I called Part V "Finishing the Stock," because I thought the stock was finished...
However, after looking at it for a couple days, I realized it was lacking something. That something was a cheek rest to prevent my face from getting pinched in the recoil springs.
I found a cheap carbon fiber-colored plastic adjustable cheek rest on Amazon and bought it. When it finally arrived, it was too cheaply made for me to feel comfortable putting it on this lever action build that I have spent so many months working on. So, I decided to make my own. Doing so would add more weight, but I just could't stomach attaching a cheap plastic cheek rest to the back for this beauty.
My version of the cheek rest would be made of the same brass that I used on the foregrip and would be shaped using the form of the plastic Amazon riser.
To fold the brass sheet into cheek rest form, I used a combination of the cut-off from the wood stock, the plastic cheek rest, and my bench vice. This was the last of the brass I had, so I went slowly to ensure an even bend without marring the brass or causing any creases. Since I wanted a gradual curve, I didn't score the brass like I did to make the 90-degree bends for the foregrip.
Below, you can see the bend complete and how it warps the stock as well as the adjustable aluminum components, which have their first dusting of matte black camo paint.
Here's the same view after using my Dremel to cut the rough shape of the cheek rest. This image shows the stock in its shortest position. It was important to make the cheek rest shorter than the shortest position so that the butt plate would always be the part of the stock making contact with the shoulder.
I then started on the mounting points: one on the top/front of the cheek riser and one on either side of the back into the SPS adjustable stock base.
The front mounting point (shown below) is going to be the primary and will have a ~1" screw driven directly into the stock. I made a small spacer from some acetal I had left over from the Magnetron Revolver project to hold the cheek rest about 1/4" above the wood stock.
The rear mounts, one either side of the cheek rest, will allow small 4-40 bolts into the aluminum base plate of the adjustable stock.
I managed to break a drill bit into the second hole in the aluminum so I grabbed a new set of Comoware cobalt bits to drill out the broken bit and deepen the hole. Scary work on a nearly finished piece without a drill press...
Once I had he second hole re-drilled, I cut down some bolts to be the correct depth and the brass cheek rest was complete.
Pending any other last-minute additions, the build is nearly complete. I just need to do some final sanding and painting and then put her all together one last time.
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