My now broken Ethan Allen Shotgun

[Salt River Johnny]

ETHAN ALLEN DOUBLE BARREL HAMMER HINGED BREECH LOADING SHOTGUN. A friend gave me. He mailed it via UPS he did not wrap the shotgun well and it broke at the wrist. I would rather fix it than trade or sell it. Any ideals on how to repair the wrist. Glue,dowels etc? This is above my skill set.
Thank you
Salt River Johnny

 

[SOLANCO]

A repair will want some sort of reinforcing rod through the wrist. Doable. But someone with the skill set will be expensive. A better move might be to have a new stock fitted. Just a butt stock, not like you are custom stocking a rifle.

 

[cynthialee]

dowels and glue
This is not beyond your skills if you take the time to think on it, get the right tools and go at the repair with resolve and care.
Some well placed dowels and some glue and back it up with a rawhide wrap. Let it sit for a spell. Will be solid and good to go.
Edit to add: you will probably have to take some of the comb off to get a good wrap with rawhide.

 

[Colonial Boy]

You can make it stronger than new with just a plain glued joint using an epoxy glue, but it’s obviously a weak point for it to snap so cleanly.
You should be able to drill at a shallow angle for a dowel or two from the trigger plate inletting, but do this after gluing the bits back together,

 

[Conquerordie]

Id use small threaded rod instead of dowels. Coat the rod and hole with epoxy and install.

 

[French Colonial]

Unless you have the skills, please do not do this yourself no matter what the "experts" here say.

I have seen the results of ham-handed glue jobs that you can see the joint from a distance and once you glue it, it is almost impossible for someone to put it back together the way it should be. Trying to remove the glue, dowels or threaded rod would make most refuse the project.

There are members of this forum and others who can put this back together and down the road you will not be able to tell where the break was.

I have a William Moore that was broke through the wrist and you can not find the break after it was fixed correctly and seriously cost? I do not remember and at his point could not care less as when I take it out to shoot it looks as good as it shoots.

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

TIPS - I just did such a repair and have done many in my prior life as a gunsmith (part-time, day job as an Engineer). One repair I just did on a broken Mauser stock you cannot see the repair unless you look close and know where to look. But of course this means the entire stock also needs to be refinished.

• Advise DO NOT use solid dowels, they squeeze the glue out and make it a DRY joint
• Recommend you use a HOLLOW rod, like a threaded rod used on lamps - if room - as these can be somewhat large(r) in diameter
• If no room for a threaded rod, get some graphite arrow shaft material, obtainable for FREE at most archery ranges
• Cut arrow shaft to length, and grind many holes along the SIDES of the shaft material so it looks like Swiss Cheese. This does a few things - it allows the epoxy to flow and completely fill the deep hole, but then the glue makes the chemical bond with the wood & shaft and then the shaft holes makes a mechanical bond with both the glue and wood
• Using such Swiss Cheese tubes glued in place and I've never had a repair weaken or re-open
• TiteBond III or a weeping/penetrating epoxy is suburb. When I use epoxy, I use 2 types, wetting out the hole 1st with a thin penetrating epoxy into the deep hole, so it flows/weeps into the tiniest cracks you can't see, then use the typical slow cure/setting epoxy

Where your break is at almost a complete 90-degree break, this will need serious reinforcement, like the tube option mentioned above, but one tube on each side, the longest you can fit without crashing through the outside or into the action.

I would attempt this repair in 2-Steps! First, I would ascertain where you can safely drill holes into each side, ideally up to 3" long or so, but you might be limited in one side or the other. Then cut your tubes to length and see if you can 'dry fit' the tubes in place. If so, then glue one side in only, using the techniques above.

Then dry fit AGAIN, to ensure that the tubing stubs as cured, still fit (even if loose) into the mating holes and effect a perfect alignment at the break. You may need to modify the receiving hole so as not to be pushing the stock off to one side or another. Then glue the other tubes in, as well as gluing the 2 faces of the break together. The stock will need to be refinished and the checkering recut.

 

[64Springer]

OP.

I commend you for saying this repair is outside of your wheelhouse.

It's a delicate repair that will look awful is not done correctly.

Seek professional and costly assistance.

 

[Salt River Johnny]

OP.

I commend you for saying this repair is outside of your wheelhouse.

It's a delicate repair that will look awful is not done correctly.

Seek professional and costly assistance.

I am a honest and no BS guy. Yes I could do it. I have the tools but. I do not want to do a half ass job. I have did alot of work on guns and stocks over the years but never a broken wrist.I will show it to a good friend this weekend at a event I am attending. Perhaps Hen can fix it.
Thank you everyone for your great comments.
Salt River Johnny