Snapped at the wrist!

[mountainman_53223]

I really thank everyone for your reply it easys the thought of repairing it.

 

[LawrenceA]

Seriously Mountainman
I have fixed a couple of guns that suffered a similar fate.
You will have noticed that the grain does not flow well through the wrist.
This offers an opportunity to correct this weakness as well.
Richpierce is on the right track.

That rifle looks nice enough to fix properly. Best bet is a hole drilled from the buttplate up through the wrist then a threaded rod epoxied in place. It could be done with the rod starting in the patchbox.

First glue the halves together using a clear or whatever color glue. 5min Araldite will work. Let it set properly. No screws. No nails. Just glue. Important to get good alignment the whole final look relies on this.

THEN we do the Actual fix.
You do not need to go through the buttplate. You can go behind the breech at the base of the barrel channel. Just somewhere unseen. Then drill a hole down through the entire wrist (to make up for bad grain).
Then run a metal rod through the wrist and epoxy it in place with something good.
I have used bedding compound.
It is best to have some grooves or cut to lock the rod in but that is icing on this cake.
Give clearance for the compound to flow around the metal rod or the result will have weak spots.

An aluminum rod is plenty strong enough. You will need to bed behind the breech if you go from that end.
By gluing the pieces together first you sort out the alignment of the parts and make sure any funny color epoxy will not show.

Your test will be getting the drill to track through the wrist and not out the side.

Hope this helps

 

[Larry (Omaha)]

Not a fan of wood glue for these repairs. If joint fails, additional wood glue will not bond with old wood blue, at least in my experience. Products like Brownells Acraglas will actually bond to old Brownells Acraglas repairs, again, in my experience.

Thanks, good to know, but generally if the wood is clean and properly clamped, it does not fail in the first place. Where I see failure in glueing anything, the parts are not fitted and tight before the glue sets up.
Flintlocklar

 

[jlatz]

A nice Birmingham percussion double broke cleanly at the wrist. I took it to Simmons Gun Repair in Olathe, Kan. The stock repairman said he would drill a hole in each broken piece, fill it with some industrial strength glue, insert a drill rod in the holes, squeeze it back together. When I got it back he did such a good job you couldn't tell it had been broken. I used the double to good effect at a club shoot later.

 

[TomV]

Rustblue.com the do repairs and more.

 

[MIOutdoorsman]

I would check out this guy if the gun means a lot to you:

 

[toot]

lucky it is a rely clean straight break and not a jagged one with wood missing, as said an easy fix.

 

[Capnball]

Hi All,

Sad, Sad, Sad, my flinter fell on concrete and the stock snapped at the wrist. I went on youtube to find out how to repair but am wondering if anyone here knows of someone that has real experience with that or knows of someone?

I thank you and so does my rifle....

Man, that sucks but you can start here. Midway dies a quick over view that will give you an idea. There's a gunsmith on YouTube I watch also that does alot of stuff like this.

If you do fix it, post pics, I love restoration stuff.

 

[appalichian hunter]

As Lawrence stated this seems like a fairly easy repair job just go slow and double check every thing, the only other thing I would add is once the repair is complete you could inlet a thumb piece on top of the wrist to hide the rod you used as to under the wrist I would not bother or perhaps the trigger guard would cover it

 

[Capnball]

That is an easy fix. Titebond and a threaded rod or two. You can either refinish, or use a wrap.View attachment 35419

That's how you build your guns provinance. I used to call it making scars beautiful!

 

[Belleville]

Get some 1/4" threaded brass rod. Drill a hole from tang area w/barrel removed with a twist drill that is just a very little undersized with break aligned. Drill past the break by about 3". Put mixed 2-part epoxy (5 minute liquid type) in break, on the brass rod and a little in drilled hole. Using a hand drill brace quickly turn brass rod into hole, past the break. Put masking tape over the split w/o cleaning off all the extra glue, Cut off brass rod so that tang will go back into its inlet hole. If done correctly the break should not show. You may have to sand at the break and refinish. Don't have any experience w/ the other types of glue mentioned. Just my experience, your millage may vary,

 

[Col. Batguano]

Threaded rod will be gripped better by the glue than smooth rod. It's not that important to have a tight fit for the rod if you are using a 2 part glue like Accraglass, or an expanding glue like Gorilla Glue.

But if you want full bonding down to the bottom of the hole, you need to drill a small exit hole for the glue to squeeze out through as you are clamping the pieces tight. That can be under the TG or the trigger plate. Just point it down during the clamping / curing process so the glue doesn't run out and mess up areas you don't want it to go.

 

[Capnball]

I fixed the neck of my son's Gibson less Paul by gluing the joint with two part epoxy and clamping it overnight. The next morning I drilled it in two places, used two fluted maple dowels and let that dry over night. The next day I plugged both holes with slightly larger and grain oriented maple to match, let it dry, cut the plugs flush, sanded and touched up the finish. Came out great. My thinking was to get the break glued up as tight as possible without trying to do too many things at once. Their was no way to hide the repair completely so I just tried to match it as close as I could. It all worked very well. I was really worried about the alignment so I used another guitar to make a jig to set it up. Everything went pretty good.

 

[Hawgeye]

My Dickert suffered an almost identical fate with the added complication of two cracks parallel to the break. I filled the cracks and break with 2 part epoxy colored with some Laurel Mountain Forge finish dye and clamped the stock together to dry. Once dry, I drilled two holes into the cracks and break through the trigger guard recess, filled the holes with epoxy and and threaded two 1/8 " brass rods into the holes. The repair has held up, and while still visible, is not unattractive and looks as if it was done by the owner with minimal tools and skills. In my opinion it adds to the overall look of my old and loved rifle.

 

[jimairwin]

Hi All,

Sad, Sad, Sad, my flinter fell on concrete and the stock snapped at the wrist. I went on youtube to find out how to repair but am wondering if anyone here knows of someone that has real experience with that or knows of someone?

I thank you and so does my rifle....

I rather specialize in such repairs. Easy to describe, but ticklish to do.

 

[M. De Land]

Hi All,

Sad, Sad, Sad, my flinter fell on concrete and the stock snapped at the wrist. I went on youtube to find out how to repair but am wondering if anyone here knows of someone that has real experience with that or knows of someone?

I thank you and so does my rifle....

I'd do Rich Pierce's suggestion but instead of drillimg all the way from the butt I'd go down through the base of the barrel and tang mortise into and through the wrist . Gorilla glue works very well for such repairs as it will expand and fill all voids and is water proof. Agra-glass tends to leave voids in such applications that I do not care for. I would first repair the crack with Titebond 3 and when that is cured drill the hole for the reinforcing rod.
I use the Tight bond 3 in laminated wood bow making and like it for this kind of work which would be about the same as this crack repair.
I also would use a half inch Hickory dowel instead of a threaded rod so as not to interfere with any screws into the area. It works the same as a limb growing through a piece of wood your trying to split with an axe. Almost impossible!

 

[Relic shooter]

Sorry, here's a pic

I've made two repairs to rifles with wrist breaks in the same location, both were done years ago & last I heard were still going strong. Yours is a nice clean break so should be fairly simple to repair & can checker the wrist area to cover repair if needed. Wish I could include photos I took of the repair process but we're in process of downsizing to a smaller place & already have them packed away.
-For the adhesive I used epoxy that I purchased from Brownells & tinted it to match coloring on the stocks, use a slow cure type epoxy that will give you time to align the break.
- Three pieces of 1/8" to 3/16" diameter X 8" long pieces of threaded-rod stock inserted through break in the wrist will insure that it will never break again, the threads insure there will be no slipping. The holes drilled into both ends of the break area should be over-sized enough to allow for perfect alignment, pre-assemble prior to adding adhesive to make sure everything aligns perfectly.
- NESSESARY TOOLS ; You will need a series of about 4 large wood clamps or vices to hold the stock in perfect-alignment while the epoxy is curing. Two straps of thin narrow aluminum flat stock along with 3-4ft of small surgical tubing will also help align the break when joining ends with screws & epoxy.
-Have the clamps pre-set on the stock so the break is pre-aligned prior to mixing & applying the epoxy. Having a second person to hold each end of the stock in 'upward' position while you dab a little epoxy to the holes with a small craft stick prior to assembly will be a big help. No need to rush, usually have about 20 min. before epoxy starts to setup.
-First step is to establish a pattern for the three straight drill-lines line through the wrist area, wide masking tape applied over the entire wrist works well for this. Starting at the breaks, cover top, bottom & sides with tape for about 4" back on both sides of the break. The Masking tape will also make removal of excess epoxy easier once it's cured.
- With a marker draw lines along top, sides & bottom of the taped-off areas to use as your alignment pattern for the 3 slightly oversized holes you will drill for the threaded rods. **These lines are to prevent you from 'drilling through to the outer sides-surfaces of your stock.
-A set of vernier calipers will help you with hole-placement & alignment for your 3 holes, once established use a punch to spot the holes & prevent drift on the angled wood surfaces.
-**For maximum strength use a triangle drill-hole pattern for the threaded rods with one hole centered at the top of the break & two at bottom of the break in the wrist.
- With Vernier calipers take measurements from areas of the break to rear of the lock inlet so you know when to stop.
-After drilling your holes assemble the stock to check the fit, don't be concerned if your off-kilter as you can wallow the holes & bent the rods for a perfect fit. Once perfectly aligned consider using a Dremel tool with a small bit to create a few small irregular indents back in the holes to provide the epoxy a better grip.
- After a couple days to cure peel the tape off & carefully use a sharp blade to trim away the excess epoxy & enjoy your stronger than ever-before rifle & do your happy dance
Apologies for repeats & typos , need to get back to packing..

 

[vintovka]

Done a few no problems other than dealing with crack lines. The rod wrist repair is best in concert with good clamping both around break and length wise helps.. I made a custom but simple clamp/jig using long 3/8" allthread and wood blocks at each to hold piece in line. Clamps fit around butt and forarm and tightening bolts in unison to push things back togther in line . Often good checkering can help conceal the lines.