Stock repair strong wood putty

[hrabini]

I have a shotgun with stock repair at wrist. there are a couple cracks that were were not attended to by original owner, I got the firearm at a very good price because of it. however at the cracks some pieces of the wood have fallen out. no way to save the stock for value but hopefully it can be usable. My question is there a strong wood putty or resin that can be used that will withstand the force of 12 gauge?

Thanks in advance

 

[mdwest]

It would be ugly as sin.. but you could fill the void with 2 part JB Weld epoxy.. It has a 3900 PSI tensile strength (more than enough to take on a 12 gauge)..

https://www.amazon.com/J-B-Weld-50112-Clear-0-85/dp/B009EU5ZM0/ref=asc_df_B009EU5ZM0/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=255405115193&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14675068253925811088&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9026797&hvtargid=pla-474011695861&psc=1

Once fully cured, the JB weld sands pretty easily and is pretty easy to work with..

if you have the pieces of wood that have fallen out, shove them back into the voids and JB weld them into place..

or, as an alternative, get some sawdust from the same type of wood your stock is made of (walnut?).. the finer, the better... and mix it into the JB weld.. that will at least add some color that will keep the JB weld from being quite as noticible if you were to use the epoxy alone..

 

[steve white]

You need something stronger as in acraglass from Brownells. Get the runny kind first to get as far into the hairline cracks as possible, springing the wood open or wedging with pins to get it well in. Let any wood pieces be set in the same operation. Think about cosmetics after the proper repair. You can drill tiny holes after that to set metal pins in epoxy as well. I have made pins by cutting heads off small finishing nails. Epoxies can be colored. Lacquer sticks can be used for blemishes as well. Finish to a fairtheewell. Good luck.

 

[fourfive8]

Where is the crack? What kind of wrist does the gun have- straight or pistol grip? Those details will determine how difficult a real repair will be. Simply filling a pre-existing crack is more of a cosmetic fix. A mechanical and strong repair using a 1/4" all-thread bolt section and good 2 part epoxy may be needed...

 

[C.W. Richter]

sm. holes w/ metal pins. gorilla glue per the instructions. remove excess. tape tightly or clamp shut until cured. worked wonders on a PH's gun in Zim. can get walnut or other wood putty to fill gaps, if any, and refinish stock. there are likely Brownell's or eq. videos on Youtube...Did this on a 375 Steyr and it was as good as new!

 

[C.W. Richter]

if the old stock is in 1 piece, you can have it traced and duplicated by wood CNC "stock duplicator" companies out there, relatively cheap. can also likely find used out there...

 

[supergrizzly]

I once acraglassed a beautiful piece of tigertail maple back together after someone (not me) forgot to put the release agent on the action and barrel and literally beat on the barrel to get it out. It cracked in half at the thinnest part of the magazine box cut out. Apllied the runny acraglass liberally and very carefully slid the jagged edges back together and used rubber tubing in all directions to keep it in place. Once it was dry, I gently filed down the excess and the crack on each side was barely visible. After a couple rounds of finish it was impossible to see and the piece was strong enough to use again. I tried to break it before finishing because I did not want to put any more time into it if it wasn't going to hold. I could not get it to break with heavy but reasonable force. I ended up building a beautiful little .250 Savage on a 93 Mauser with a pre 64 Winchester model 70 .257 Roberts barrel that had the throat shot out. Sank the chamber deeper, cleaned up the throat and had a beautiful shooter. The stock cost me $5, the barrel $5, and the action aout $20 at the time (early 90s). I regrte selling it.

 

[rookhawk]

I have a shotgun with stock repair at wrist. there are a couple cracks that were were not attended to by original owner, I got the firearm at a very good price because of it. however at the cracks some pieces of the wood have fallen out. no way to save the stock for value but hopefully it can be usable. My question is there a strong wood putty or resin that can be used that will withstand the force of 12 gauge?

Thanks in advance

If you have chunks of the wrist falling out, you're about doomed. $3000 for a new stock for a boxlock, $4000 for a new stock for a sidelock.

If the chunks are small and the pinning and all-thread was done correctly by an expert, then that same expert would fill with epoxy with sanded wood from the gun mixed in. Upon hardening, they would fix the hairline cracks that still show with cyano-acrylate glue (crazy glue) that is applied while rapidly sanding with 800-1000 grit so super fine sawdust binds to the glue concealing the repairs.

Then recut checkering (or expand the checkering) to cover the repairs and you've got maybe a functional gun.

As a sidenote, I can't count on both hands the times I've seen repairs like above done so flawlessly that you wouldn't notice upon inspection. This is how scammers dump $8000 purdeys and hollands for $25,000 at gun shows. You don't notice until you shoot the gun and it potentially all comes apart. You only detect the masterful repairs by realizing the checkering layout is bigger than it should be, or redone to wrap around the wrist. All the clever ways to cut-checker over crack lines.

We need to see pictures to see how many chunks are missing and how big they are. I can tell you if it is salvagable, a workman like repair of this type will cost $500-$1500 and in the end, its often cheaper to just have the gun restocked for $4000.

This is why there are $1000 shotguns for sale everywhere for $200 with broken stocks. The cure exceeds the value of the gun by 10x and even once repaired, a repaired $1000 shotgun is only worth $400.

 

[rdog]

If you have chunks of the wrist falling out, you're about doomed. $3000 for a new stock for a boxlock, $4000 for a new stock for a sidelock.

If the chunks are small and the pinning and all-thread was done correctly by an expert, then that same expert would fill with epoxy with sanded wood from the gun mixed in. Upon hardening, they would fix the hairline cracks that still show with cyano-acrylate glue (crazy glue) that is applied while rapidly sanding with 800-1000 grit so super fine sawdust binds to the glue concealing the repairs.

Then recut checkering (or expand the checkering) to cover the repairs and you've got maybe a functional gun.

As a sidenote, I can't count on both hands the times I've seen repairs like above done so flawlessly that you wouldn't notice upon inspection. This is how scammers dump $8000 purdeys and hollands for $25,000 at gun shows. You don't notice until you shoot the gun and it potentially all comes apart. You only detect the masterful repairs by realizing the checkering layout is bigger than it should be, or redone to wrap around the wrist. All the clever ways to cut-checker over crack lines.

We need to see pictures to see how many chunks are missing and how big they are. I can tell you if it is salvagable, a workman like repair of this type will cost $500-$1500 and in the end, its often cheaper to just have the gun restocked for $4000.

This is why there are $1000 shotguns for sale everywhere for $200 with broken stocks. The cure exceeds the value of the gun by 10x and even once repaired, a repaired $1000 shotgun is only worth $400.

One of the problems you have is getting the cracks clean enough inside for the epoxy to stick, most things can be repaired if you can do it your self, the killer to day is the cost of so called professional labour.

 

[hrabini]

if the old stock is in 1 piece, you can have it traced and duplicated by wood CNC "stock duplicator" companies out there, relatively cheap. can also likely find used out there...

Now this is something I will look for in the near future! didnt think of that. and then i can engrave the stick myself. sure it wont be original... but it will nicer then the Frankenstein project currently underway lol

 

[hrabini]

Thanks everyone! big help... I did order JB Weld wood epoxy. The wrist is straight, not pistol, and it was pretty much crack through at the bird head, well what i would call the bird head at an angle.. so its being glued together, missing wood replaced with epoxy including the bolt holes, I will also run a 4m x40mm set screw through the bird head into the bottom portion that nearly snapped off. after set screw is in all the way I will epoxy that hole too... then wrap it all up with leather so it hides everything and little nicer to grip. it will do for now... till I have cnc a new stock from scratch.

 

[fourfive8]

Sounds like that will work fine if you concentrate primarily on the structural strength. The best for wrapping the grip is rawhide if you can find some. Soak it in water, wrap it tight, lace it up then let it dry.

 

[hrabini]

Sounds like that will work fine if you concentrate primarily on the structural strength. The best for wrapping the grip is rawhide if you can find some. Soak it in water, wrap it tight, lace it up then let it dry.

Already ahead of ya on the rawhide... i will soak over night when i am ready to use will lace it up with some para cord i have. just used the JB Weld, will let it cure for a couple days as its going to take that for the set screws to arrive. then a matter of drilling and tapping for the existing screws and wrist strengthening with set screw, clean up excess JB weld, slapping on the rawhide then go a plinking !

 

[CBH Australia]

Miles Gilbert Bedding compound comes with Brown and Black pigment to colour it.
It could be used to glue a stock.

 

[hrabini]

Its Alive! old Frankenstein is almost ready to shoot... the stock is 99.5 % straight... I set a 10-24 threaded rod 2 inches deep, you can see by the drill bit the angle, tap would only go in 1 inch so the last inch is threaded by the rod its self, nice n tight, Dear skin is soaking over night and i will lace it up in morning. Used gorilla wood glue to "assemble" the bits together. I think it will hold...

 

[Monsai52]

Check out some of Mark Novak's videos over on his Anvil channel, for some suggestions for stock repairs.

Best regards,

 

[steve white]

You need something stronger as in acraglass from Brownells. Get the runny kind first to get as far into the hairline cracks as possible, springing the wood open or wedging with pins to get it well in. Let any wood pieces be set in the same operation. Think about cosmetics after the proper repair. You can drill tiny holes after that to set metal pins in epoxy as well. I have made pins by cutting heads off small finishing nails. Epoxies can be colored. Lacquer sticks can be used for blemishes as well. Finish to a fairtheewell. Good luck.

Well, I forgot to add one of my favorite tricks to get the acraglass in the cracks--thin it first 30% with acetone and it soaks right in. 50% thinning is also great as a sealer for stock insides, and first pass seems to add nothing in the way of workings YMMV