Wood repair around tang

[MI MAN]

I am working on a gun kit. This is my first experience inletting the tang. I had to bend the tang to the stock profile which made it difficult. I ended with the following two problems:
1 I removed too much wood depth under the tang. I think I can easily fix this issue with bedding compound.
2 I ended up with a gap in one area on the side of tang. Does anyone have any ideas on how to hide this mistake. The gap is about 1/8 inch.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

I would fit and glue in a thin slice of the same wood having the same grain orientation and re-inlet for proper fit. when sanded and finished it should be nearly invisible.

 

[rich pierce]

One way to kill 2 birds with one stone is to fit a piece of wood to completely fill the current inlet and glue it in. Then re-inlet the tang.

 

[gemmer]

The gap was probably caused by the bend. When you bend it you can shorten the length needed to fill the inlet. Bend it back the other way and see if it fills the gap. File the tang down flush with the stock.

 

[MI MAN]

I would fit and glue in a thin slice of the same wood having the same grain orientation and re-inlet for proper fit. when sanded and finished it should be nearly invisible.

Is it necessary to router out a slot to be able to fit in a piece of wood tightly? Thanks for replies

 

[Flintandsteel]

The depth under the tang is no problem. Glue in a thin piece, and re-inlet.
The side gap is much more difficult.
Very important that the piece you glue in has the same grain orientation.
Bolt the tang in place, (after you fix the depth), then fit a piece to fill the gap, glue and clamp in place.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

Is it necessary to router out a slot to be able to fit in a piece of wood tightly? Thanks for replies

No router . A tight fit is achieved though the use of inletting black and by scraping.

 

[SDSmlf]

Is it necessary to router out a slot to be able to fit in a piece of wood tightly? Thanks for replies

If it has a cord or a battery, probably not a good choice for working on a stock. Those mistakes happen fast and big.

 

[Treestalker]

To paraphrase old Captain Bligh on the good ship Bounty, using power tools on a gunstock can ''cause you to curse your mother for giving you birth" LOL!

 

[MI MAN]

The depth under the tang is no problem. Glue in a thin piece, and re-inlet.
The side gap is much more difficult.
Very important that the piece you glue in has the same grain orientation.
Bolt the tang in place, (after you fix the depth), then fit a piece to fill the gap, glue and clamp in place.

Thanks

 

[Art Caputo]

I would fit and glue in a thin slice of the same wood having the same grain orientation and re-inlet for proper fit. when sanded and finished it should be nearly invisible.

I have done this and it worked very well. If there is any trace of the repair, a bit of Bone Black(available from Kibler) mixed with your finishing oil applied around the tang area could be used to blend any coloration difference and/or eliminate any seam.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I am no stranger to gaps around the tang, I have posted this before. I like superglue because the glue line turns black and is easily hidden when the gun is finished.

Tap the wedge into place with glue on the gap side, have the same grain orientation in the wedge as the stock, file off the excess and your gap will be gone, because the wedge is tapped in with the tang in place it will be a tight fit and may need a little relieving so your tang will slip in easily. The second picture is of the finished stock, no shims in evidence.

 

[Kansas Jake]

I have a Hawken stock that was started by someone else years ago and there is not excess wood to match the gaps around the lock except what might be shaved off of the stock along the barrel. I have a piece of maple from another buttstock that isn't long enough to fill the gaps around the lock. Should I use pieces of the buttstock and splice together or try to find a piece of maple at a lumber yard?

 

[rich pierce]

Find a matching piece whether on forestock or in a pile beside the bandsaw. Curly or not? Red or sugar?

 

[Kansas Jake]

Thanks Rich.

 

[rich pierce]

Thanks Rich.

Jake I’ve got scraps. Can send for postage If you show me what’s needed. Just PM me.

 

[Kansas Jake]

Thanks Rich, I'll pm you.

 

[Flinty Scot]

If it's a small piece needed, why couldn't you cut that from under the butt plate, then fill that hole with a compatible wood; that repair will never show..

 

[Kansas Jake]

It is a long longitudal gap around the lock. I have a piece of a cut off butt, but it is only about an inch thick.

 

[Col. Batguano]

Once the piece is spliced in, as stated above, it will be darn near invisible. Carving around the tang can help further camouflage it too.

You do NOT want to drill the tang bolt hole until the final profile for the tang and breech area is established. You want to locate it tangent to the curve so that it intersects the trigger plate. If you don't locate it properly, either the front or the rear of the tang bolt head will be proud to the tang when you tighten it down.

Final inletting to depth can be a little tricky too, because you can't easily get it as tight with clamps as you can in turning down a bolt. Very easy to over inlet it. Or file off more metal from the tang than you need to while profiling both the wood and the tang at the same time. An interim step might be to use a flat head machine bolt (make sure to cut the slot deeper) that can be sacrificial when you file it. That way you don't have to worry about your semi-rounded one that is the final product bolt. The bedding compound (if you wind up using it) won't show in the end.