doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DIY Gunsmithing @ doublegunshop.com Found a nasty crack on my rifle stock

I was dismantling my Sako 300winmag for post hunting cleaning, and found a nasty crack on the side of the rifle stock

If I force from the inside, the crack will open maybe 1mm.

My plan is to use a surgical syringe, and fill with glue, then use rubber band from a bicycle wheel to tighten correctly.

My doubt is, for stock repairs, should I use Titebond pva, or epoxy glue??? I just want to use the correct one for the repair.

I cant say 100% if the inside is clean wood or may have oil. Should I first use the syringe with acetone to clean and then use the glue?

I would use west systems g flex epoxy.

Not sure about the acetone question but it seems like a reasonable idea that is unlikely to cause a problem even if it isn't necessary

Thanks for the suggestion of the epoxy. Sadly, as I am in Spain, mostly any epoxy brand you give me, wont be available here...

The idea is just that I need to know the best option, epoxy (what every good grand), or titebond PVA which I have access to it. So other visions are welcome

Concerning the acetone, maybe others have tips concerning cleaning the crack.

Yes. Use acetone to clean the crack. You must get any type of oil, etc out the crack for the epoxy to bind correctly.
Find a good, two part, high strength epoxy. Preferably a type that is used in the boat building industry. You want an epoxy that is tough, as well as flexible and weather proof.
Carefully flex the crack open
Warm the crack with a hair dryer and coat the crack with properly mixed epoxy.
Close the crack using clamps. Wipe off excess epoxy.
Let it cure fully.

After curing, blend the dried epoxy with the surface of the wood, cleaning off any dried excess. Match the finish to the wood and you’re good to go.

I have found that with a clean and close fitting joint, Titebond II gives a much more undetectable repair than any epoxy I've tried. Also, Titebond II provides a repair joint that is stronger than the wood if used correctly. Titebond III works great too.

Open the crack as much as you can without making it worse, and use compressed air to blow out any debris that may prevent the crack from closing completely. By all means use acetone or other solvent to clean the crack if it is contaminated with oil. Of course, the use of solvent may remove or damage the stock finish, so refinishing may be necessary. Do your glue repair as quickly as you can after cleaning any oil in the crack because oil will slowly continue to come to the surface for many weeks after de-oiling. Let the solvent dry before gluing. You can also use compressed air to blow the glue deep into the crack, but cover things up with an old rag or towel to avoid blowing glue all over the place. A good glue joint will be completely coated with glue, and then carefully clamped tight enough to close the joint. But not so super tight as to have excess squeeze-out, and starve the joint. Use a wet cloth to clean up any glue that squeezes out onto the surface, into checkering, etc.

Strips of inner tube or rubber surgical tubing works well for clamping irregular surfaces. You can lightly coat the tubing or rubber strips with furniture wax to keep them from sticking to the wood, if you are careful to keep any wax out of the repair joint.

Clear epoxy is a better choice when there are any gaps to fill. But the repair joint will be more visible, and it will take extra work to try to hide the repair.

I have used the compressed air trick more than once to drive glue deep into the joints or cracks. As I don't have an air compressor in my gun room I had to take the work to my farm shop to do it.

But, the most recent one was done with a little 18V Milwaukee compressor that I keep in my farm work truck for quick, small jobs. It comes with a needle and a nozzle that can be put on the hose, and was easy to take to the gun room. It worked perfectly for blowing the glue deep into the crack. Very controllable.

Thanks for all you usefull tips

I plan to fit inside a m10 screw cut to size, with a nut, so when I open the nut, it will force the wood just enough in a controlled way, to inyect acetone to the crack, and let the crack open for ventilation. Then inyect the titebond, uptight a bit the screw to put the crack in its natural position, and use the old rubber tire band to close the crack evenly. 1 day to dry and will take the opportunity to make a new oil finish as I plan to remove the pad (old rubber), and fit a new one covered in pig skin that I am working. I have made a test sample of a pad covered with pig skin with very good results. Need to practice 2 or 3 more time, and I will go ahead and make my own covered pad.

Will post images and results of the crack repair

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