How to Taper and Reshape the Forend of a Rifle Stock

Larry Potterfield • February 08, 2017
Gunsmithing

The feel and appearance of an old .22 rifle stock can be greatly improved by tapering the forend slightly. Join me as I show you how to make it round by filing flats.

Start by making a template, the one we're using is a circle that is 1.3 inches in diameter. Position the template carefully on the tip of the forend and trace around it.

Trace the template
Trace the template

We'll begin by filing a flat on the bottom side. I'm using a wood rasp, but we still call it filing. You'll need a straight edge to locate the high spots that need to be filed down.

Straight edge tool
Straight edge tool

Now file a second flat on one of the sides and then the other. Continue filing flats on the edges of the previous ones until the flats become quite narrow.

Continue to file the sides and edges
Continue to file the sides and edges

Using dividers or a compass, mark the desired width of the top rails and file flats up to those marks. With all the flats cut, we can blend them together by using a finer file. The next step is rounding off the forend tip.

Tapered rifle stock
Tapered rifle stock

So that's how you can taper the forend on an old .22 rifle, making it round by filing flats.

-- Larry Potterfield

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Larry Potterfield

Larry Potterfield is the Founder and Chairman of the Board of MidwayUSA. He and his wife Brenda, both country kids from Missouri, turned their passion for shooting sports into a career by opening a small gun shop in 1977 that would eventually become the industry-leading internet retailer it is today. For over 45 years, MidwayUSA has maintained an unyielding focus on Customer Satisfaction and continues to offer JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING® for Shooting, Hunting and the Outdoors.

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