Crack in stock of Kentucky Flintlock

[RonRC]

I noticed a crack in this custom made flintlock I bought used. Is there anything I need to do to stabilize it in that particular location? Do I leave it alone? The first photo is to show the crack and its location near the cock.

Thanks,
Ron

 

[Vaino]

The first thing I would do is remove all the components and find out where the crack originated and from there, find out what caused the crack....if you can.

W/ all the components out, you'll have a better idea as to which areas should be photographed and then when you post them, the responses will be more defined......Fred

 

[RonRC]

Will do!
Thanks.

 

[Rifleman1776]

What Fletho said is wise. But, what I would do first is to locate a good ml gunsmith in your area. I believe he could then put a couple pins (preferably threaded, IMHO) in from the front to strengthen that critical area. While highly figured wood is beautiful, it is fragile and just looking for an excuse to crack. Don't try anything, like glueing, until you find an expert ml gunsmith to examine it.

 

[RonRC]

Now, the real trick - finding that ML gunsmith. I'll start checking around with the local muzzleloader groups.

Ron

 

[Artificer]

Ron,

How close are you to Lakewood, CO? Looking at a driving direction map, it seems you are not that far?

If so, I would suggest you check with the folks at the Colorado School of Trades. They could do the work or refer someone to you.
http://schooloftrades.edu/

Disclaimer: I readily admit I am somewhat biased FOR the Colorado School of Trades, as I wanted to go there in the 70's for their gunsmithing program, but finally got there 28 years later as a temporary Instructor.

Gus

 

[Artificer]

FWIW, I definitely concur with Flehto and Rifleman 1776's thoughts.

I'm sure Fred wants the pictures to better determine not just what the problem is, but what caused the problem. This is even more of a problem with used guns where you often don't know what caused the problem.

The stock could have been cracked just from the rifle being dropped. Or it could have been caused by improper bedding around the rear of the barrel and the tang. Or it could have been caused by other things.

So fixing the cause of the problem can be, or often is, as important as fixing the problem.

Gus

 

[RonRC]

I should have mentioned that it is a Kentucky pistol.
Here is a photo of the area the tang rests in after the barrel was removed. The crack certainly does not go straight down to the tang bed, nor can it be seen where the tang rests. If anything, the crack may go toward the front of the pistol, following the dark area in the photo. But I really can't see any separation there.

Ron

 

[Zonie]

Does the crack open up at all when pressure is applied in a direction that should cause it to?

It is possible that the crack is old and it has already been "repaired" by someone and they just didn't do a very good job of getting the crack closed up tight?

 

[Stringbean]

I'm with Zonie on this. It looks, to me, as someone broke this removing the barrel and tang from a tight fitting tang bed. I'm betting that it has already been glued. The reason I think this is it looks like it is not a crack but break as it is through 3 major surfaces.

 

[Vaino]

Looks like a repair was made from the looks of the junk by the bolster inlet. The crack starts at the back of the bolster inlet and runs vertically down the back surface. Can't see how far down the crack goes.

The junk should be chiseled away to verify if it does. Until the totality of the crack is evident along w/ the cause, the repair shouldn't be made.

If you can't do this work, by all means find a gunsmith who can. The question then arises as to how much you paid for the pistol and do you want to spend addt'l money to repair it.

Do it yourself, learn a bit and save some money.....Fred

 

[RonRC]

The pistol is sitting, dissassembled, on my workbench, so I can take a further look at it and carefully try to move it.
This is the firearm when I first received it. No crack was visible then (not visible in photo):

Ron

 

[Cowboy]

That is a beautiful pistol! I hope you get the problem figured out and fixed. Respectfully, cowboys1062.

 

[MSW]

I agree- -that's a really pretty pistol: I would urge you to get it fixed, but get it fixed properly.

good luck!

 

[RonRC]

My first inclination is to talk to some folks in the local muzzleloading society I belong to, find a well-respected ML gunsmith, and take it from there. I have a concern that if I try the stabilization myself, doing it for the first time, I may ruin the stock or at least exacerbate the problem. There doesn't seem to be much room for error. My claim in the past that with a hammer, lever and duct tape I can fix anything, may not hold in this case. ;D
Thank you all,
Ron

 

[Tinker2]

What Fletho said is wise. But, what I would do first is to locate a good ml gunsmith in
your area. I believe he could then put a couple pins (preferably threaded, IMHO) in
from the front to strengthen that critical area. While highly figured wood is beautiful,
it is fragile and just looking for an excuse to crack. Don't try anything, like glueing,
until you find an expert ml gunsmith to examine it.

Yep, good advice. :thumbsup:



William Alexander

 

[Tinker2]

Ron,

How close are you to Lakewood, CO? Looking at a driving direction map, it seems you are not that far?

If so, I would suggest you check with the folks at the Colorado School of Trades. They could do the work or refer someone to you.
http://schooloftrades.edu/

Disclaimer: I readily admit I am somewhat biased FOR the Colorado School of Trades, as I wanted to go there in the 70's for their gunsmithing program, but finally got there 28 years later as a temporary Instructor.

Gus

Gus
No offence meant to you.

I strongly disagree. Absolutely never ever take anything for them to fix.
I repeat, absolutely never ever take anything for them to fix.




William Alexander

 

[54ball]

I would run it like it is. I agree with Zonie that in one view it appears to be a repair. Likely that piece broke during the build. The break is possibly due to the rather rough and tight inlet either from the barrel or lock.

Who knows? A previous owner rather heavy handed in disassembly could have broken that piece off and glued it back.

I love how the seller positioned the cock just right to hide the crack...Creep :td:

I would not worry about it until if and when it breaks. The area is not super critical and IMHO it would be easier to repair it it was broken through.

As long as the crack or broken area is between the lock plate and tang I think it will be fine. If the crack descends through the lock inlet and into the trigger...you have a more serous problem. From the pictures though, it appears to be confined to area above the lock plate.