Installing the butt plate:

Brian filed down the rough casting to get it ready for installation.  To install the buttplate, the top plate had to inletted downward, so we knew the top of the plate was flat so we could then work on inletting the butt plate forward. 

Brian used candle soot to indicate the "high spots". A wooden mallet against the stock transferred the black material.

You have to remove the wood from the face of the butt plate area on the stock. This area allows the butt plate to move forward against the end of the stock.  When doing this be sure to keep the knife flat against the wood. 

When removing wood from the sides, it is important to come from the outside toward the inside. This leaves a flat surface as opposed to creating a cupped area if you cut from the inside outward. 

These steps were repeated till there was good markings along both sides of the end of the stock. 

Once the butt plate was seated well against the wood, a no. 8 screw was installed thru the top of the buttplate.  A 1/16" pilot hole was drilled thru the buttplate in the center in the forward 1/3 area of the plate. When the plate was placed onto the stock, a pin was pressed thru the pilot hole this marked the wood.  The plate was removed and a 1/16" pilot hole was drilled 1/64" forward of the pin marking.  Now when the screw is driven into the stock, it pulls the plate tight up against the wood.