Auction purchase turned parts and firewood or can it be repaired?

[waarp8nt]

Gentlemen, I purchased a "made for Golden Age Arms" Rifle from a local auction company. It was an online auction, however I happened to be in the area and decided to stop in and inspect some of the items I was interested in purchasing. The rifle had nickel hardware, double triggers, decent sights, but a few cracks in it...nothing major... something I thought would be a fairly easy fix. I had a number in mind and the day of the auction the bid was placed, the next day I was notified of being the winner for a lesser amount than offered. I picked the rifle up, brought it home and set it in the corner for a rainy day to take it apart and clean it up. Well today was that rainy day, here in Central Illinois we had a little rain and a fair amount of snow. I took the lock out and immediately was able to identify the source of the cracks in the stock. I assume the fellow who built this must have invested in Brownells Acraglas? The lock inlet is completely hogged out and he essentially made pillars out of Acraglas or something like it to hold the lock in position. Has anyone ever seen such a sight? I assume this was never normal. Is there a feasible repair to it? I suppose purchasing a new stock blank and using the existing parts would be best. Your thoughts?

I'm not overly disappointed, the barrel, trigger, hardware and lock are worth much more than what I paid for the rifle. I purchased it thinking it was a CVA lock, when I disassembled the lock and got to cleaning it, the lock turned out to be a Russ Hamm lock, I have less than $100 in the rifle so I know I'm not hurt even if I part it out.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

If it was me I'd restock the parts. The wood isn't that nice, and the lock panel to the rear of the lock mortise wasn't properly done either. Common mistake, and I've seen it on some rather pricey rifles..., the builder buys a pre-cut stock, inlets the lock, but didn't understand that although the lock mortise was made for X type lock, the stock maker left extra wood in case the buyer wanted to use a larger lock. So the builder then leaves that extra wood thinking that's correct, and it's (imho) horribly wrong on a lot of rifle styles.

Here's some of what I mean:

LD

 

[SDSmlf]

With @Loyalist Dave on this one. Time for a re-stock.

 

[necchi]

I have less than $100 in the rifle so I know I'm not hurt even if I part it out.

No-brainer,, for less than a c-note, trying to put a bandaid over someone else's bandaid is a loss.
You could always turn the stock into knife scabs,,?

 

[waarp8nt]

You could always turn the stock into knife scabs,,?

I do like the idea of using the old stock for something. I'm not much of a wasteful person.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I do like the idea of using the old stock for something. I'm not much of a wasteful person.

OMG! Excellent point!



Yes of course, I'm a bit embarrassed I didn't think of that. There may be a bunch of knife handles or other tool handles in the wood from that stock!

LD

 

[French Colonial]

I don't know what the rest of the gun looks like. Is it in decent shape? I have had double shot guns broke through the wrist that a skilled gunsmith (Not me) put back together and I would defy you to find the break without a microscope. So really it depends what the rest of the gun consists of and if it is worth saving there are people who can.

 

[Mulebrain]

Much would depend on the condition of the lock and barrel. If the lock is a good sparker, and the bore is good etc... Maybe a restock would be best.

 

[waarp8nt]

Gentlemen, thank you all for your opinions! I was going to repair it if it was just cracked or possibly broken, but after opening it up and seeing the lock inlet, I started leaning towards replacing the stock. I will give Pecatonica Long Rifle a call sometime later this week.

The lock functions well and barrel look good. I suppose I could shoot it to ensure the barrel is a decent shooter before spending the money on a stock.

 

[Col. Batguano]

Holy smokes Loyalist Dave! Those are hideous! Good news is the look mostly like taking more wood OFF them would be the fix rather than trying to add it

 

[old ugly]

if the rest of the stock is good why not match up a slightly bigger faced lock, inlet the edges and reshape the flats. less work than building a whole new stock.
this being said i don't know how bad the cracks are.

ou
tom

 

[Treestalker]

Clean the barrel inside first, look for makers marks on the outside; you have a good lock and furniture, love the triggers, if the barrel is OK and you have the skills, restock that darlin' from a decent blank or precarve. Pecatonica can guide you and they have great wood. Build a lovely rifle that fits YOU and never look back. The lock is worth what you paid for the whole thing. What caliber is it? You could always have Bobby Hoyt bore it out smooth or even re-rifle it to a larger caliber and have essentially a brand new barrel, done right. He's done two smoothbore-from-rifling jobs for me for about $50-$75 plus shipping. In a word, Beautiful.

 

[waarp8nt]

Clean the barrel inside first, look for makers marks on the outside; you have a good lock and furniture, love the triggers, if the barrel is OK and you have the skills, restock that darlin' from a decent blank or precarve. Pecatonica can guide you and they have great wood. Build a lovely rifle that fits YOU and never look back. The lock is worth what you paid for the whole thing. What caliber is it?

Its a 45 caliber barrel and it does look really good on the inside. While I feel pretty confident I could complete a precarve, I know I have more to learn before attempting a build from a stock blank. Sounds like a precarve Pecatonica stock is the way to go!

I've been attempting to build skills on a few projects, see link below.

https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/just-another-thompson-center-redo.131806/