How to Fit a Curved Metal Buttplate to a Buttstock

In this presentation Larry Potterfield, Founder and CEO of MidwayUSA, demonstrates the process for inletting a curved metal buttplate on a Parker Brothers shotgun buttstock. This project, requiring mostly inletting black and sharp chisels, is a basic stockmaking process that anyone can learn. the process starts by outlining the widow’s peak of the buttplate with a pencil or scribe. Wood is removed using a chisel until the widow’s peak drops into position. Inletting black is then used to highlight the contact points between the buttplate and buttstock. Those areas are removed using a scraper until a perfect fit between the metal and wood is achieved. Once the buttplate is in place the holes are drilled and the screws are turned into place.