Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Fiiling a Nasty Ding in a Cheap Stock

I have a New Haven Arms .22 that I want to give to my grandson. I can refinish the stock (the metal work is about 95% and I won't touch that), but there is one spot where it looks like the rifle was dropped on a sharp rock. The wood fibers aren't just crushed, they are broken, so steaming the ding out is not an option.

I'd like to fill that spot with something that will take stain and end up looking like the rest of the stock (or at least, not too obviously different) or, in the alternative, take color before I use it to fill the ding. Can any of you recommend a filler that would accomplish what I'm trying to do?

Thanks.

My favorite is still epoxy.
Completely prep the stock for finishing.
Find an unobtrusive spot and apply your chosen finish. You'll see what the color will look like after using your finish.
Tint the epoxy to that color and fill the ding. Sand to match the prepared wood.
Finish the stock with your chosen finish.
You are not worried about the filler absorbing the finish.
I'm sure there are other methods but this one has worked for me.

There is a fellow on the Marlin Owners forum that fixes things like that. He works miracles, but is backed up.
I have used Brownells Accurate Jel tinted with the die they supply. Just about as Dian describes.

Use some matching sanding dust from a similar colored wood, mix in a little stain to make it match and then stir in a bit of Superglue - fill the dent and sand it to march the surrounding wood. I was taught this trick by a stockmaker and it has worked well for me.

drover

Brownells used to sell shellac sticks to fill dents with. You would melt the matching shellac with a hot pallet knife and smear it in the dent to fill it. Could be sanded as soon as it cooled, unlike epoxy or other glues which had to sit for hours. Looks like Brownells no longer has the product but our friend Amazon does.

Make a filler from the stock. Remove the buttplate use a Dremel and sanding disc or drum from the center. Use a stainable glue to mix. Preferably use a wood dye for the stain.
Still steam as much of the dent as possible prior to filling

Broken fibers will stand right up and fill the space with exactly the right color wood which will change color over time just like the rest of the stock.

When you get it as flush as you can try it at least one more time. Do not disturb the finish anywhere until you do this.

Most older stock woods will respond to Formby's Furniture Refinisher
https://www.amazon.com/Formbys-30010-Furniture-Refinisher-16-Ounce/dp/B000C018CM

Buy it locally the bizarre price is a function of shipping price.

Rub the entire stock gently with a damp rag. It will take a lot of gunk off. Do not try to remove everything, just move it around. Most dings will disappear with just that. Missing wood obviously will not grow back, but your repair will be much smaller.

Super glue and accelerator will fill the spot, but do it in multiple layers, not one big blob. Be very careful when flattening the patch. Do not sand the surrounding wood.

Another wiping down with Formby's to spread old finish over the repair will usually make it disappear pretty thoroughly.