Fox Collectors

Just recently I fitted a recoil pad to a straight grip Lefever with a concave butt. Here a vintage Red Head pad made for a company in KY and "age" colored. Just to show what can be done. Often a 'smith will cut the butt straight because it's easier to mount the pad but I wanted to maintain the period look against the curved butt. Plus the original Lefever hrbp can be replaced to revert to original if desired. Definitely applicable to earlier Foxes made with concave butts.

If you click to expand the pic you'll see the disc sander marks on the black base. I could have easily polished them smooth but I prefer the matte look with the sanding marks.

To answer any questions: vintage pads without a metal insert in the base can usually be bent after heating in boiling water. Also I used a TINY bit of carbon black to age color the newly sanded sides of the pad.

Pic taken on my quad used yesterday to access a remote grouse cover. No luck.

Looks great Frank. Bobby

Nice,
Just out of curiosity , why do you prefer the belt sander marks ? I've always spent extra time removing those marks ,even extending scratch marks that are on the stock to the pad.
I've found coal dirt and True Oil can make a pad look old and used very quickly.

Very nice installation. I love the curved butt. When looking at guns at shows, I always notice the "straight cut" of a shortened stock. This looks great and I like the ability of reverting to the old butt plate.

Dave, that's just the way I do it. When fitting a vintage recoil pad to a stock that isn't being refinished - maintaining the original stock finish - ime no amount of fussing will make it look absolutely correct. Also if trying to polish the black pad base it's too easy to "break" that sharp 90-degree corner where it abuts the wood and that slightly rounded corner then looks bad imo. Finally, I like the visible transition with the diagonal sanding scratches - that’s with a 12" disc not a belt sander. Again all this is just my thinking but to each his own.

Also Dave, thanks for sending me that PA grouse newsletter. Lisa's prediction of a downturn in already weak grouse numbers this year is definitely spot on.

frank

Frank, do the pads not have a memory after being bent while hot? Do they not try to revert to straight as they cool? Also, do you do any gluing when you do a curved one, or do you only depend on the two screws to hold the curve in place? It would seem that, in time, the middle of the pad might try to back away from the wood, without something to hold it in place.

Just questions that popped into my mind as I read your post.

SRH

Stan, I've now done several with Red Head and original Hawkins pads and never had one revert after bending. No glue is used. A good practice is to bend a little more convex than the butt radius, and when mounted the screws will push it tight into the curve.

Further info, the Jostam "Hy Gun" isn't a good candidate because it has a metal insert(s) in the base and will resist bending. I don't know if the 6 and 7-slot Jostams have the metal insert or not. Never had a NOS or oversized/good used one to try.

frank

I always enjoy these posts. Thanks Frank.

Nice job on the pad Frank. Agree on the black base as you do it. Not a big fan of pads but when that base is polished it sticks out like a sore thumb.

Thanks, Frank. Your technical posts are always so helpful.

I was fortunate to purchase a DE that originally came with a Silvers pad. The rubber on the pad was long gone but the black spacer was still on the gun. I bought a new English Silvers pad ground off the black spacer and bonded the red rubber to the old black spacer and added a leather covering like a vintage Fox. The "real" current production Silvers pads will crack if you try to fit them to a curved butt, the repro Galazan will bend with heat. The nice thing about using the old black spacer is it is a little thicker than the repro silvers pads.

terc, when the gun is shouldered on the bird, do the belt sander marks really matter?

Nearly any pad needs to be trued up on the mounting surface with a belt or disc sander. I have found that the amount of heat generated from this is usually enough to soften the material enough to get the pad to conform to a curved surface.

Great post and description. Good reminder to keep things as they are as much as possible, when desired! Thanks for sharing