Meteor's post about his Dickert build has gotten me all fired up now about my Dickert project. So here's my question for all those experienced gunsmiths out there: What's the best material to use to fill in around my little inletting mistakes so that my gun doesn't look like a complete hack job ? :redface: I'm talking about small gaps around the barrel tang, the butt plate, toe plate, and the RR entry pipe. I don't need the long rifle to be work of art, but something to keep my errors from jumping out at the casual viewer would be nice. Like I said in my other post, rifle building and especially inletting has been a humbling, eye-opening experience for me
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Filler
- Thread starter Jaeger
- Start date
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Small gaps in inletting, say 1/32" will probably fill in with the finish that you use. Larger gaps can be filled in by gluing in strips of wood with the same grain direction.
I don't know of any wood putty, even the stainable kind that blend in very well. To many people, putty looks worse than gaps.
I don't know of any wood putty, even the stainable kind that blend in very well. To many people, putty looks worse than gaps.
IMO, one of the worst fillers would be Plastic Wood.
Over time, it doesn't really adhere to the base wood and it doesn't take stains of any kind.
One which I have used is to collect a pile of sanding dust from the stock (I do this while I'm sanding even though at the time I may not have a use for it) and mix it with some white wood glue. The ratio I use makes for a very "wet" putty.
This doesn't accept stains well but it will absorb some. With this in mind, use the darkest stain you have, applied with a narrow brush and prior to applying a finishing oil be prepared to use one of those furniture "touch up" stains sold at the hardware stores.
I haven't used a epoxy type filler although some have had some success with it if it has the special stains added to it before applying it to the gaps.
Just remember that it will stick to anything that is not waxed so it can easily epoxy a metal part that you may want to someday remove in place.
Also, it will not absorb any stains of any kind.
If there is a long gap between something like the barrel and the stock, consider making a very thin piece of wood, the same type as the stock, and gluing it in place with a good wood glue.
After the glue has set, the thickness of this piece can be sanded or scraped to fit the metal part.
This has the advantage of looking like wood and accepting stains like wood.
Properly done it can be totally invisible.
Over time, it doesn't really adhere to the base wood and it doesn't take stains of any kind.
One which I have used is to collect a pile of sanding dust from the stock (I do this while I'm sanding even though at the time I may not have a use for it) and mix it with some white wood glue. The ratio I use makes for a very "wet" putty.
This doesn't accept stains well but it will absorb some. With this in mind, use the darkest stain you have, applied with a narrow brush and prior to applying a finishing oil be prepared to use one of those furniture "touch up" stains sold at the hardware stores.
I haven't used a epoxy type filler although some have had some success with it if it has the special stains added to it before applying it to the gaps.
Just remember that it will stick to anything that is not waxed so it can easily epoxy a metal part that you may want to someday remove in place.
Also, it will not absorb any stains of any kind.
If there is a long gap between something like the barrel and the stock, consider making a very thin piece of wood, the same type as the stock, and gluing it in place with a good wood glue.
After the glue has set, the thickness of this piece can be sanded or scraped to fit the metal part.
This has the advantage of looking like wood and accepting stains like wood.
Properly done it can be totally invisible.
For very small gaps around items that won't be removed (pipes, toe plate, butt plate, etc.) on a finished rifle you can use colored wax. Woodcraft sells Briwax softwax filler strips in a varitiy of colors. Once the finish has dried select a color close to the shade of the stock (you can mix them) and apply to the gap, buff off the excess with a clean cloth and your done. It is a very effective filler.
rafterob
62 Cal.
Stain the sawdust and allow it to dry before mixing it with the glue. It will clump together so you will need to screen it to break it up again. I have done this with floors to good effect.
