I would like to try pinning a crack in a stock that I have. The location of the crack is near the head and towards the bottom. It is about 2 inches long front to back but not all the way through. It should be fairly easy to drill a hole through this section as the wood is thicker and I will be coming up from the bottom but from the outside which will be visible. I purchased a Brownell's pinning kit with pins that are threaded. After drilling the hole it says to coat the pin with Acra Glass and then insert it in a drill chuck and slowly treading it in. After it dries cut the pin off to level it with the wood. My concern is with cutting the pin off without damaging the stock and then sinking it a little to get some Acra Glass with some wood dust in the sink so it blends in well. Any suggestions? How often do you just glue vs. doing a pin job on a crack?
Get the oil out of the head, cut wood away from the split where you can hide it, spread the split , color your epoxy to match, fill the crack and missing wood with the fresh epoxy. Save the pins for another real bad oil soaked gun.
bill
I'll sometimes pin a cracked stock if I can hide the pin, usually under the top lever or trigger guard tang. What I do is first soak the stock in acetone to remove any oil from the wood (if necessary) then I pry the crack open usually holding it open with a toothpick laid on its side. Next I squeeze slow cure epoxy deep into the crack using a disposable glue syringe. Sometimes I used compressed air to force it deeper into the crack. I pull out the toothpicks squeeze the crack shut, wipe off the excess epoxy, wrap the area with wax paper and wrap it tightly with an old bicycle inner tube. If and when I install the pin after the epoxy's set I use a longish stainless steel screw. I first drill a hole, tap it and then slather the screw and inside of the screw hole with epoxy and screw it in. HOWEVER, I always notch the screw with a file so that I can easily break it off below the level of the wood. I typically only pin it only if I can completely hide the pin.
Steve
No chance pinning it through the trigger guard or other inletting? If you can't hide the pin, I agree with bill, de-oil and glue. In both cases, consider glass bedding the head in case it was wood shrinkage that caused the crack.
Regards
Ken
If you are wanting to put a visible pin through it, you are better off getting it to a good repair person who will do it right.
No need for pins IMO..that threaded pin repair is(was) a common way military stocks were repaired. Drill a small guide hole, run the all-thread usually brass rod through the cracked and damaged pieces w/the use of the drill and break it off flush. Then file it off. They didn't use glue. It was a mechanical repair. The Brit SMLE's show lots of this type of repair.
I'd do as others have said and pull the cracked piece open as far as you can. Use acetone or laq thinner to clear it out of oil and any old finish and dirt.
Make sure the edges fit perfectly or as nearly as can be made with the original pieces(s).
This may require a little careful knife or chisel work to the interior of the crack to remove a tiny bit of wood displaced over time not allowing the crack to close all the way.
When it's ready to glue, I'd use epoxy if the fit is less than perfect from the need to remove some wood from inside surfaces.
I'd use TightBondII if the fit is excellent and goes right back together.
Clamp tightly with rubber bands, wood wedges and perhaps small clamps as needed. Pay attention to any displacement of the wood from the pressure of the bands & clamps and adj as needed before it sets.
Some small refinishing of the area will be needed when done but repair will as strong as any w/a pin and w/o showing one.
..I'd then glass bed the frame in the head of the wood when done .
Kutter has a good description. I am sure many of you do it, but before gluing, I wax the stock finish near the repair, so any squeezed out glue is easy to remove without damaging the finish.
I have been using small diameter carbon rods from the hobby store for this kind of repair. They are incredibly strong and work well with epoxy. The exposed end of a rod cuts, files, and sands easily, and with a dab of finish on top, it just looks like a blemish in the wood. If the pin through a checkered section of the stock will take checkering well.
