Split Stock Repair (Pics)

[VH20]

David, I will say that when mine are freshly-finished, they are a little on the shiny side. But with a little shooting/handling/cleaning the gloss is quickly subdued into the more rich luster that we are after. It doesn't take long, either. The GH in the pic had been done about a year-and-a-half prior, the DH in the foreground maybe 6 mos. prior. Both had been used regularly, though.

Jim

[Autumn Daze]

Jim,Thank you for the great tutorial.I will have to print and save this thread..not that I would ever attempt this myself. I really like the finish you put on those stocks.I think the reddish hue is just about perfect.

Its threads like this that make our BBS so valuable.

[Labowner]

Jim or anyone else could you tell me what CA glue is?
I'm attempting to do this repair on a ten gauge three frame. I'll take a few pics. for before and after.

[VH20]

Robert:

CA = Cyanoacrylate glue (i.e. "Super Glue"). However, the grade that is used for R/C aircraft building is far superior to the kind you usually find in the hardware store or Wal-Mart. Brownell's carries the "Hot Stuff" brand, which is an R/C product and works fine, but my favorite brand is the premium brand under the "Zap" label. In many years of R/C building, I found it to handle really well.

CA comes in several viscosities. The two that are most useful are the thinnest one, and the medium-viscosity one. The thin formulation will wick itself into cracks that you can't even see (and across your hand and down your elbow before you realize it). It also works well to seal the inletting, or even toughen up "punky" wood that wants to tear instead of cut when you are doing checkering and such. The medium-viscosity is more useful when there is any more that a few-thousandths gap in the fit between the surfaces. If you are replacing a piece of wood that has broken completely off (but still fits well) it would be the one to use. The thin is best for stabilizing the kind of cracks that stay closed on their own. The very-thick formula available I never use, choosing to go to AcraGlas if it's that bad. In the "Zap" brand, the thin formula has a pink label and is just called regular "Zap". The medium-viscosity product has a green label and is called "Zap-A-Gap". The Hot Stuff brand that Brownell's carries is also available in thin and medium viscosity.

Jim

[Labowner]

Thanks Jim, I have to glue the tower and adjoining wood back in before I proceed with the pin and the Acraglasing the head of the stock. I have worked with the AcraGlas before, bedding rifle stocks and small repairs on Parker's.

[VH20]

That definitely looks like a job for AcraGlas. After it is together, the thin CA would work well to wick down into that vertical crack after it is closed up. It will go into where the AcraGlas didn't.

[Ed Blake]

Jim - I have found that if you mix your french polish finish in small batches each time you apply it, the streaks are avoided. I also use a lot more japan dryer, probably 25% of the mix, than was recommended by Austin in his article. You have to work quickly with it. Any streaks are gradually wiped away with use.

[Matthew Nonnenmann]

Hi,

Does anyone have suggestions for an appropriate staple? I looked at a hardware store for a stainless staple, but no luck.

Matt

[VH20]

Matt,

I made the one in the pics out of a 1/16" diameter orthopedic pin. You'll have to make your own, but any sort of stainless rod in approx. the same diameter would work fine. Perhaps a stainless welding rod of a similar diameter from a welding shop, or you could always ask your local veterinarian who does their own orthopedic work if they could get you one. In the end, stainless isn't really necessary, but I just feel better using it over the long run and I have it readily available. If you can't find any, I wouldn't hesitate to use plain old mild steel rod, which you probably can find a the hardware store. Look carefully at where it has to fit into the "meatiest" portions of the stock and bend it to fit appropriately (see the pic).

Jim

[Dennis]

Jim, That was a great tutorial with informative photos to boot. It cleared up some questions I had wondered about from time to time. Thanks for submitting it for us to see.