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#564584 02/06/20 06:51 PM
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LetFly Offline OP
Sidelock
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I am looking for any assistance and ideas for repairing this Lefever stock from 1903. The photo shows what I am looking at as a challenge. Now, a professional stock maker/repair expect is not in the frame as this is a 'G' grade gun. I have repaired a number of cracked/split stock heads, but this one is extreme. Note the top of the stock is on the bottom in the photo.



I am receptive to any help / ideas offered. Thanks.

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Those cracks are pretty common on sidelocks. I realize your Lefever isn't a sidelock but it is bedded the same. Epoxy those cracked stock horns and then epoxy bed the stock to the action. The bedding won't show with the gun assembled.

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Maybe a staple for those top cracks...Geo

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The thinnest cracks can be permanently sealed with cyanoacrylate glue that will wick into the crack easily all the way to the end.


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BrentD, (Professor - just for Stan)

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LetFly Offline OP
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When I have enough material I use piano wire pins. Here I do not have much to work with on the horns. No material missing. Just not much to pin into.
I have not used a staple before. Can you provide more detail as to how to do this. I will post a photo of the worst horn split on the left.

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LetFly, what is the significance of the "X"?


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BrentD, (Professor - just for Stan)

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LetFly Offline OP
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I put the 'x' there to check the matting with the top lever and bolt V spring. This part of the head is angled back to make clearance for the leg on the spring. This reduces the amount of wood in the head to bear against the frame on recoil.

Here are two more photos. One on the worst top left split horn, and 2: a split in the butt which appears to be a crack along the grain rather than some inflicted damage. The original LAC butt plate shows no signs of impact or damage.

1: Split horn

Recommendation:? Use a CA type glue to secure this or use Brownell's AG?

2:

Recommendation?: Inject thin CA into the cracks and then fill with wood filler or use dyed Brownell's AG thinned with denatured alcohol and inject into the crack. Also in past work I have drilled a small hole at the very end of the crack to stop any further expansion along the grain line. Always works well and is easy to hide.

OR? and I am open to any and all advice. Thanks

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first of all you need to get the oil out of the wood.

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Originally Posted By: Geo. Newbern
Maybe a staple for those top cracks...Geo


Nope, there really isn't enough wood across that top horn for the staple repair. Staple reinforcement does work quite well with other situations.

Originally Posted By: BrentD
The thinnest cracks can be permanently sealed with cyanoacrylate glue that will wick into the crack easily all the way to the end.


No, no, no... bad advice from someone who should know better by now, but doesn't. It won't add much strength, and it will act as a wood sealer, and cause blotchy spots around those filled areas when finishing. Cyanoacrylate glues (Krazy Glue) are excellent for non-porous materials, and they have great strength in tension. But they are a poor choice as wood glues. They are often used to seal grain and to help reinforce punky wood that has deteriorated from oil rot, etc. But there are better choices for that too.

The best glue I have found for gunstock repair is Titebond II. Hard to tell but that stock doesn't look badly oil soaked. But Titebond II, or any other glue, works best in clean dry wood. I've found that Titebond II gives me repair joints that are as strong or stronger than the original wood. And when the joints are closely fitted and carefully clamped, it provides the least visible glue joint after finishing. I hate a stock repair that sticks out like a sore thumb. Clear epoxy is very strong, but the glue joint line stands out more after finishing. Polyurethane glues such as Gorilla Glue are very strong, and good for filling slight gaps. But they are very messy, and stain the wood around the repair, requiring excessive sanding to remove before finishing. They are good in wood that may have some oil contamination or for naturally oily woods such as ebony.

For cracks like those around the sideplates, I try to spread them open slightly, and use a syringe to get glue deep into the crack. Draw it closed and wipe off squeeze-out with a damp cloth. Then quickly clamp the crack closed. For an irregular surface like that, surgical rubber tubing or strips of rubber inner tube wrapped around the area work great without damaging the wood.

On one sideplate stock repair on a German double, I was concerned that the clamping might pull the thin wood around the locks in too far, and make it hard or impossible to get the locks back in. So I made a dummy sideplate out of steel of similar thickness, and coated it with paste wax as a release agent, to maintain the dimensions of the lock inlet.

For cracks under the sideplates or cracks that cannot be fully closed, I use a good clear 2 part epoxy such as Brownells Accraglas or West Systems. That crack on the top of the stock heel may be tough to draw completely closed. If there will be a gap, that is where epoxy shines. Some people mix the epoxy with walnut sawdust to try to match the stock, but walnut sawdust mixed with epoxy leaves a very dark repair joint. I found that fine pine sawdust matches walnut better. You can experiment before doing the actual repair to get a good color match.

Naturally, when you pull a crack closed, there will be squeeze-out, and it is best to remove what you can before the glue hardens, to minimize staining the wood and to minimize sanding. Sometimes, I wrap the area with waxed paper before clamping with rubber tubing to keep the glue from sticking to my tubing.


A true sign of mental illness is any gun owner who would vote for an Anti-Gunner like Joe Biden.

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LetFly Offline OP
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Thanks. This gives me a good base of knowledge to proceed.

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