Cracked lock mortise on my fowler

[Texcl2]

First off, I’m sure I did something wrong to make this happen especially since I’m working on my second and a crack has appeared in the same location. On both guns the back lock bolt was hard to start but eventually loosened up. I feel like the barrel was properly seated on both. there was no visible crack at least that I saw, on the completed Fowler until I took it trap shooting and shot 20 rounds or so, this was after test firing some rounds, patterning and putting some PRB through it. The repeated shooting must have been enough for it to break through. I couldn’t find the missing wood. The second gun that I’m working on has a much more minor crack in the same exact spot. It hasn’t been fully assembled yet so hasn’t been fired. When you look at the hole through the tang where the lock bolt passes, it looks pretty centered but it is difficult to start the rear lock bolt into the lock. The lock fits in the mortise fine. My guess is when I got the bolt to catch, it forced the lock forward and cracked the mortise? Frustrating but I’d like to learn what caused this, how to fix it and prevent it from happening again. So now how do I fix these. I would assume I use glue or epoxy to fix the crack itself and then need to splice a chunk of wood into where the missing wood is. What kind of glue should I use? I have a colonial rifle Quaker stock, I was thinking of cutting the missing wood from the lock area of that stock, filing a nice square slot where the chunk of wood went missing on the gun and cut the colonial stock piece to fit a bit proud and glue it in place then file it to shape and re-fit the lock, does that sound reasonable? I’m going to need to address what caused this and that’s sort of the sticking point.

 

[oldwood]

The overall lock inletting looks a little too perfect , ie , too tight , as stock wood needs to have a tiny bit of clearance for the parts to move in , and out of their inlets during assembly , and disassembly. Perfect fits will get even more prone to wood chipping , after the finish is applied , further tightening a tight fit. I've worn a 2 power magnifier in my shop since 1974. As my old friend Donnie Getz used to say , " if you work at 2 times the magnification , mistakes are twice as hard to detect to the unmagnified eye." And another thing to watch , is allow lock bolts to have enough clearance through their respective holes , so when tightened , like the horizontal breech plug tang lug clearance hole , won't vertically bind against the top of the rear lock bolt , when the barrel tang bolt is tightened. I won't bore you with information on drilling appropriate holes , as your work looks like you can accomplish that. Wishing you well , oldwood

 

[deerstalkert]

first off, don't cannibalize that other stock unless it is junk. PM me your address and i will ship you some walnut to use instead.
second, you need to file a little draft on the lock plates to keep them from doing just what they are doing. the bevel needn't be much. walnut just loves to crack with any stress. built a pistol from some walnut i milled and carried around for over 40 years. was about as cured as it could be. cracked from the rear lock bolt to the end of the tang. after it was done of course.

 

[Texcl2]

The stock I’m going to use the wood from is just a practice stock I use for carving and testing finish, thanks for the offer though! Yall don’t think the lock screw has anything to do with the crack? Also what kind of glue should I use? Old wood, I too use the magnifier headset, helps with my crappy close up eyesight but man does it make imperfections look bad! lol.

 

[Eric Krewson]

Another thing, overly tightened lock bolts can cause cracking, you just want them slightly above finger tight, just snugged up.

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
The lock was probably too tight in the mortise and if you had to tap it in to seat it while inletting, you probably weakened the wood. As others wrote, the edges of the lock need draft filed on them and the lock should slip in and out with no more than finger pressure. Take a little superglue and thin it 1 part glue with 4 parts acetone. Then using a tooth pick dribble the glue into the hairline crack. It should be thin enough to be wicked into the wood. Don't get any superglue on the chipped area just the crack. Clamp it or use rubber bands or tape to hold it tight over night. Then use Titebond II to glue in a replacement chip. and clamp it over night. If you stained the stock, you can tint the chip with the stain before gluing. After it is all dry, lightly sand all the edges and joints smooth and get rid of any glue on the surface. Then touch up the finish. Black walnut is notorious for chipping. The wood at the end of your barrel tang is a chip waiting to happen.

dave

 

[Texcl2]

These are Kibler Fowler kits so I didn’t do the inletting myself, the locks were a slightly snug fit but not tight. They drop right in now with just a slight bit of snugness. Does the mortise actually support the lock while firing or is it the lock bolts?

 

[dave_person]

These are Kibler Fowler kits so I didn’t do the inletting myself, the locks were a slightly snug fit but not tight. They drop right in now with just a slight bit of snugness. Does the mortise actually support the lock while firing or is it the lock bolts?

Hi,
The mortise supports the lock but firing will not stress the lock greatly. Your second cracked stock has not been fired right? So recoil is probably not the problem.

dave

 

[Texcl2]

Correct, the second one has not been fired at all.