The term inletting is used to describe the process of carefully cutting away sections of a stock to fit the receiver, barrel and action. Typically, if you are buying a kit today there is a semi-finished stock included that has its general shape already formed and the section where you drop in your receiver, action or barrel are usually precut and only need a little work to fully complete. Using inletting black or simply by smoking the parts, press them in place and it should then mark the high spots that need trimming for proper fitment. Do this as many times as needed to get the correct fit then finish your build.
Now, it is important that you complete any and all metal work, minus a bluing type of finish, before performing the inletting process. Simply put, if the stock is altered to perfectly fit your metal parts and I do something like changing the contour of the barrel, then the inletting job I just did will have been for nothing. When the wood for the stock has been cut to within about 1/16th” of its final dimension, the person making the stock should begin working a lot slower making frequent checks for high spots and making the smallest adjustments possible. This is when smoking the metal parts or using inletting black
becomes critical for identifying touch points that need adjusting for the best fit.
No matter the wood you have chosen to use, it is important that the grain of the wood is straight near the small end of the stock because it is known to be one of the weakest spots in your build. From butt to just before the grip you can run with whatever grain pattern you want because that section does not see the same stress as the other section does and is much thicker and durable anyway. But the small end and the grip see much more stress and are far thinner, so the grain here needs to be straight to ensure some durability. When working a stock and you realize there is some twisting happening, you should take steps to correct it as early as possible. Using inletting black and fitting the parts, twist the stock straight. This will not correct the twist but will however show heavier markings where you need to cut and by making those cuts the stock should start to straighten out.
Finally, a ton of bolt action rifles have a projection underneath the barrel. This section found just in front of the magazine well helps ensure the receiver and barrel mount snug to the wood stock. This is important because failing to fit this to the stock shoulder correctly could mean the force of the rifle being fired pushes back and could break the stock near the grip. To be honest, the actual shape of your stock can be ugly so long as this fit is done correctly. I will always prefer ugly and functional over pretty and weak.
