• This community needs YOUR help today. We rely 100% on Supporting Memberships to fund our efforts. With the ever increasing fees of everything, we need help. We need more Supporting Members, today. Please invest back into this community. I will ship a few decals too in addition to all the account perks you get.



    Sign up here: https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/account/upgrades

Help!!! Broke stock.

Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

dick rankin

32 Cal.
Joined
Jan 19, 2006
Messages
36
Reaction score
7
For any of you gun builders/fixers I need your help. Just dropped my gun, careless I know, and am looking for recommendations to repair a broken stock. I’m thinking epoxy and a couple cutoff short but heavy nails and clamped might work. Nails won’t show as they’ll be under the trigger guard. Obviously not ever going to be strong as before but would this still be safe to shoot after repairs? Thanks for any help and/or suggestions. Appreciate it.
F315B048-1071-4DD3-81B5-A9746DC96F5C.jpeg
E9CB63CA-4B85-48C5-A5D9-C37A0447F457.jpeg
F315B048-1071-4DD3-81B5-A9746DC96F5C.jpeg
E9CB63CA-4B85-48C5-A5D9-C37A0447F457.jpeg
F315B048-1071-4DD3-81B5-A9746DC96F5C.jpeg
F315B048-1071-4DD3-81B5-A9746DC96F5C.jpeg
E9CB63CA-4B85-48C5-A5D9-C37A0447F457.jpeg
CD0838CF-ADE4-4A31-B426-D3F40DDAFAC1.jpeg
 
Epoxy will work just fine. Test fit first before applying your choice of glue. You will need some elastic band to wrap around the joint to hold the pieces in place while the glue cures. I used an old bicycle inner tube, cut into long strips to bind the repair of my flint lock rifle (the one in the picture) to tightly wrap the stock. That break happened 35 years ago. For added accent, I used a piece of thin flat brass and some small nails.
I think the rifle shoots better after the break than before, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it. :)
 
Ouch!!! Dang!!! Hate that for you!!! I had one get a major crack at the wrist one time, but nothing like that! With mine, the gunsmith used epoxy and drilled and installed some hidden pins. So far so good. If you know where to look you can see a faint outline. Man, I dunno about that though.
 
I’m working on a similar break now on an “unmentionable” gun and using the same techniques suggested above. Careful prep, epoxy, and a couple of hidden pins. If you do some careful finish work, you’ll be able to hide the repair pretty well if you wish). It might not be invisible, but slow, careful work will make it very subtle.
 
Thank you all for the suggestions. The gun is a caywood so I contacted them. Danny suggested elmers wood glue and a couple screws that will go in under the trigger guard. Then I think I might wrap it with artificial sinew just to help hide the break seams.
 
Thank you all for the suggestions. The gun is a caywood so I contacted them. Danny suggested elmers wood glue and a couple screws that will go in under the trigger guard. Then I think I might wrap it with artificial sinew just to help hide the break seams.

Just curious, would artificial sinew be that much more beneficial to real sinew? I only ask because my recent activities in this new adult "Cowboys and Indians" thing that I am now part of has been a bit of a learning curve. One of those things that is considered a big "FARB" move is using that stuff. Not trying to be snobby here, "To each his own!" I still have no idea what the heck that acronym stands for. 🙂
 
Just curious, would artificial sinew be that much more beneficial to real sinew? I only ask because my recent activities in this new adult "Cowboys and Indians" thing that I am now part of has been a bit of a learning curve. One of those things that is considered a big "FARB" move is using that stuff. Not trying to be snobby here, "To each his own!" I still have no idea what the heck that acronym stands for. 🙂


Artificial Sinew is actually (I think) Nylon thread that is colored and waxed to somewhat resemble real sinew, though it is fairly easy to tell it isn't. It is not susceptible to water, rot or stretching much at all. Unlike real sinew, it comes in lengths far longer than real sinew taken from deer, elk, etc.

In the old days, a broken wrist was repaired by inletting brass or iron plates with screws or pins on both sides of the crack. Also and even easier, a piece of rawhide was wetted, stretched around the wrist and then laced or sewn as tightly as possible. When the rawhide dried, it was a very sound repair until the rawhide got soaked through and thus supple again.

FARB - originally it was derived from "far be it from the truth" and later made into an anachronism like "Fast And Researchless Buying" and other things, some of which can't be written on a family friendly forum. ;) The word has morphed even further into "Farbish" which is an adjective, "Farby" that can be an adjective or an adverb, "Farbfest" which describes an event with little or no regard for authenticity, "Farbelicious" meaning a food that is not period correct for the season or location or time period, but we eat and enjoy it anyway, "Farbarossa" meaning one who unerringly defends inauthentic items even when shown it did not exist in the period - and the list goes on and on. BTW, authentic re-enactors coin and use many of these terms to even make fun of ourselves. 😀

Gus
 
Artificial sinew is a blonde version of B-50 waxed Dacron (i think) bow string line, essentially the same as the black stuff only prettier. I used it for braided bow strings, stitching on primitive projects, etc. but it’s waxed, which is sometimes self limiting.

Blessings on your repair,

don
 
Epoxie is much stronger than Elmers , and the drying takes 15 min. which allows time to make adjustments for perfection matching the two halves. I've used this one a time or two...... Get a couple 2 1/2 " long #10 drywall screws. (Drywall screws are hardened and won't bend.) Position the screws vertically one above the other as the torque on the wrist from loading the gun will be there , and not in a horizontal direction. Drill the screw holes in one half the break first , tighten the screws tight and cut the heads off. mark the other half of the break and drill two "sloppy fit" blind holes where the other ends of the screws go. Try the fit of the halves to make sure it's perfect. Use Five Min. Epoxie and be prepared to hold the pieces together until the glue slightly sets and is where it will be forever. Once the glue is slightly past the "rubbery" state , carefully remove the excess glue from the outside of the repair. Set the gun muzzle up with no stress on the wrist , and it should be range ready tomorrow. Be brave , rehearse what you are doing and just do it..................oldwood
 
For any of you gun builders/fixers I need your help. Just dropped my gun, careless I know, and am looking for recommendations to repair a broken stock. I’m thinking epoxy and a couple cutoff short but heavy nails and clamped might work. Nails won’t show as they’ll be under the trigger guard. Obviously not ever going to be strong as before but would this still be safe to shoot after repairs? Thanks for any help and/or suggestions. Appreciate it.
First of all you need to drop for two sets of 100 push ups!! Just kidding of course, but that is what the Army taught me about dropping a piece. Really, that is a crying shame that happened. AZ has got my vote!!! A threaded rod strengthens the whole wrist. It is a tad more work, but you will be back in full swing.
Keep us posted on the repair.
 
Instead of artificial sinew (which will most likely slip and come loose) I used pig gut (sausage casing). Rinsed and soaked the salt out of it many times, let partially dry till damp. I glued and pinned my stock then wrapped it with two bags I think of casings I bought from the local grocery store. It dried like iron then after a couple weeks I applied many coats of Tru-Oil gunstock finish or any outdoor varnish will work. Looks good, many tell me they really like the look of it, provides a little texture like checkering and isn't cold when hunting in the fall and winter like a brass or copper plate will be. It's been 24 years since I broke my stock on my longrifle and it's still my everyday gun.
 
For any of you gun builders/fixers I need your help. Just dropped my gun, careless I know, and am looking for recommendations to repair a broken stock. I’m thinking epoxy and a couple cutoff short but heavy nails and clamped might work. Nails won’t show as they’ll be under the trigger guard. Obviously not ever going to be strong as before but would this still be safe to shoot after repairs? Thanks for any help and/or suggestions. Appreciate it. View attachment 75368View attachment 75369View attachment 75368View attachment 75369View attachment 75368View attachment 75368View attachment 75369View attachment 75370

Dick,

I've repaired three ML stocks using the basic method AZ Muzzleloaders showed, but I used threaded brass rod instead of threaded steel rod. Easy to get in most large hardware stores in the metals section. In the very old days, they would thread a wooden dowel and do the same thing, but brass makes it strong enough it should never crack through there again.

Not sure if you know what we mean by using surgical tubing or strips of inner tube to use as a clamp. So here is a video that demonstrates how to use the tubing, though he only demonstrates without epoxy. Just click on the following link:

Brownells - Surgical Tubing As a Clamp - YouTube

Something I don't think anyone has mentioned is I would remove the trigger guard and bend it back into shape before you do the repair. Then put it back on the gun and screw in the two front screws, but leave the rear screw out. After you glue the broken stock pieces together, you then screw the rear screw back in to help align the two pieces. Then use the surgical tubing or inner tube strips to keep it clamped in the proper alignment.

If you trim the glue or epoxy before it sets up completely and is still somewhat rubbery, don't try to cut it too close to the wood or you may pull out some glue that fills in an open spot. Personally, I've tried both ways and for me, the best way is to allow the epoxy to dry and then use a sharp chisel to cut it close to the wood. Then file and sandpaper to smooth the joint and refinish that area around the wrist.

Gus
 
First of all would someone tell me how to insert thumbnail pictures, I keep trying and am doing something wrong.

The pictures below are of an original William Moore shotgun, 11 gauge, broke completely through the wrist during an outing and fixed with good quality wood glue probably around 35 years ago give or take by someone who knew what they were doing (not me). I haven't had it out except to shoot clay pigeons but it has been a perfect performer ever since.

Do not discount the wood glue.


W Moore1.jpg
W Moore2.jpg
 
Back
Top