Well my first inlay has gone haywire

[alaskasmoker]

So, I figured Id try inletting that rear entry thimble first, while I wait for my mainspring vice to get here.

Somewhere along the way I got it off center as well as moved back to the but to much, SO to get it straight again means there will be gaps of the old inlay exposed.

I tried peening the thimble around a bit but ended up goobering that up. I dont really care about that though as that is only a 10 dollar part, But now I've got a huge boo boo in a 200 dollar stock!

 

[tecum-tha]

You have it aligned right now and there is a gap?
That is only a minor problem.
Get a bunch of very fine sawdust from your stock wood and mix that with clear epoxy about 70% sawdust:30% clear epoxy. The more sawdust,the better. It should form a thick,thick paste. Then fill the gaps with a little more standing out and let it cure. Then sand to desired finish level. If it is a curly maple stock, the glaslike finish will not show the gap, because the sawdust took the stain. Antiquing the stock with some black spraypaint like in the gun building tutorial helps to hide those little flaws nicely,too. Don`t ask why i know that :grin:

 

[Mike Brooks]

Inlet a piece of wood in the gap and start over with a new pipe....nothing like starting with one of the more difficult pieces to inlet.... :wink:

 

[Birddog6]

I agree. See if you can find a piece of scrap that matches the grain lines there & if you can, cut along that grain line & fit it in. You want a tight line fit, no gaps, this is the key to hiding the boo-boo. Glue the sliver in with some Elmers Stainable wood glue. DO NOT use epoxy or super glue as it will not stain. (If you use either you have to stain it first & you are a long way from staining)
Put a piece of saranwrap over it or waxpaper & clamp something to it to hold it into place, sometimes several clamps with a stick or dowl or split down or whatever it takes.. Then let it sit overnight & reinlet the pipe. If you use sawdust it is going to stain darker than the other wood & is going to stand out as a Obvious screwup. :shake:

 

[tecum-tha]

It may take more stain only if you do not take care in that area. I like to use a little brush and stain it seperate with only a little stain or a little thinned stain. If you do that right,almost no-one will notice it. Inletting a new piece of wood may ruin the stock completely if not done 100% right. I think it is a good idea to use the stainable woodclue instead of the epoxy to form a paste. It always depends how big the flaw is and if he uses a pre-cut stock, he will not find a matching piece of wood.
According to his skill level, the thread opener should decide... :2

 

[wildeagle]

Odd timing for this post, I kinda went and done similar. I had the thimble in and it was looking good and then I thought I would tweak it just a tad :shocked2: . Well I wound up with a little more gap than I thought looked right. Well I figured , why not go for broke, so I cut out a fluer-de-lis from brass stock and silver soldered it to the tail of the pipe. Now it looks like the original thimble was broken and repaired. Just another fix, only I took the loooonnnnggg way around. DUH DUH

 

[Mike Brooks]

You think you got problems? I built this gun last year and ran into some termite holes. Patched the holes and they are gone. The trick is staining the edges of the hole and the patch before you glue. I used regular 5 min. epoxy just as it comes out of the tubes.

 

[R.M.]

Mike, you are a Wizard. Fantastic job. :thumbsup:

 

[Trkdriver99]

Mike,
That is not termite holes, that is character. But you sure did fix it good.
Ronnie

 

[alaskasmoker]

Thanks for your responses guys. I do have a chunk of wood from this stock that I can use for repairing. Pecatonica was nice enough to include the scrap from my stock.

Both the sawdust and inlet ideas sound like reasonable methods. I have also thought about maybe making my own rear pipe.

A sheet of german silver is only 4-10 bucks.

Ill keep ya all posted on what Im gonna do. But by all means if you get anymore ideas post up!

Yeah nothing like starting with premium grade maple, silver furniture and all the bells and whistles when you dont have a clue!

Maybe I better order a little cheaper setup and practice on that first?
Thanks again,
Matt

 

[J.D.]

IMHO, glue in a liver of wood, as Mike suggested. IMHO, sawdust and glue sticks out like a sore thumb, not to mention that it can come loose over time. IMHO, properly stained and glued wood slivers will be nearly impossible to see, if it is closely inlet.

I also suggest practicing inletting the various parts into scrap wood, to include gluing wood slivers into botched inlets, to prevent hacking up a $200 piece of wood.

I won't mention how I learned the value of practicing on scrap wood. :redface:

 

[brubincam]

-----HAYWIRE ? --a good name for a rifle-----

 

[alaskasmoker]

the sliver of wood idea seems like its something im capable of. I can match up the grains okay with what I got.

How should I inlay this? Im thing 3 seperate slivers since the forestock is rounded already. Also bevel the slivers? I dont have alot of scrap to experiment with.

 

[alaskasmoker]

ha ha, i was wanting to say "inletting gone ahry", but wasnt sure how to spell it.

 

[Mike Brooks]

Forget the slivers, the whole inlet is off center anyway. Cut out a large square hunk and glue in a large square hunk using my methods. It will never be seen hen it's done.

 

[cptleo1]

It is your piece so do what you think is right.

If you do as Mike recommends you will KNOW you are doing it right.

My experience with sawdust/epoxy - might as well paint it day glow orange - I know of no way to stain epoxy and it is not from the lack of trying.

 

[J.D.]

Forget the slivers, the whole inlet is off center anyway. Cut out a large square hunk and glue in a large square hunk using my methods. It will never be seen hen it's done.

I missed the part about the inlet being off center. In that case, do as Mike suggests. He knows what he is talking about.