Buster,
I'll briefly go over what I did to place some reinforcement into the stock. I used a Dremel tool with a small burr head cutter to make the necessary mortices for the internal cross bolts, and used 3/16" All thread for the bolt material, and 3/8" All thread for the bolt down the grip section. All were glassed in with Brownell's Acra Glass.
From the magazine side, about 1/3 the way up from bottom, route out a mortice at least half way through that web of wood in front of the trigger mortice. Cut your All thread, or bolts long enough to extend into the side wood. You will have to route out a raceway in order to get these into place.
Just in front of the rear action screw, from the top, route out a similar mortice for that crossbolt as well. Also, if you want to reinforce the grip, remove the steel pillar from the rear action screw hole, then drill an appropriate sized hole down through the grip, but obviously, not through to the bottom. You can replace that pillar after the bolt and glass filled hole has cured.
De-grease your bolts before glassing into place. Do all of this before you do the basic bedding job. I mixed a considerable amount of fiberglass strands and flock into my bedding compound, which I believe increases its strength substantially. I also used fiberglass matting imbedded in bedding compound to wrap the insides of the magazine and trigger mortices in an effort to stiffen these areas. After 300 rounds through the rifle, it seems like it is finally strong enough to take the abuse.
One other suggestion I have for anyone shooting one of these rifles, is to get that front sling stud the hell out of there. Depending on how you grasp the rifle, it may or may not ruin your day. I relocated mine to the end of the forearm after it took a 1/4" chunk out of my finger. Ouch! :eek: And since it will be screwed into the end grain of the wood, I suggest that you route out a recess from the barrel channel above, and through, to that new stud location, and fill that with glass as well. It will not tear out if done properly.
It is still a lot of rifle for the money, but they do need some attention to make them into the strong, reliable rifles that we need them to be.
Once again, best of luck with your project!
