Cracked Wrist Repair Opinions

[jdixon]

A friend has brought me a flintlock he built about 7 years ago for some work. He has asked me to do a repair on the stock. I am putting this up for advice on how to proceed. The problem is in the wrist area around the tang screw. As you can see in the photos, the back end of the lollipop tang has begun to dig into the stock and a “V” shaped crack has formed radiating from the tang screw forward and down the wrist. The cracks I fell are superficial, you can catch you fingernail on them however. As it is right now, the wrist still seems solid. The owner uses this gun for hunting and target shooting. He consistently practices with his usual hunting load ”“ 75 grains of Swiss 3F pushing a .495 round ball. Several thousands of rounds have been put through this gun with that load. Obviously the punishing recoil over the years is causing the issue. He reports that the crack showed up this past week while hunting and shooting in single digit temperatures which probably contributed to the problem. I am seeking any opinions on whether or not this damage is repairable and if so how, or should I just quote the guy a price on a restock?

 

[Longsmoke]

Morning J.R. About 4 years ago I did a fix that looked just like this one at the end a tang.

First step was to drill and plug the screw hole. You want a slip fit with no slop. I use bits of hickory ram rods that are left over from building guns. Glue the plug in the hole and let it set for a day.

Then drill down through the center of the crack right through the screw plug but, dont drill out the other side. Get the same slip fit on the 2nd plug. It's best at this point of you can wiggle the crack just a little and it moves. Use lots of glue and wiggle the stock as you push in the plug. If you have a good fit the glue will work out through the crack.

You should be able to do all this through the tang hole. It looks to be 1/2" or bigger. I would go with 5/16" rod on this repair.

If it were me doing this repair I think I would also file the rear 1/2 of the lolly pop about .005" to help keep the recoil of his heavy load from bumping wood.

Hope this helps. Bruce

 

[Flint311]

Just an opinion, but be sure the breech lug is inlet solid to the wood. May require a shim to hold the barrel forward and take the brunt of the shooting. This way the back of the tang isn't taking the force, but the breech, where it belongs. just my $.02

 

[Dave K]

I agree with both! I would consider glass bedding the breech area. Just a thought.

 

[jdixon]

Thanks for the replies and ideas. I disassembled the gun today and found the problem was worse than I suspected. Once the barrel, tang and lock were removed it was evident the crack ran all the way under the lock and side plate extending forward the the trigger and the two pieces were only held together with a minimal amount of wood. I decided to separate the two pieces and am now glassing them back together. The stock will have to be replaced but, at this point, I would like to repair it well enough for the owner to use it later this week deer hunting.

 

[J.D.]

I've seen a lot worse breaks that were repaired, with an almost invisible repair, that are still shooting many years after the fact. Good repairs are stronger than the wood, so just fix it right and the stock will out last both of you.

 

[wmaser]

This original Leman was brought to me in a bucket, containing seven or eight pieces of shatered stock. I pieced them together with Gorilla glue, added some missing slivers and wrapped with tie wire. I then drilled several 1/16" holes through the repair, filled with glue and drove oak slivers into the holes. When dry, I sanded everything down and applied an oil stain of matching color.
This repair is as strong as it ever was and is hardly noticable.

 

[ohio ramrod]

Many years ago I bought a SxS that had a badly cracked stock for $35 figuring I could make a new stock. I wanted to try the gun out so I wrapped some raw hide around it like the oldtimers did. I used it that way for over thirty years!.But it finally got loose again so I took the raw hide off and the stock was completely in two pieces. Since I was short on time I glued it back together using an expanding polyurathane glue. The next day when I took the clamps off the glue had expanded and came out several places I had not noticed were cracked. I drilled three holes through the repaired area at 45 degree angle and glued in three maple dowels to reenforce the glued joint. The gun has held up for over five hundred rounds since and is far better than when I first got the gun. I doubt that I ever will restock the gun as long as the repair holds since SxS 's have a lot of detailed thin areas to inlet. :hmm: I use glass bedding to fill gaps, but for holding cracked wood I prefer the expanding poly glues since thay penetrate into fine cracks and reenforce the wood in areas you cann't even see. ! :v Also I might add I always drill a stress relieve hole at the end of a partial crack to relieve stress and prevent the crack from expanding. :hmm:

 

[ord sgt]

The stock on my long rifle was broken into two pieces at the wrist. Applied some epoxy to one half and clamped the parts together. For an added touch, I wrapped the wrist with a band of brass and three screws to hold the brass.
That was over 30 years ago. This rifle has put meat into the freezer and "made" meat at some local shoots.

 

[nkbj]

Got a old Renegade stock that's cracked from high on the side opposite the lock to under the tang and down to the middle of the wood under the lock plate.
What suggestions have ye on degreasing to remove oils from the crack and what kind of glue to try?
I'm supposing that the job will entail pressure washing out the crack with some type of canned aerosol cleaner, drying out, applying glue with tension on the stock to open the crack and then clamping the stock to hold the crack shut for curing. And then whittling the squished glue out of all the places it squished to.
Product recommendations would be appreciated.

 

[Twice boom]

If I were doing the repair, the first thing I would do is to black the underside of the breech plugs tang in making sure it bottomed correctly as I suspect the reason for the crack. If not bottoming as it should. I would then make some saw dust to mix with Elmer’s glue and use it as bedding compound .. Once that was taken care of I would then stress the crack by applying pressure from the opposite side to cause the crack to widen. Then I would squeeze liquid supper Glue until it ran through the crack freely. Clamp it as tight as you can for an hour or so then do a sand in finish.

By the way. If you made a bed out of saw dust and Glue you can set the breech tang down on it while wet to form a perfect fit .But apply Vaseline to the metal that will come in contact with the bedding..

Twice

 

[ohio ramrod]

For crack repair I prefer the expanding polyurathane glues ( such as gorilla glue) because they will expand as they cure and penetrate into the finest cracks well beyound what you can see. They require solid clamping. To clean the cracks I use acetone ( brake cleaner ) and make sure the cleaner has fully evaporated. Also when ever possible I like to drill cross holes and insert dowel pins of maple or walnut to reenforce the area. Again using the expanding glues.

 

[nkbj]

If I were doing the repair, the first thing I would do is to black the underside of the breech plugs tang in making sure it bottomed correctly as I suspect the reason for the crack. If not bottoming as it should. I would then make some saw dust to mix with Elmer’s glue and use it as bedding compound .. Once that was taken care of I would then stress the crack by applying pressure from the opposite side to cause the crack to widen. Then I would squeeze liquid supper Glue until it ran through the crack freely. Clamp it as tight as you can for an hour or so then do a sand in finish.

By the way. If you made a bed out of saw dust and Glue you can set the breech tang down on it while wet to form a perfect fit .But apply Vaseline to the metal that will come in contact with the bedding..

Twice

When a barrel is placed in the stock the crack does jimmy open wider. That said, it would seem obvious (now that you mention it) that the inordinate stress being placed on the stock should be relieved before the crack itself is dealt with.
This scratched, gouged, battered and cracked Renegade stock could be a candidate for having a specific barrel fit and bedded as part of the healing. Perhaps it is time for planning. I've long thought that a Renegade stock would look nice with the fore end shortened a little and rounded. Would be easy to set back an under rib to match.