Glue advice

[ltdann]

You want a glue with long working time that dries clear and is thin and clear when dried. . First stain the edges of the break and don't be shy about it. Match the exterior color. If you used LMF on the orginal finish, use that on the edges...and go deep into the break. Let that dry for a few hours or overnight or longer.

When you apply the glue...cover all the surfaces of the break...heap it into the part of the wood still attached. Use gentle heat if needed to get it into every nook and cranny...you want total coverage.

Then use surgical tubing, or rubber hose etc. to wrap the break.. the long working time lets you align the break up exactly. Dont't worry about the glue sticking to the tubing..it will.

After a few days, strip the tubing/hose off, file off the excess glue, stuck hosing etc and sand till it's flush and you can't feel the break with your eyes closed.

Restain and refinsh and your done.

Don't add finish to the glue, it rarely works. Stain the wood, then glue.

 

[Vaino]

Have 2 glues in the shop....the Elmers is for household items and the super glue is for cracks in gunstocks. The longest stock crack I've had was an 8"-9" long web crack that started at the muzzle end. First stained the crack , let dry and then w/ the bbl waxed applied the super glue , quickly inserted the waxed bbl, wiped off the excess glue and wrapped w/ surgical tubing. The crack was invisible to the eye because the super glue dissolved the stain which didn't affect the super glue at all, except the color. Have glued a few more cracks in stocks w/o any complications w/ this procedure .

Another "super glue job" was on the fragile side of the forestock. Made a piece w/ a suitable grain direction that was 2-1.2" long and was wider that the stock thickness. Agin applied the stain and when dry applied the super glue and filed flush .


Told the customer about the splice and 2 days after receiving the LR, called me and said...."what splice?" He did find it but w/ difficulty. Needless to say....he kept the LR. .....Fred

 

[longcruise]

There is a lot of great information here, but no one has addressed the issue of HOW do you widen/spread the crack without completely breaking or opening it?

That's gonna depend on where in the stock and is it finished or under construction.

I just did one a few minutes ago on a stock under construction. The crack was in the barrel channel so I spread it by tapping a finishing nail into it. That was enough to let some water thin super glue in. Pulled the nail out and clamped it. It's going to show where the nail went in bu not a problem in the channel.

 

[oldwood]

I once used a 1/8" cooking stick , (stir fry stick) , with the end made into a long sloping chisel shape ,to spread a crack in a maple stock. If cut the stick to 1 1/2 " length , tap it in place w/a light wooden hammer. Apply the stained liquid epoxie , pull out the stick , clamp the break in place , and let harden. Any time using liquid epoxie , use Brownell's epoxie dyes to make the split line the same color as the final finish on the gun. Fixed many a crack , and even made a cheek rest to shape, inlet it where rifle cheek rests go , and you couldn't tell the cheek rest wasn't naturally grown onto the side of the stock. Epoxie , is the best friend a m/l gun builder could have , if you learn how, and when to use it..........oldwood

 

[frankie]

Also I forgot to mention the great thing about acra glass. One can heat the glue and it will have the consistency of water. It will go deep into the crack. I hope this helps.

 

[FlinterNick]

I use starbond. It’s blends in nicely to the wood grain.

https://starbond.com/collections/all-products?page=4

 

[tallPercshooter]

Titebond Ultimate - you can glue two scraps of wood together, after 24 hrs you cannot break the joint even using a chisel.

 

[LME]

Titebond Ultimate - you can glue two scraps of wood together, after 24 hrs you cannot break the joint even using a chisel.

I use Titebond11 a lot and like it very much. It is a strong glue. The down side is yellow glues leave a thin brown line when used on light/blond woods. For what the glue was designed for it works extremely well.

 

[springfield art]

I have an old modern wooden bow that popped apart at the glued pieces of the grip when strung once! Reading on the label that Titebond has a 4,000 lb. strength, I re-glued it. Haven't strung it again yet but hope that the Titebond does it's thing!

 

[user 48702]

I use Loctite Super Glue Ultra Liquid Control, which is a very thin CA glue. In most cases you don't have to spread a crack in wood if it's not completely broken through, the glue is deep penetrating and the crack sucks it in to fill the void, kind of like when soldering a clean joint it's sucked in to fill the void. A friend who owns a high end custom wood shop turned me on to it. He builds custom gunstocks from blanks and also does stock repairs. I had a Franchi O/U with a season crack at the wrist and he used a thin CA glue for the repair, when dry, he smoothed the area of the crack then used a stain to blend. The glue took the stain as well and now looks like a thin black line that is part of the stock. I would use a padded clamp or surgical tubing to close the crack when necessary. The Loctite Ultra Liquid Control has the best container for dispensing and keeping the glue fresh after opening. The bottle has a button on either side of the bottle to meter how much glue it dispenses.

LOCTITE® SUPER GLUE ULTRA LIQUID CONTROL

 

[Crew Chief]

Titebond professional strength wood glue has worked well for me in the past.

Just used on my new Kibler SMR to repair a small chip. After overnight drying, I lightly sanded an added some stain then Tried & True Oil. The wife couldn't find the repair.
Take a damp paper towel and wipe off the excess and let it dry. If you can, clamp it. If not, wrap it with painters tape.

 

[FlinterNick]

For wood repairs I first use a thin CA glue by Starbond. Then if cosmetic work is needed I work with a thicker CA glue, and an oxidized dye and some saw dust.

Depending on where the issue is, and how the stock was originally finishe I willl usually do a refinish of the stock. If a varnish is used, you kinda have to. If its a oil based finish that is 70% oil or more and is cured, I just do a spot touch up of the area. One of the benefits of working with 100% linseed, tung oil or tried and true varnishes, they can easily touch up and blend very well.