Dave,
My goal when undertaking these repairs is to rebuild the inletting properly, like it was brand new again (and properly inletted in the first place). I glas the head so as to take up any space that is not contacting the frame - looking for the stock to take as much of the recoil up front as possible. Once that is accomplished and the cracks at the backs of the lock plates are repaired and stabilized, I lightly relieve the wood/glas behind the lock plates. This provides a little wiggle room and should prevent further problems behind the plates.
My technique is one of many and I'm sure others do it differently. I like to keep these repairs clean, neat and functional. I only use glas where it is absolutely necessary and try to mechanically reinforce where possible.
DLM
