Need more advice

[Ray Masciarella]

The Parker AH I have been working on needs some attention to the stock. It has it's share of dings, dangs and dents but is a beauitful peice of wood. However, it was very poorly refinished. :crying: Metal proud to the wood all the way around and the new finish is so thick it looks like it was dipped in plastic.

Question to all: Is it better to refinish (as best as possible) and save original stock or just have it restocked. I can refinish it and it will look great but I can't grow the wood back proud to the metal. What is the lesser evil: an original stock that does not fit correctly or a new stock on an old gun (which I always thought looked silly).

Thanks, Ray

[Richard Flanders]

I'm thinking that, if the wood is proud of the metal, at least more than a very tiny bit, that the stock is not original. Parker stocks are generally not proud of the metal much if at all. Others will chime in here. At any rate, there's nothing wrong with working it down to not being proud, especially if it's not original. You should be able to remove the finish without losing much if any wood if you do it correctly. Again, others who know WAY more about this will chime in here with good advice. Have you posted pictures of this gun for us to see?

[Ray Masciarella]

Pretty sure it is a factory stock as both the butt and forend are stamped with the SN and grade number.

[John Dallas]

Richard - I think you've got it bass-akward. His note says the metal is proud of the wood. Sounds like someone sanded down the original wood too aggressively.

[Brian Dillard]

In my opinion (take it for what it's worth), there is no way I would remove a perfectly good stock on an AH unless it is beyond mechanical and functional repair. Being a "bit" shy of the metal surfaces doesn't make it any less useable or shootable. Being a poor refinish can be fixed. However having a replacement stock does nothing for the gun other than make the wood surface equal to the metal...oh, and reduce it's value.

But, I don't own the gun and in the end it's all in the eye of the beholder.

Good luck either way.

[Dean Romig]

I have been told that after the stock is stripped and residual oil is leeched out the wood can be "swelled" somewhat if it hadn't been taken down too far by indiscriminate sanding. Might be worth a try. Contact an expert stocker and get another opinion on this. Dean

[Jim Akins]

Ray, saving the stock depends on how bad the over sanding is, sometimes it is just rounding of the edges which can be hidden with a build-up with clear epoxy. If it was my gun I would remove the old finish with a soak in acetone or stripper, be careful and don't remove anymore wood. Make the repair by building dams and pour the epoxy in the areas that are low, you will probably have to make several pours to completely cover the low areas. Years ago I did this on a friends AHE that was really bad all around the action. When it was finished you could not see the repair, use orange shellac to finish the stock, it helps covering the color change at the repair area. I used Brownells Acuraglas because it has an amber tint. If you have questions PM me or phone, should be in my profile.

Jim A.

[Jim Williams]

Sometimes, these old pieces of wood just shrink. I've run across several old Parkers with wood-below-metal in areas that clearly have never been refinished. Sometimes, it's wear, especially on the bottom where the gun is carried. Sometimes it's dry climate. I have a friend who is a professional custom stockmaker and repairman, and he has had limited success with re-humidifying and "swelling" the wood back in a damp cabinet in some cases (after a complete stripping so that moisture can re-enter the wood).

Jim

[Bill Murphy]

Pictures. We don't get to see a new A Grade every day.

[Travis Sims]

I'm not advocating this practice at all. However, some of your best stock repair people(and i'm not sure who)i've heard can split the head of the stock, wedge it and expoxy the split. This can give you some width back in the stock head. Today expoxies are strong than the wood itself, and the repair could i guess be invisible?
I would want to keep the original wood.
Good luck with it!

[Ray Masciarella]

Thank you all for your help.

I have heard of this "swelling". Intended to try it cause I have nothing to loose. Not sure how to do it but have some ideas. Does anything have any tips on how to do it?

I think Jim W is right about natural shrinking. I have another AH that is completely original and unmolested. Old oil finish just about gone. Wood is even with metal except for butt plate which is a little proud. I'm convinced it just shrunk with age.

The gun I'm working on is worst and has been refinished so I assume it was over sanded. Metal proud all over.

Some have asked for photos but I'm a newbie and haven't figured out yet how to take a good photo or post it but I will. This is a great forum and I really appreciate evryone's help.

Ray