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What stuff to fill gap between metal/wood


F. Greysmoke ,#12093

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Hey pards,

I noticed a gap between the metal and wood on the back end (recoil sheild?) on my muzzleloading shotgun which is starting the tang to crack/chip the wood around it on the stock.

So, what stuff can I use to fill the gap between metal/wood? Bear in mind the recoil shield pushes against this wood gap area when the gun is fired. It needs to be something that I can get at Walmart, Lowes, or Home Depot.

Thanks for the help!

Greysmoke :(

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Acraglass would be my first choice, but if you want something you can get locally I've used the general purpose 5 minute epoxy from Wal-Mart. It sticks well to the wood and is not noticable when you're done.

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If you can see an open gap and are cracking the wood, most likely the butt stock is fitting loosely against the metal of the receiver. Here's your chance to fix this before you end up really damaging the stock.

 

JB Weld will never look anything like the wood of the stock. If you don't care about that, then it's certainly strong enough to work for rebedding the stock to the receiver. However, if you DO care about the looks, then Acraglass from Brownell's is a better solution.

 

To get a permanent repair here will require some work. First, degrease both the stock and the receiver where they meet. If you have an "old time" muzzleloader, the bedding surface where they meet can be very complicated and irregular. Second, you need a good release agent on the metal or the epoxy (which is what JB Weld and Acraglass is) will permanently bond the wood to the receiver. The Brownell's kit for the gel type of Acraglass (easier to keep in place than the thinner version of Acraglass) has a good release agent that you dab on thinly with a q-tip. Apply the Acraglass to the wood and snug the stock to it. After it hardens, if the release agent was in the right spots, the stock and receiver come apart with a few taps of a rubber or plastic mallet.

 

(Acraglass or other stock repair epoxy really is the best product to use for this, even if it DOES require ordering and waiting a few days. Acraglass is much more able to penetrate into fine cracks in the stock and stop further damage to the stock; the steel-embedded epoxies like JB Weld are much less able to do that.) I've got shotgun stocks fixed with Acraglass that are now thirty years under repair, and no sign of failure.

 

Good luck, GJ

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Acraglas from Brownells or some cheap goo from a big-box retailer ... You can do it right or do it right now. In the long term you'd be ahead to use the product designed for the job.

 

Check around at some of your local gunshops. The better-equipped ones might just have it as on the shelf item, and can offer advice and tips on using it.

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PAM spray cooking oil, vaseline, (used) heavy motor oil, wheel bearing grease, etc. I'd go with a thin coat of vaseline or bearing grease myself, as the lighter oils can rub off while you are positioning the stock.

 

After you set the stock, tighten the stock retaining screws or bolts a little until you squeeze the extra epoxy out and are sure you have metal to wood contact at least at some point.

 

For a really complicated bearing surface between wood and metal, I have had to do a double-bedding on some guns, to avoid the dreaded disaster of getting the epoxy locked around the metal so tightly that I can't remove the stock without taking a chunk of wood out. Examine your particular stock design and make sure you don't "keystone" in the metal where it won't come off the stock. Double bedding would be to bed the flat bearing surfaces first, let it harden up well, then bed the "cosmetic" areas around the outside, visible parts of the gap. To speed up hardening, you can stick the parts under a desk lamp with a 100 or 150 watt incandescent bulb to keep ti warm while hardening. Just don't melt your release agent, though!

 

Good luck, GJ

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