Repair stock

Hi Guys ,
Not sure of the Forum so posting this here .
Question about doing a repair to my stock

On the wrist of my 20 ga. about 1/2 inch from the tang I have an inlay . Just back of the tang and between it and the inlay I have lost a chip of wood . It is quite deep and irregular . Now sure wher the wood has gone , obviously lost on the wood walk and did not notice tell to late . I have tried to fill it with some wood epoxy types and the standby wood filler . However none will stay . Fire a couple of shots and it simply jars out .

Now keeping in mind I am about as one dimensional as the stick man and just about as handy.. is there anything I can use to fill this which might stay ?
My only other option is to find a gunsmith/woodworker who could replace a whole cut out block.
Appreciate any assistance

 

[soggy]

:: Take it to Les Hiltz; that old bugger can fix anything :crackup: :crackup: :imo:
soggy

 

Except this is not one of his guns .. you don't know Les like I do!!

 

[soggy]

:hmm: See Merwin Height...............he's good with duct tape.
Soggy

 

Depending on the size of the chip I think you have 2 options. First, thre is the burn in method where you take a burn in tool (looks like a small putty knife hooked up to an electric power source) and melt in some filler that matches the color of the wood. Second, would be to get a piece of wood that matches the stock and drill or cave out the stock chip into a regular shape. Then glue in the piece you would have carved or shaped to fit the chip. Either way, it will probably be noticable. However, it will be fixed.

 

[Halftail]

Stews,
Maybe you could give Carl a call.... :redthumb:

 

Really appreciate YOUR help!

 

Thanks Chet , It looks like the piece will have to be replaced in somewhat the manner you describe .

 

[Gary]

Find a piece of wood that the grain somewhat matches and you cut a splice to fit. You then carve out the chipped part and inlay that wood. Glue with Superglue. Learned that stunt from the NMLRA Gunbuilding workshops in Bowling Green. Then again, Wallace Gusler offered this sage advice, "Don't begin your restoration before you finish your gun." :haha:

 

thanks for the help , it may take a while but will get it done.

 

[soggy]

Hi Stews;
I'll be serious this time :: You mentioned trying to do the repairs with epoxy, or wood fillers. I think you are on the right track here. This is a little trick that I have used in the past on different projects.
Clean the bottom and sides of the damaged area the best you can(scrape it if you have to) this will hopefully get you down to fresh wood beyond where the oil has penetrated over the years. Take a small (1/16" or less) drill and drill several small holes (they don't have to be deep) at various angles in the bottom and sides of the damaged area. This will allow the epoxy to run into these voids and since they are at different angles they will act as anchors.
There see I can be serious if I want to :crackup: :crackup:
Soggy

 

[bob1961]

ya might try to to put another inlay in the gun there if it's not to big of a chip....that way ya can cover up any repair made to the stock....maybe some bedding compound after the inlay is made to fit what ever hole ya have and glue the inlay in with the compound also with the drill holes that was said before.................bob

 

[Halftail]

Stews,
I'm sorry ....I can't be serious....How did you chip your stock?Did that Nasty Shelburne Hawkings guy do it?Or maybe you guys was whooped by Skinner and those Liverpoolers? :: :blah:

 

[Zonie]

"...My only other option is to find a gunsmith/woodworker who could replace a whole cut out block...."
_____________________________________________________
Stews: Removing any more wood from the wrist than you have to is a bad idea. This is usually the weakest part of the stock.

Try the Epoxy with the little drilled holes suggestion that was given above, or think about installing a larger thumb inlay that will cover the area. If the inlay would look too large, then stick with the colored Epoxy.

 

[thehorn]

I agree with the others on the filler idea. Clean the void with acetone before starting. It will help promote adhesion of the filler by removing any oils/grease that have penetrated the area. Good luck.

 

[CrackStock]

Stews,

A pic would be helpful in forming ideas for a repair.

You seem focused on woodworking to solve this problem, so I will go that road with you for a moment. How much darker is your wrist area than the rest of your gun?

This area can be darkened to "age" the look of the gun and to mask your repair. From your description, I think that the tang might be used to anchor any repair. Simply use extend a bit of your repair under the tang or even file a shelf into the tang so as to minimize the removal of any mre wood.

On another trail, think about using metal to solve this.

You might consider entending the tang to cover the chip. The welding of an extension can be made almost invisible and made to not be too unsightly. Anything that you do will be visible, but this would serve to strengthen the wrist and would not involve the use of non period correct materials.

You could also wrap it in a rawhide or brass plate to resemble a period repair of a cracked wrist.

I do not get a vote in your project, but rather offer these thoughts for your consideration.

I wish you well with your opportunity to solve this puzzle.

YMHS,
CrackStock