T/C patriot

[rchargy]

I have a Thompson Center Patriot with a cracked stock. Anyone know if T/C will still replace it and if so how do I go about getting it done. Thanks

 

[matt denison]

There are literally thousands of them out there with cracked or broken stocks.

TC can not replace them. They lost their supply and their duplicater in a huge fire years ago.

Repair it, build a new one from scratch are about the only options, sorry.

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

Is the crack on the side of the lock bolt? Depending on how bad it is, you might be able to make a simple repair, like squeezing a good glue into the crack. Otherwise you'll have to do something else, like pin or dowel the crack.

From what I have read, most of the cracks are caused by over tightening the lock bolt. Another is over charging the pistol. And still another cause for cracking is the way people load the pistols. Some people place the heel end of the butt against a hard surface during loading. That places a lot of undue stress on the stock.

I have two Patriots. I haven't had any trouble with the stocks. I just lightly snug up the lock bolt when putting it back together. I keep the powder charges down to no more than 24 gr. When I load, the pistol is in my hand, and the butt does not touch a hard surface. I hold the pistol by the barrel during the loading process. So far it has worked for me, and I haven't experienced any of the cracking problems.

Don't throw in the towel on the pistol because of the cracked stock. You may be able to salvage it. :thumbsup:

 

[rchargy]

Yes the crack runs down to the lock bolt. It is a small crack it could be hard to get any glue into it. But I think I will try to do that. I really dont want to dowel it if I dont have to in case I want to sell it some day. I have never shot over 20 grains of powder in it. I think that the bolt was too tight at some time. I bought it used. Thanks for the responce.

 

[robertdale]

I bought one recently that was cracked and in two pieces. it had been glued/epoxied but would not hold together,I clamped it up and used a dremel and made several wood patches.some are small and one was 2 in. long. the grain must go against the grain in the stock. So this is a shooter only.I also put 2 set screws in tang to lockup the breechplug. 8x32. bedded the tang area with glassbedding. most of the problems are gaps here. the tang/breech plug does not rest on the wood stock inlet.
use .445 rb,20 3f,.020 patch. offhand 10 shots groups of 3 " at 25 yds make me happy. :v

 

[ChrisHarris]

For a hairline crack.....

There is a super glue product that is the consistency of water. You can buy it in any hobby shop (rc airplane or rc cars). They call it CA. The technical name for this glue is 'cyanoacrylate' But everybody just calls it CA. (pronounced 'see ayy')

It's used to build balsa model airplanes or glue rubber tires to rims for rc cars. It comes in 3 or 4 different thickness.

Thin
Medium
Thick
Gap Filling

You want THIN

To fix a crack in a wood gun stock, this is what I'd do.

I'd probably disassemble the gun, so I was only working with the stock.

Remember, this glue is the consistency of water, so if you're not careful, it's going to run all over the place.

Cut the tip off the glue spout as tiny as you can. You should use a razor knife to get a super clean cut on the tip. The tip is similar to a tube of caulk. Tapered plastic tip. Only this glue tip is small. You will want to gently slice off a tiny bit on the end to open the spout. I'd start out trimming about 1/8" off to start and then if that don't open it up, I'd try and shave off 1/16" at a time until I could see a hole. The idea here is you just want a teeny tiny hole in that spout...... again, because this stuff is like water. I don't mean slush or syrup. I mean WATER!! It's thinner than the hair on the top of your head!! It's friggin' THIN!!! And if you screw up, it'll run all over the place faster than you can even THINK about saying, "Oh *&%&$@!!' It's thin.

Did I mention it's thin? Because if I forgot, you need to know that this glue is very THIN.

Now, when you have a hole in the end, give the bottle a TINY squeeze and HOLD IT. Now turn the bottle upside down and relax your grip just a little bit. If you're holding it right, the bottle will have been squeezed and is now trying to return to it's normal shape. There's a VACUUM inside the bottle trying to suck air in.

The idea is, the glue can't run all over the place because the bottle is slightly compressed and trying to return to it's normal shape - and being as it's under a vacuum right now, the glue ain't gonna squirt all over your gun.

Place the tip on your crack and give the bottle a gentle squeeze. You can SEE the glue in the spout if you're paying attention. You should be able to see if moving up and down in the spout depending on if you're squeezing or relaxing your grip.

A single drop will fill most hairline cracks. This stuff wicks and flows into cracks like water hitting a dry sponge.

Have a paper towel ready. You DEFINITELY want to wet the paper towel in acetone or super duty fingernail polish remover. That will dissolve and remove any drips or spills pretty fast.

When I work with this kind of glue, I have a SOAKED paper towel ready. I use acetone because my wife gets mad when I steal her fingernail polish remover. :idunno: A soaked paper towel will make quick work of any drips. A dry paper towel will just stick to whatever it is that you spilled glue on -- then the cussin' and swearin' starts. :rotf:

Put a drop or two of glue on the crack and look for runs or spills immediately. Obviously, wipe spills or drips immediately with your wet towel.

The glue will dry in about 1 - 2 minutes.


DO_NOT_EVER use water with this glue. Water will make it dry faster than you can say, "OH *&!^%%$@$&!!!' Cussin' and swearin' always follows the mixing of water and CA glue. NEVER USE WATER WITH CA GLUE... EVER..... :shake:


I was lucky enough to find a TC Patriot today. I bought it. It has a hairline crack between the lock screw and the barrel -- on the left side. It's about 3/4" long and you have to look hard to see it. I'm planning to fix it as described above.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

"There are literally thousands of them out there with cracked or broken stocks.TC can not replace them. They lost their supply and their duplicater in a huge fire years ago."

Aint my problem. I bought it with a LIFE TIME WARRANTY. You mean TC won't live up to their warranty?

 

[ChrisHarris]

Aint my problem. You mean TC won't live up to their warranty?

They can't. The duplicator was destroyed. So, it IS your problem. You'll have to take TC to court if you care enough to fight with them over it.

 

[ChrisHarris]

Here's mine.

Came with a .36 cal barrel that appears to be unfired.

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

That CA glue does work great, and quick. Very quick! Be sure to wear some rubber gloves. If you spill it on your fingers and touch them together for a few seconds, your fingers could be glued together. The set up time for those glues can be from just a few seconds, to several seconds. There are others that use an activater spray. You spread the glue and sray the repair with the activater. With that one I think the set up time is maybe thirty seconds. That should be time enough to put a clamp on the piece if it needs one.

As has been said, you can find it either at a good hobby shop, or good wood working supply store.

 

[tom deinek]

Hold-up men sometimes glue employees to counters or the walls while making their escapes. Stuff is that fast setting & tough.

 

[gifford]

Chris - nice Patriot w/the .36 caliber bbl no less. :thumbsup:

I'll look for you at the range.

 

[ChrisHarris]

Chris - nice Patriot w/the .36 caliber bbl no less. :thumbsup:

I'll look for you at the range.

Which range would that be? I shoot at Ft. Osage. You know my name. Whats yours? :idunno:

 

[gifford]

Heh, FOML, I'm the greyhaired fella, well, what I got is grey. :wink: aka Dan

 

[pr.piburn]

Wonder what a combo like that would be worth?

 

[zimmerstutzen]

As to TC's duplicator being destroyed. It is their contractual duty to do what they have to to service warranties. Even if that means a new duplicator.

I just find it funny that the company that everybody thinks has such a great warranty, won't honor it as to one of their products.

My Patriot is my only TC side lock product that has never needed any repairs. (I also have a TC Scout Pistol, which also has been problem free)

 

[matt denison]

If you bought a new Patriot and upon opening the box it had a cracked stock that would be a waranty repair.

If you load and shoot it for years and you break it that is not a waranty repair. There has to be a limit.

Waranties are usually against defects in materials and workmanship, not wear and tear.

 

[ebiggs1]

I just find it funny that the company that everybody thinks has such a great warranty, won't honor it as to one of their products.

This actually isn't too hard to understand but it seems that some folks have trouble understanding it.
TC has in the past gone way over board on fixing guns for anyone whether they were the “original” owner or not. Even if they caused the damage. I wish all companies acted like TC has and does.

From the TC manual.

LIMITED WARRANTY
THOMPSON/CENTER ARMS provides a warranty for all factory finished firearms for the LIFETIME OF THE ORIGINAL CONSUMER PURCHASER.
Any firearm, or part thereof, returned, postage paid, to the factory at Rochester, New Hampshire 03867, will be repaired or replaced to
our commercial standard free of charge, and returned to the consumer purchaser postage prepaid. This warranty is established by return of our authorized warranty card which should be done within (30) days of purchase. This warranty does not cover any damage caused by custom alteration of the
firearm! Thompson/Center Arms reserves the right to refuse to repair or
replace firearms, or parts thereof, damaged by abuse or misuse.

This warranty does not cover “Kit” models. While Thompson/Center
does guarantee the quality and workmanship of the parts contained in each kit
(and will replace any part which is proven, by our inspection, to be faulty in
either workmanship or material) we have no control over the final finishing
and assembly of these products. Therefore, no responsibility for either the construction or use of kit models is implied or assumed. This warranty gives you
specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights which vary from State
to State.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

And what you quoted is from a newer warranty that is far narrower than the warranty that was extended by TC originally. Go back and check the differences from the original warranties given in the 1970's.

There was no original customer language or other limitations back when.

I beat TC on that ploy once already.

 

[ebiggs1]

You are correct, sir, but that is their policy now. I have a 1970's manual around here somewhere but I was unable to locate it. The one I quoted is dated 2005 I believe.