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Filling larger cracks in a stock?


Nostrum Damus SASS #110702

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I'm cutting down a Winchester 97 shotgun buttstock for my wife Bullion Rose.  She likes using the pump gun more than the double barrel coach gun, but she's tiny so the LOP is being reduced to 12 1/4 inch. I picked up a truly disgusting old stock for basically nothing. I have no idea what gunk was on the surface but that's now gone. At the wrist end the stock had split with long cracks on both sides, and there's a decent amount of wood lost from the forward end of the cracks. The cracks have now been securely pinned, and the cracks' contacting surfaces bonded with Starbond high performance cyanoacrylate. Before I refinish the stock with Tru-Oil, I want to fill in the open spaces of the cracks. What is the best way to do this? Mix white wood glue with sawdust obtained from the sanding process? Some brand of wood putty? Suggestions are invited. Thanks in advance for your help.

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You may have error'd using Super Glue.  It does not fill voids well if at all.  Contact is required.  For your stock repair, I would strongly suggest Epoxy and in some cases, Epoxy with some fine sanding dust mixed in for strength.

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16 minutes ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

You may have error'd using Super Glue.  It does not fill voids well if at all.  Contact is required.  For your stock repair, I would strongly suggest Epoxy and in some cases, Epoxy with some fine sanding dust mixed in for strength.

The cyanoacrylate was not used to fill any voids.  There is good tight wood-to-wood contact all the way from end to end of both cracks, and that's all it was used for.  That has left the voids outwards of the bonded wood still open.

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It's for your wife.  What appearance does she want-- natural wood, or are other ideas acceptable?  For example, you can fill the holes with clear resin or wood-tone resin.  But woodworkers also are doing things like filling voids with blue Epoxy resin-- looking like a river, or using clear resin mixed with glitter.  I like to fill voids in the free- edge tables I make with clear resin mixed with shiny mica,  collected from streams.  There are really a lot of options depending what end look is desired.  Some are pretty spectacular looking.  

Honestly, I've tried all brands and I have never found any commercial wood putty that can be closely color matched.  They all show up.  

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21 minutes ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

You may have error'd using Super Glue.  It does not fill voids well if at all.  Contact is required.  For your stock repair, I would strongly suggest Epoxy and in some cases, Epoxy with some fine sanding dust mixed in for strength.

There are CA glue formulations available specifically for gap filling.  You just have to make sure which type you are buying.   The product labeling should say.  

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There have been a few good posts on this forum on this subject, worth searching for them. 

 

The underlying truth with any wood repair is that you basically have one kick at the cat. Every repair product has it's application. The product you use depends on the stress that will place on the repair. Is it sheer? or compression? or elongation? Try and choose the product that best fits the nature of the damage.  

 

There are some decent videos by Larry Potterfield of Midway USA. Also the videos by Mark Novak, Anvil on YouTube.

Filling small voids when you are at the point of applying the first coat of Truoil is one place where a slurry of oil and sawdust is used. For repairs, I prefer clean, let the product do it's job. Especially joining two flat surfaces, sawdust would tend to prevent close contact. 

 

I use three major adhesive products: Gorilla Glue (it expands when it cures), Waterproof Carpenters glue (if it is a bonding repair), and bedding Epoxy, usually with black pigment added. For reinforcement pins and threaded rod, JB Weld. None of the products is hard to find. 

 

Acetone is also a good cleaner and will suck old oil out of wood. Lots of the old guns have oil soaked stocks, from back in the day when gun owners actually oiled their guns.

 

I don't know the nature of the crack, but bedding epoxy, tinted black is a good option. Black is the color of a natural flaw or grain in wood. once smoothed out, it will visually blend with the wood. Brown tint will seldom blend. I've looked at a few old rifles with wood repairs, works of art, the fitting of patches is near perfect even after decades of use. That is how I want my repairs to be judged. Not all of mine will get passing marks, but some might.  

 

I don't throw out old busted stocks, I keep them and cut out patches and such, trying to match grain and color. 

 

I use Truoil, but only for the few final light coats. Tung oil is what I start with. 

 

The '97s are pretty thin in the wrist, a bit of a challenge to repair. I cut a groove in a spare receiver shank and use it as a reamer. I like a snug fit but don't want any tight spots to create stress. IMO, these cracks were caused because the wood shrank with age, and acted like a wedge. Add in heavy game loads and then you have cracks. Cowboy ammo is easy on the stock, all of my repairs have held.

 

BB

 

https://i.imgur.com/zx4ox1N.jpg

 

https://i.imgur.com/NqwYekX.jpg

 

https://i.imgur.com/H0BPdjI.jpg

 

 

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26 minutes ago, Cusz M. Dutch SASS Life 55326 said:

I once used liquid steel to build back a huge chip around the but stock of a SG.  It cures out gray and when sanded down did not jump out at you so I did not try to stain it. 

 

I'm not afraid to admit that I use JB Weld for EVERYTHING, even helps hold your hat on in the wind.

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For some fun I've been filling gaps with this stuff. I have ground brass, turquoise and coral from these folks

https://treelineusa.com/inlay-materials/

                                      Jasper

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I ended up using JB Weld's CLEARWELD 2-part epoxy with a bunch of sawdust collected from the cut that I made to shorten the stock for the Missus.  I pressed the epoxy-sawdust mixture into the gaps on both sides of the stock, and into the tops of the holes where I drove in the pins.  It is rough now but will be sanded smooth before I finish the job with a 2 coats of diluted Tru-Oil with immediate 320 sanding afterwards, then 2 more coats of at full-strength with light buffing with 0000 steel wool while still wet.  So far so good.

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Less than 1/4" - sawdust filled acraglas (usually gel formula)

 

More than 1/4" - route the top 1/4 inch of the crack and cut patch wood from similar color and pattern stock.   Fill below the 1/4 inch level with runny acraglass.  Lay the patch in with a surplus of runny (normal formula) acraglas.

 

good luck, GJ

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