outside and cut to fit the action and shape the outside of the stock to the bolt hole, I never shape the stock then try to drill. I also make various thickness washers on my metal lathe to get a final tight fit for the tension on the fitted and finished stock.

[muskeg13]

I've done more than a dozen builds for myself, and lacking a drill press, have successfully done all of my drilling with a hand-held electric drill. It can be done accurately if you take your time, set it up and think through the job. Drilling for the tang bolt is one of the easier and most forgiving tasks. First, take your measurements and lay out where you intend the bolt hole to be with a soft lead pencil, using the tang
and trigger guard as a guide. Lightly mark the bolt angle along the exterior of the stock wrist. A string, strip of paper or masking tape may help. With the pencil marks to help as a guide, you can better judge the correct angle to drill. Clamp the stock in a padded bench vise and start with a 1/8" bit long enough to go all of the way through or you'll need to drill from both sides. I place the stock in the vise at an angle with it leveled side-to-side, so I'll be drilling straight down. If you're careful, you should be able to come out close to the center of the circle for the tang bolt hole you traced in pencil using the tang for a guide. Then, use increasingly larger diameter drill bits to enlarge the hole diameter.

For quite a while I always epoxy in a steel stock ferrule cut to the right length, AKA a guard screw bushing like on military M98 Mausers. In doing this, the hole through the stock is larger to accommodate the ferrule/bushing and allow for a coating of Acraglas gel. This is a lot more forgiving and you'll end up with a perfectly positioned bolt channel and a much stronger stock wrist that will resist stock splits due to recoil. It will also prevent overtightening the tang bolt to the point the stock is compressed.

[fast ronnie]

I set up in the mill or a drill press with a pointed piece with a 60 degree angle on the bottom aligned with the drill chuck on top. set the hole in the trigger plate on the bottom point and then drill from the top. You can hold the rifle by hand and drill through. I start with a smaller drill than for tapping, then open up to size. There is no way to miss-align.