Refreshing the bedding and enlarging the barrel channel turned into quite a challenge. The inside stock surfaces had all been treated with a synthetic sealer that resembled polyurethane. The surface strength of this material was very hard.
I started sanding with 100 grit sandpaper wrapped around a dowel. That technique has served me well in numerous other projects. The cross members strengthening this stock proved problematic. They had a lot more material that needed to be removed than the sides of the barrel channel. It became obvious that the channel would become too wide before adequate depth could be obtained. The first photo shows things starting to go wrong.
A mill was the obvious solution. Man I hated to make that call for help. Woodworking and arsenal quality stock repairs have always been a source of
pride for me, but I knew I needed to get this going in the right direction.
The photo below shows the effect of milling the barrel channel. Careful attention was made to take off the lip of the old bedding. After threading the Suhl receiver is about a ¼” shorter that before. The front of the receiver had been faced by Gene Davis. That ¼” inch meant the bedding area needed to be shortened. For certain operations machine tolls are essential. Please note in subsequent photos the care that was taken to preserve the old bedding.
During milling several test fits were made to make sure everything fit properly.
Notice how uniform the barrel channel is now. The light areas along the channel will be refinished to match the rest of the stock.
Careful masking is done to protect the bedding and to make sure that the transition between old finish and new is contained. (Note how smooth the bedding transition is.)
Here is another photo showing the prep phase prior to touching up the finish. This photo was actually taken before the bedding transition was masked off.
The finished product is pictured below.
