Parker brass pin repair

[Mark Larson]

I know that Parkers can be susceptible to cracking at the head of the stock, as many boxlock guns can, and there are lots of ways to deal with that, one of the most common being brass pins or wood dowels through the head of the stock. Just in case there's anyone here dealing with that issue, I thought I'd share a recent repair on a Parker 16 that had brass pins showing on each side near the head of the stock. The repair was solid, but very unsightly. I ended up using thin walnut veneers and blending the edges into the rest of the stock. The stock was in pretty rough shape initially, but now you would never know it was worked on. I've worked on a lot of Parkers, and they are particularly well suited to this kind of repair, since there is a lot of wood at the head area to work with.