Do you have the Rock n’ Roll blues ?( Secure shoulder piece)

Let’s see if you have the symptoms….when you shoulder your weapon does the Butt plate wobble ? Is the bottle rear cushion/cover slipping off ? Is your new WOK butt loose and won’t tighten….Well you have the Rock n Roll blues, compliments of Air force engineering.

Now this has probalby been mentioned before, but I am going to step x step tell you how to eliminate those blues. See, I am once again happy 😀

A. – Remove the bottle from gun and remove the butt plate, set it aside. Install your bottle cap over the top hat. This protects your investment.

B. – Remove the rear bottle cushion/cover. This is VERY easy. Here’s how ( some use air I know ). Start on one side and grasp with you fingers and pull toward you while holding the bottle with your legs. Work your way around the bottle evenly ( it will not come off by pulling on one edge ). After a couple revolutions you will see it starting to separate from the top cover piece. A little over 1/4 way off it will slide right off.

You will look like this now…. ( I had the bottle cap off for a minute, so hold your shot )

C. – Look at what AF gave you to support your beloved butt plate. They could of easily had a 1/4″ false bottom TIG welded to the bottle before certification with screw bosses for the butt.

D. – Buy some 1/4″ steel plate. Use a saber saw and cut out a 2-3/8″ circle. Grind it into shape to have the exact diameter of the AF teflon plate.

E. Now take the plate and drill out two holes 5/32″ where you prefer to mount your butt plate. Tap them out with a 10 x 32 thread tap. You can see how I preferred to mount my butt plate. You may want your’s lower, or higher. You’re the boss here.

Then drill an additional EIGHT 5/32″ holes in the outer diameter of the plate for bonding purposes. You will see these additional holes directly.

File off the burrs and remove any oil from tapping/drilling.

F. Now concentrate….Take the new steel plate and go to your beloved rifle. Mount the bottle on firmly. Mount the butt plate to your new steel mounting plate. Line up the butt/mount plate assembly to the back of the bottle exactly where it will be when it is bonded to the bottle later. Use a sharpie and put a mark on top for lineup reference. Go back to the shop.

G. – Take a dremel with sanding drum and LIGHTLY sand off the paint on the bottom of the bottle. Roughing up this surface promotes a solid bond. DO NOT compromise the bottle integrity by grinding a deep hole in it please.

H. – Add your two #10 screws to the holes you tapped, going all the way thru the plate and flush on the bottom. This prevent epoxy from filling your holes.

I. – I used JB weld industrial strength. Mix up a tablespoon size gob. Mix well. Invert the AF bottle in a protected vice and coat the bottle bottom all the way to the sides. A 3/16″ layer does fine, not too much. Then lay down a coat on the bottom of your new plate. Force the epoxy into the holes on the outer permeter so they are full too.

J. – Now place the plate squarely on top, LINING UP YOUR MARK and push down. The epoxy will squish up thru your bonding holes.

K. – Level the epoxy off on top, taking precautions to not get it on your machine screws. Take a finger and run around the seam on the side gathering up excess epoxy and smoothening it down for a fine finish.

L. – Walk away from your work now and come back in 24 hours….

M. – Tick, tick, Tick, tick,…..

N. – Ok back to the shop. Remove your bottle and inspect your fine craftsmanship. If any dripped down the side, shame on you. Take the dremel and LIGHTLY sand it off without compromising paint. Remove the screws from their hole. Mask off the bottom of the bottle and paint it with ultra flat black ( Krylon is what I use )

O. Walk away from your work for a couple hours.

P. – Tick, tick….

Q. – Ok back to the shop, get the finished bottle. That plate is on their ROCK HARD isn’t it? Great. Take the lower cushion/cover and line it up over the bottom of the plate, get it started. Now take the palm of your hand and cover the hole in the bottom of the cushion and push. Air pressure builds up and inflates the sides allowing a very easy install all the way up the bottle.

R. – Ok now it’s not lining up…

That’s because you have a thicker plate on the bottom. So grasp the UPPER cushion/cover and pull it down to match up.

S. – Now gently pry up on the cushion bottom hole and spot where your two holes are located. Mark their position on the cushion outside. Take your 5/16″ hole punch and position it over a mark. Gently hammer out a new hole in that area. NOTE – You still have your bottle top hat covered – RIGHT ??. Tap out both holes to uncover them.

Like this….

T. – Now the moment of truth – mount your Wok Butt and screw you bottle on. Tell me – were you concentrating in step “F” ??

Look at these babies and I’m telling you – they are rock hard steady..

Now you can do it too 🙂

Later