doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Cyanoacrylate to protect wood inside action

I have an old Fox I�m restocking. I think I remember reading about coating the wood on the inside of the action with cyanoacrylate aka �Super Glue� to protect it from gun oil. Is my memory correct and if so does it work well?

Steve

I don't mean to take over a thread, but I'd like to know why when you take apart some old double, you never seem to find a trace of any finish on the vulnerable covered wood parts, under the butt plate or fore end, or on the head of the stock or the wood surrounding the action. I understand even back then, time was money, but you'd think a few gun makers would put some varnish or lacquer or boiled linseed oil to protect unseen wood.

And if they didn't protect those hidden wood surfaces back then, can we do any better today?

And should we?

This could be an interesting thread. Sorry if I butted in, but it's one of the mysteries of old double guns that's always fascinated me.

Steve, the gunmaker/stockmaker Paul Dressel used CA not only for sealing the inside of stocks but as a finish for the outside as well. I find it great for sealing and hardening the inlets but never tried the outside. As CA has a bad affect on my nose, I always use the odorless thin formula.

I'm not much interested in the old ways except design and style.

I used Goat Tuff on the inletting of a boxlock where a small crack was forming per the below. Not sure how it held up in the long run but I doubt it could hurt either.

http://www.lcsmith.org/faq/repaircracks.html

I have coated the inside of stocks with cyanoacrylate on a few guns I've had apart. Don't know if it prevented anything but it didn't hurt. You can apply too much though, especially on a gun with sidelocks. Then it's careful removal of the excess.

I use the thin CA formula almost exclusively in my model making and find that it penetrates the wood fibers extremely well, especially the end grain of the wood. The wood fibers become very hard and durable. Use caution because the thin suff can go where it's not wanted.
Karl

I like to thin two part epoxy with isopropel to the same viscosity as thin paint. It goes into the wood and sets up hard and strong.
bill

Thank you for your responses and insights regarding my question.

I�m doing the restocking for a friend and he was the one who inquired about coating the inside wood areas. It seemed like a good idea and my plan is to apply the cyanoacrylate after I�ve finished applying finish to the outside of the stock. Originally, I�d planned to leave the inside wood unfinished. My main concern is accidentally gluing things together with any excess cyanoacrylate left in the wood pores or on the wood surface. I also didn�t know that cyanoacrylate could be thinned, or thinned versions could be purchased, I�ll certainly go with the thinned version if I continue down this path.

Once again thank you all for your help.

Steve

Karl,

Do you have a brand and type you can recommend? I've searched for CA glues before and there are so many types its hard to know which is best.

I've used the super glue to effect small repairs, and some not-so-small cracks, to really great results. But as an overall sealer it seems excessive. Reinforcing weak areas seems like an excellent idea as well if they can be identified. For overall protection against oil penetration a couple coats of thinned spar varnish works just fine. I have stocks that I've sealed that way years ago that simply show new finish when the oil is wiped off. BTW BLO will not provide that protection against oil. AFA BLO is concerned the advice and data offered by Newell in his fine book, and by marshgurl (a noted antique restorer) here pretty much puts BLO in the BLOW category for anything.
Or course, use whatever you like. It's your gun