Broken toe on Stroh ”Kit gun”

[K9_75]

Recently I got delivered a gun you have seen here on the board before ”“ a Tennesee Poor Boy finished by Roy for Kirrmeister. It now resides a bit further north of Germany. Roys pictures

Opening the package was unfortunetly not as a happy occasion as it could have been ”“ the gun had gone through the packing during its journey. The muzzle is dinged but worse is that the toe is broken off and missing in action and the stock is also badly scratched ”“ see pics below:





What do the board members suggest that I do now?

Cheers
K9_75

 

[mr.flintlock]

You might be able to cut a replacement piece from a like kind of wood and epoxy it into place, shape and try to match the color or another possible option would be to mill the flat part of the stock down between the rear of the trigger plate to the toe of the butplate to just take out the area where the piece is missing and try to match up the color where you have milled it out.

 

[Birddog6]

No way of covering it, match a piece of wood & fix it. You might as him if he happens to have a piece off the butt ? Reason I say that I write the names on my scrap pieces & toss them in the scrap box. Burn the box about every 5 years or so. Well one day a guy called me & he had burnt about 6" off the end of the muzzle. (long story but no, he was not drunk & playing in the campfire ! :rotf: ) Anyway, he called & asked if I could repair it, sent it to me, I looked in the box & there is 6" of forestock wood I had cut off marked Johnson # 112 or whatever it was. It matched perfectly & even the stripes matched & I carved a accent line where the bonding joint was & you couldn't even see it.

Back to issue at hand. If possible, rasp it flat & in grain line & glue a piece on there of matching grain, make a wood toe form the shape of the toe to clamp with so it is a tight bond. Use stainable wood glue & put wax paper or saran wrap between the patch wood & the clamp, so form doesn't bond to the stock. When dry stain to match & finish to match.

 

[JayDee Flohr]

This isn't a great drawing :surrender: but you can get the idea. It will change the profile a bit but how about cutting it back?

 

[rabjr]

Nice packing job. I remember putting the pic's up for that gun and noting how dark it was stained, almost black. Your flash in your pic's almost appear it's been refinished but what do I know. :idunno: Being a gun Roy finished, I would contact him about it.

 

[Robby]

K975, Man, that is a shame! First off, I would contact Roy and find out what went into finishing the wood, stain, varnish,etc.. That might give me some ideas as how I might proceed.I would think long and hard before I moved on it, that is a nice gun. At first blush, I think Fossil has a good idea, but could radically change the character of the gun, it's still a good idea. Another might be to make a toe piece from brass or steel that follows the existing contour, with a tab running up the toe, like a toe plate and screwed in, another running up the butt and screwed in. Hard to explain, but properly done, I think it could be made to look original to the gun, or at the worst, a properly done repair. Good luck
Robby

 

[Stophel]

I'm with Fossil Hunter. Cut the bottom end of the butt up some. And round the toe over when you're done. :wink:

 

[Bill Hall]

K9, I hope I am not stirring up trouble here but, going by the original pictures of the gun, it would seem that it has been "worked" on a little. Like Swampy mentioned, that is not the original finish on the wood, and the buttplate has either been replaced or shortened at the toe. If it were the original buttplate, it would be prodruding out past the broken wood. A shortened buttplate can cause the unprotected wood at the toe to snap off, especially during loading. Add that information to the fact that the broken piece of wood was not in the shipping box and, well.....
I will leave it at that. Bill

 

[rabjr]

There was no butt plate on that gun originally, it's just curved wood, like a lot were made. I do know it was not shipped in the original wooden box Roy uses because if it was it would have taken an army to get to that gun and ruin it like it is.

 

[rwiliff]

If that was mine, I'd just slather a little stain and oil on it and use the rifle. But I don't take my old truck to the body shop or my old face to the plastic surgeon either. That is a crying shame though.

Robert

 

[Swampman]

I think I'd put a metal toe plate on it.

 

[Bill Hall]

Oh man! I saw a slight shadow on one of the original pics and assumed it was a buttplate. :haha: Thanks, Bill.

 

[54ball]

Most items like that are shipped with insurance. Check the seller and shipper to see if it was indeed insured. If so a claim will need to filed. Since this is in Europe I have no idea how your system works.
I had a rifle damaged here in the US through the mail. I filed a claim with the postmaster after getting the claim slip from the shipper. I never heard nothing from my claim.
I think the main reason I never heard from my claim was because I elected to keep the damaged item instead of turning it in as destroyed in shipping. Instead I submitted photos and a estimate for repair. I wasn't going to send a rifle carved from a blank to some Govt. trash bin over a cracked stock and broken ramrod.

As far as repair, stain it to match. Or simply apply some linseed oil and let her show her scars.
These rifles were often chipped or worn down with heavy use. The originals obtain kind of a rounded toe showing honest wear. I would let it go as is.

 

[Roy]

well hate to see that... I have been away from the computer for a bit. Was the box torn open where the damage occured? If not the piece should be in the box. If it was me I would add a piece of wood, or horn... stain the scratches dark if it wasn't insured.

If the damage had occured when I had originally shipped it I would have taken it back, returned the money or replaced the stock. :v

 

[Zonie]

If it were mine, noting that the broken portion of the wood doesn't extend above the toe of the butt plate I would buy a piece of sandpaper and get a small block of wood to support it.

I would then sand the bottom of the stock 6-10 inches (150-250 mm) to create a straight surface that removes the broken area and is tangent to the end of the butt plate.

I would NOT just sand the local area to remove the damage. This to me would create a noticeable break in the line of the bottom of the stock.
I would want the sanding to blend smoothly and gently into the existing shape of the stock.

If some of the broken area still exists I would remove the butt plate and continue to sand the new straight surface until all traces of the break are gone. I would then file the end of the butt plate to match the woods new height.

I'm sure Roy will be able to tell you what the stains and oils he used were and how to apply them to get a match to the rest of the stocks finish.
Applying some salt water to the newly filed butt plate should cause rust to form. When the hard brown rust forms applying some linseed (or other oil) will make the newly filed area blend in with the rest of the plate.

This may be a lot of work but when it was finished no one would ever know it was damaged.

As was suggested, the other option would be to live with it as the typical wear old guns often have.
If you don't like the white wood showing go to a shoe repair place and ask for some dark brown leather dye. Just a touch of it to the broken surface will make it a dark brown that will not be very noticeable.

 

[JayDee Flohr]

If some of the broken area still exists I would remove the butt plate and continue to sand the new straight surface until all traces of the break are gone. I would then file the end of the butt plate to match the woods new height.

Zonie, there is no butt plate.

 

[Zonie]

By golly, Your Right! :thumbsup:

I guess that changes my comment to say I would sand the bottom to meet the place where the broken wood meets the butt end of the stock! :rotf:

 

[K9_75]

Hi everyone and thank you for your answers and ideas!

I must say that the gun, appart from a few handling marks (and the damage from the shipment) is in almost unused condition which is why the toe damage irritates me so much. Buying a gun in this condition (near new) and recieving a damaged gun and then doing repairs on it is not my idea of a good thing.

Unfortunetly I'm pretty sure the shipment was uninsurred so there's probably no help to get there. There were holes in the cardboard on both ends of the package and the broken off piece is missing.

I'm leaning towards remaking the whole butt as per Fossil Hunters picture or fitting a toeplate from horn, antler or steel as has also been proposed here. Leaving it as it is with just some dye slaped on is not an option as it is really sharp and would definetly take a bite out of me.

Roy ”“ You have a PM.

Cheers

K9_75

 

[Swampman]

I've seen poorboys with no buttplate and an iron toeplate.