Opening line to "The Martian"

Was working on inletting tenons last night and positioned my vise a little too tightly a little too far on the barrel channel. Heard a horrific CRACK and shouted. Went over every millimeter with a magnifying glass and flashlight and couldn't see anything, so I'm guessing there is damage under the surface somewhere. We'll see if it blows apart when I fire it in a few months.

Did you check your vise?

The good news is that the barrel channel doesn't take a lot of stress. You may find that crack as you get further along in the build and start shaping the fore stock. Your worries would be much greater if it came from the lock and breech area.

My gpr has a long crack from forcing a wedge loose. Been there for years.

Staining might show it up better.

Try vacuuming it well with a brush head. If you sanded it, some dust could be hiding a fine crack.

I'd guess it would be the barrel channel and not the bottom or sides of the forestock.

Check the edges of the flats closely.

I'd be tempted to put some of that modern bedding material in to seal a hair line crack.

Be real easy with the barrel pining for sure.

My vise has the original handle removed and has a short chunk of wooden dowel in the instead.

A smart guy knows how dumb he is....

fools sulphur said:

I'd be tempted to put some of that modern bedding material in to seal a hair line crack.

Click to expand...

Tell me more about this?

Accraglass ?(spelling)
or something similar. i bedded my first build with thickend and reinforced marine epoxy. it adds strength to the long skinny fore-end, and fits the barrel really snugly. you never see it unless the barrel is out. (not HC/PC)
my cva rebuild has some cracks in the fore-end, and as such is getting a fibreglass bed under the barrel as well.

bpd303 said:

Did you check your vise?

Click to expand...

:thumbsup: Yep!...sometimes the thread screw of the vise will bind up and then suddenly release....

If the stock has a crack you'll probably find it when you stain it.

eggwelder said:

Accraglass ?(spelling)
or something similar. i bedded my first build with thickend and reinforced marine epoxy. it adds strength to the long skinny fore-end, and fits the barrel really snugly. you never see it unless the barrel is out. (not HC/PC)
my cva rebuild has some cracks in the fore-end, and as such is getting a fibreglass bed under the barrel as well.

Click to expand...

I likewise use marine epoxy (because I work on wooden boats so have gallons of the stuff on hand) in the barrel channel, lock mortise, under the tang, trigger inlet etc - anywhere I get the stuff to soak in "out of sight".

And not HC/PC but I don't worry about rotting or splitting, and not being rich I need my "creations" to last a lifetime (at least my lifetime)

I would bet you have a longitudinal crack in the ramrod channel. Gently squeeze the edges of the barrel channel together and see what opens up. Had this happen a few times, but it was easily fixed with a little glue.

On what portion of the forestock did you clamp? The upper or lower? A crack across the web does happen or a portion of the forestock has a crack....flexing the wood should reveal the crack...use some pressure to find it because an open crack is req'd to properly glue it. If it's not the web, then it might be the side flat alongside the bbl.

When I had bbl inlet and RR work done on a blank, I noticed a crack in the web/bbl inlet as I unpackaged the stock. It was open for 6 inches from the muzzle.

Stained the crack and surrounding area and when dry used super glue and closed the crack w/ a tight wrapping of surgical tubing. The super glue dissolved the stain and when the stock was finished, the crack was nearly invisible.

This repair was hidden from view because of the bbl and RR, but have used this same treatment on cracks that were in areas that would show, but became nearly invisible when the final stain and finish were applied.....Fred

fools sulphur said:

My gpr has a long crack from forcing a wedge loose. Been there for years.

Click to expand...

Found it. It's right where I put the middle wedge. Found it when I was working in front of there with an Exacto to inlet the middle RR thimble. The blade found the crack and it was enough to spread the crack open wide enough for me to see it through my magnifying visor. From what I can see, it's about an inch long following the grain. It goes right through the wedge, but the key runs perpendicular to the crack so I don't think it will put pressure. I'll try that Acraglass stuff.

mahkagari said:

fools sulphur said:

My gpr has a long crack from forcing a wedge loose. Been there for years.

Click to expand...

Found it. It's right where I put the middle wedge. Found it when I was working in front of there with an Exacto to inlet the middle RR thimble. The blade found the crack and it was enough to spread the crack open wide enough for me to see it through my magnifying visor. From what I can see, it's about an inch long following the grain. It goes right through the wedge, but the key runs perpendicular to the crack so I don't think it will put pressure. I'll try that Acraglass stuff.

Click to expand...

Open the crack, squeeze in some wood glue from both sides and clamp the crack gently (if necessary). When dry, scrape to remove any glue on the wood surface.