Reinforcing stock wrist - anyone done this?

[Ontario Hunter]

Reto is a very skilled gunmaker.

Ask him if he didn't also use a rod to reinforce the wrist. Extending the tangs looks very cool (very!) but I wonder how much strength it adds to the wrist. Extending the tangs might help prevent cracks at tang ends (most gunmakers rebate the stock at those points) but wrist breakage is usually due to pressure on the rear action screw. It is an interesting concept but something I would never attempt. Way over my head. First time I've seen that.

 

[Nevada Mike]

No rod was used. Reto said that this is strong. I took him at his word... he IS the gunmaker!

 

[rdog]

I recently picked up a very nice used stock for my standard 98 Mauser 404 Jeffery. It's a beautiful piece of wood with very nice checkering. Required some minor modification to the Brno vz.24 action before it would fit this apparently commercial stock. In particular, this stock is much thinner through the tang and grip. I cut down the tang screw and shaved a bit of metal from the top of the magazine box to make the tangs pull together. I also had to reform the Timney trigger's shoe to make it clear the trigger guard. Eventually everything fit together fine ... but just barely (almost ran out of thread on the tang screw).

So, it's now ready for crossbolts. Curiously, this stock must have been cut for a heavy hitter as the barrel channel indicates it formerly held something that was thick and tapered (not a varmint or target bull barrel without taper). Also, it only had one sling swivel at the butt, indicating a DGR style barrel band was formerly used. But no crossbolts? Odd. I am building a crossbolt drilling jig to set up on my Shopsmith. Don't foresee any issues.

But I'm thinking crossbolts won't be enough. I have a similarly thin-wristed commercial Mauser stock that broke there. Not enough meat left in the wrist. Sure makes for a nice looking elegent rifle that grips very well, even for my size L-XL mitts. But I'm concerned. I don't want to put the time, effort, and money into making this very nice stock fit my action and then have to throw it away when it breaks. So I'm thinking I will need to add reinforcement to the wrist. I have seen Potterfield's video and he makes it look easy. I'm sure it is not! He uses 1/4" threaded rod but I am concerned that will require too much wood removed from such a thin wrist. Instead I bought a long-shaft 3/16" drill and some stainless rod (smooth not threaded). Threaded rod might provide better grip with epoxy but I'm not able to find any in 3/16" locally. Also, thinner threaded rod might be weaker?

So, I'm throwing this out for advice or tips from anyone who may have tackled this. Any thoughts?
View attachment 597078
PS: Note the unusual concave recoil pad. Not collapsed. It's made that way by Pachmayer. I've never seen another one like it. Perhaps for trap shotguns?

Just my opinion but 3/16 rod is not strong enough & a smooth rod is not as good as threaded for the epoxy to stick to , you you only want to do this job once as a redo will possably ruin the stock.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Just my opinion but 3/16 rod is not strong enough & a smooth rod is not as good as threaded for the epoxy to stick to , you you only want to do this job once as a redo will possably ruin the stock.

The wrist was actually quite thin. I shortened the rear action screw (to the limit!) and cut down some of the magazine box before the tangs would pull the together on the stock. Quarter inch rod would require removing too much wood in my opinion. I put the 3/16" stainless rod in horizontal drill press and roughed it up with cutting disk on my Dremel tool while the rod was spinning in the chuck. Not threaded but far from smooth. I'm confident 3/16" stainless will provide sufficient reinforcement. No 3/16" threaded rod available or I would have went with it. Trying to cut threads with die in stainless rod that thin would have been an exercise in futility.