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Posted in hunting rifles forum, but thought I'd try here too....

Originally Posted by JGRaider
How hard would you think it would be to repair this cracked stock? And how would you go about it? Thanks.

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Wedge it open gently, a rubber doorstop can be handy for this, and flush the crack with acetone to degrease it. Inject it with a good quality epoxy and clamp it up in a padded vise. After its all cured relieve the tang so it doesn't happen again and shoot it happily ever after.

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On a hairline crack you will likely not be able to open the crack to inject it. NO soaking with acetone or anything else. Here, carefully mask the crack, and continuously coat it with WEST epoxy with slow or extra slow hardener, over and over, wet on wet, until no more will soak in. Remove the tape and scrape off the excess before it completely cures.


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Gently warm the stock too, to induce the epoxy to wick in. Not too hot or you'll mar the finish too.


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That crack looks larger than what I'd call a hairline, that's why I suggested the wedge.
At any rate and whatever you decide go slow and be careful you've got good advice here.

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It does indeed - does it extend through the wood to the inside of the stock? If so, my approach is different. I would Dremel along the crack from the inside making a "trench" staying well clear of the outside of the stock. Extend the groove one diameter of the groove past the end of the crack. Fill the groove with reinforced epoxy bedding compound. Be sure the wood is well wetted with epoxy, you can't just pour it in and expect the best bond. Then work on the exterior surface. You have sufficient strength inside the stock so the exterior repair can be cosmetic only.

The idea is to relieve stress and replace a possibly weak area of the stock with a stronger material well bonded to good wood - make it stronger than it was.

Finally figure out why it cracked in the first place and address that. Keep in mind that wood tends to shrink over time, the bedding may need to be relieved. For instance in the first picture the mag box may be too tight. In the second the tang may be causing a stress riser into the wrist. For the tang I'd probably drill into the wrist (from the inside) and epoxy in a piece of carbon arrow shaft. Prettier and more effective than any pinning job.


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Originally Posted by pal
On a hairline crack you will likely not be able to open the crack to inject it. NO soaking with acetone or anything else. Here, carefully mask the crack, and continuously coat it with WEST epoxy with slow or extra slow hardener, over and over, wet on wet, until no more will soak in. Remove the tape and scrape off the excess before it completely cures.


I have a custom Mauser .458MW, also with a crack behind the tang.
This stock has an oil finish and the steel was kept oiled while it was in storage many years before I acquired it.

If I can't use acetone to flush and dry out the stock prior to applying the epoxy, what do I use?

Thanks,

Ed


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I am not a gunsmith but I do repair musical instruments.
I would gently wedge the crack open and inject #20 CA into the crack with a #26 or 27 hypodermic needle and clamp it.

Stewart-MacDonald sells tinted CA. Their Vintage Amber #20 would be perfect for that stock. Done carefully you would never see the repair and no refinishing would be required.


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Originally Posted by APDDSN0864

If I can't use acetone to flush and dry out the stock prior to applying the epoxy, what do I use?

Thanks,

Ed


Depends upon how old the crack is. If it is fairly recent I wouldn't fret about flushing it out. If it is an old crack that has accumulated a bunch of grime and oil, that is a horse of a different color. After wedging it open (if possible), I would mask the heck out of the outside of the stock, and also tape plastic sheeting of some sort to cover the whole bloody thing. Give it a good blast of compressed air to dislodge the big pieces, then inject acetone or lacquer thinner into the crack and then blow it out again. Let dry thoroughly and proceed with the epoxy protocols described above- all good ideas. Clamp it, wipe off any squeeze-out, wipe everything down with alcohol or vinegar (so as to not dissolve the surrounding finish anymore than you may have already done). Remove the masking/plastic and double check for any traces of epoxy remaining around the surgery site. If you are lucky, careful, and the gods are smiling upon you, you won't have much if any touch-up to do on the finish. If you do, no big deal. Determine what the finish is and get back to us.

As stated above, I'm afraid too that the crack will never be totally invisible after repair. But, form follows function.

As for using cyanoacrylate, I never had good luck fixing cracks in gun stocks with it. May have been my luck, or lack thereof. I'm a firm believer in epoxy for such things.

Last edited by gnoahhh; 04/21/16.

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Unfortunately, it's an old crack. Not much "grime" present, but definitely oil soaked.
I have no idea what oil was used on the steel nor the stock. The rifle was built ~1956/7, right after the .458WM was released, so I'm guessing it's linseed oil.

Thanks again,

Ed


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Glass bed the action and forget about the crack. At the very least glass bed the front lug.

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So, there're five woodworkers backed into a corner and someone asks them the best way out. How many different answers?
Seven. grin


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Originally Posted by MtnBoomer
So, there're five woodworkers backed into a corner and someone asks them the best way out. How many different answers?
Seven. grin


I'm figuring at least ten. grin

Ed



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That crack looks like it would be easy to get to from the back of the bottom metal inlet.

I'd see how far the crack went. I'd drill holes thru the crack from inside the inlet, hopefully to fully encompass the crack. I'd then work Acraglas Gel (brown dye) into the crack, making sure I got the gap fully filled.

Then, I'd patch the finish with Tru Oil. To fully eliminate the crack, you'd have to refinish the stock.

I'd glass bed the action to stop any future movement. I'd be sure all stress was relieved, leaving a slight gap behind the bottom metal and behind the tang.

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Originally Posted by gnoahhh
Originally Posted by APDDSN0864

If I can't use acetone to flush and dry out the stock prior to applying the epoxy, what do I use?

Thanks,

Ed


Depends upon how old the crack is. If it is fairly recent I wouldn't fret about flushing it out. If it is an old crack that has accumulated a bunch of grime and oil, that is a horse of a different color. After wedging it open (if possible), I would mask the heck out of the outside of the stock, and also tape plastic sheeting of some sort to cover the whole bloody thing. Give it a good blast of compressed air to dislodge the big pieces, then inject acetone or lacquer thinner into the crack and then blow it out again. Let dry thoroughly and proceed with the epoxy protocols described above- all good ideas. Clamp it, wipe off any squeeze-out, wipe everything down with alcohol or vinegar (so as to not dissolve the surrounding finish anymore than you may have already done). Remove the masking/plastic and double check for any traces of epoxy remaining around the surgery site. If you are lucky, careful, and the gods are smiling upon you, you won't have much if any touch-up to do on the finish. If you do, no big deal. Determine what the finish is and get back to us.

As stated above, I'm afraid too that the crack will never be totally invisible after repair. But, form follows function.

As for using cyanoacrylate, I never had good luck fixing cracks in gun stocks with it. May have been my luck, or lack thereof. I'm a firm believer in epoxy for such things.

I'd be surprised it you could wedge it enough.

Acetone will strip the finish.

Drilling out the crack from the inside, not getting into the surface seems to be a better option.

A full refinish will be needed to make it look perfect. Glass bedding to arrest any more movement.

Wonder what round?

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Originally Posted by Dirtfarmer
That crack looks like it would be easy to get to from the back of the bottom metal inlet.

I'd see how far the crack went. I'd drill holes thru the crack from inside the inlet, hopefully to fully encompass the crack. I'd then work Acraglas Gel (brown dye) into the crack, making sure I got the gap fully filled.

Then, I'd patch the finish with Tru Oil. To fully eliminate the crack, you'd have to refinish the stock.

I'd glass bed the action to stop any future movement. I'd be sure all stress was relieved, leaving a slight gap behind the bottom metal and behind the tang.

DF


good advice. hit it on both sides from the inside and build a little bridge over the crack and forget about the outside. and figure out where its tight and relieve it.


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Originally Posted by Dirtfarmer
...Acetone will strip the finish. Drilling out the crack from the inside, not getting into the surface seems to be a better option. A full refinish will be needed to make it look perfect. Glass bedding to arrest any more movement.

Wonder what round?

DF



.458WM

Action was already glass bedded sometime in the past. Don't know if it was before or after the crack appeared. Original owner and gunsmith who built it are no longer with us, so I can't ask them.

Ed


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Originally Posted by MtnBoomer
So, there're five woodworkers backed into a corner and someone asks them the best way out. How many different answers?
Seven. grin

Yeah, and they will probably all work just fine. Pick the one that suits your abilities and sensibilities (technique). Me, I have trouble making pretty structural repairs from the finished side and prefer to do that from the inside. Then I can get as fussy as I want on the finished side because it's cosmetic and it only has to look good. With practice you can make the cracks all but disappear without refinishing.


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Originally Posted by rem141r
Originally Posted by Dirtfarmer
That crack looks like it would be easy to get to from the back of the bottom metal inlet.

I'd see how far the crack went. I'd drill holes thru the crack from inside the inlet, hopefully to fully encompass the crack. I'd then work Acraglas Gel (brown dye) into the crack, making sure I got the gap fully filled.

Then, I'd patch the finish with Tru Oil. To fully eliminate the crack, you'd have to refinish the stock.

I'd glass bed the action to stop any future movement. I'd be sure all stress was relieved, leaving a slight gap behind the bottom metal and behind the tang.

DF


good advice. hit it on both sides from the inside and build a little bridge over the crack and forget about the outside. and figure out where its tight and relieve it.

You can cut a horizontal groove across the crack from the inside, lay threaded stock in the groove with Acraglas Gel. Once you do the squeeze with the padded vice, you have almost a cross bolt without disrupting the surface. The threaded stock will hold the glass. The crack can't spread.

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I have had luck with using UNWAXED dental floss to work the Brownells accraglass mix (no floc) into the crack - like flossing between teeth. It might work in this case.accraglass is thin and flows readily unlike accragel no need dye in this case. good luck with it. Mel

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