We recently scored a Marlin 336 in 35 Remington from a friend. Always on the prowl for a short, handy, woods gun; we decided this Marlin was in need of a straight stock. While it is hard to buy a trigger guard plate outright, some shooters will trade/swap them with one another. Inspired by this thread on the Marlin Owners Forums, we decided to convert our pistol grip to a straight grip.
In addition to a torch, saw rasp and mill, we used the following tools from Brownells for this project:
As always, this article documents our conversion and is presented for information purposes only. The use of metal working tools and a torch, requires strict adherence to safety protocols.
Marlin 336 in 35 Remington as equipped from the factory. We triple checked the rifle was safe and empty before working on it.This rifle was manufactured in 1972. The outside was in good condition and some of the interior surfaces had some rust. We needed to soak a few of the screws in Kroil to loosen them. The trigger guard plate (bottom) will be modified first.We used a ruler to determine where we should cut the trigger guard plate to make it flat.We then scribed a line parallel to the bearing surface that touched the stock. Note the small cut out for the hammer spring adjusting plate. We were careful to make sure we left enough metal so the end of the tang will not break off or snap under recoil.This is our initial set up in the mill. We used a 3/8″ solid carbine, four flute, end mill to make the cut. If you don’t have a mill, don’t worry; there are a couple of ways to make this cut, including a hacksaw or taking your time with a file.This is the trigger guard plate after the cut is made. We took our time and made a few passes. Final shaping will be accomplished with a file and sandpaper.Here is the trigger plate with the newly machined flat trigger guard plate fitted into the receiver.Time to modify the stock. We are careful not to make too aggressive of a cut. Here we check our layout with a ruler and apply a piece of painter’s tape as a guide.After a quick trip to the band saw, the pistol grip is removed.Any number of tools can be used to shape the stock. Our favorite is a Japanese saw rasp. The saw rasp is basically a bunch of bandsaw blades bolted together. They cut very fast and do not clog.A few minutes with a saw rasp followed by some sandpaper and the new stock profile takes shape.To bend the lever we carefully heat the lever and shape it with a hammer and some shop-made mandrels. We used scrap stock we had laying around. We were very gentle with the hammer to prevent deforming the steel.We made this block out of scrap aluminum to make sure both sides of the lever were parallel when we shaped it.After bending and a little work with a rotary tool, file and abrasive paper, the straight finger lever takes form.The stock, lever and trigger guard plate in place and ready for finishing
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