doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com stock wrist crack

I have an old boxlock SXS (Peiper) with a hairline crack in the wrist, applying torque gets it open just slightly. The gun is going in for some work, should I (a) do nothing (b) get it pinned, or (c) break it and get a solid repair.

If it's an old, well worn low value gun that you are not worried about resale value on, put some glue in the crack and pin it. It might not be very pretty but it will last until the cows come home.

Gunsaholic is probably correct but really, you'd be advised to post a photo of the crack (or several photos if needed) and folks here can give you a much better idea of how to repair it. I'm sure gunsaholic would agree with me . There may be ways to hide a pin, and there are several ways to get glue way down into the crack.

Steve

Job 1 would be to determine why or how the crack happened. Makes zero sense to repair a crack if it's just going to happen again. Was the crack caused by abuse (dropped, stepped on, during an attempted bend, etc)? Was the crack caused by neglect (loose or broken hand pin, breech pin, trigger tang screws, oil soaked, etc).
Depending on the severity of the crack and it's location, gluing should work in a non-critical location or if the crack is small and non-continuous in nature. Epoxy might be in order if the crack is more severe. The next option would inletting dowels, staples or pins...this option would the more expensive of the repairs but also the most definitive.
Hope this helps.

The buttstock is 80 years old but in excellent shape, notwithstanding the wrist crack. I carried the gun turkey hunting for several years with a slip on type sling, and one morning it slipped off, hit a hard surface (of course it wouldn't slip off while I'm marching through the swamp). The crack is unnoticeable unless force is applied, and then it only opens slightly. A very thin glue might seep in, any suggestions as to what I might use?

Zap A Gap cyanoacrylate. I have used it successfully on cracks worse than yours, and it has held for years. Spread the gap open as much as possible, then blow it down into the crack with compressed air. The wood needs to be free of oil, though. Then wrap the wrist with many layers of surgical tubing to pull the crack together, and leave a couple days. Last I bought came from Koval knives, AIR.

SRH

I have repaired these by placing a threaded pin or small ridged nail (like a paneling nail) across the crack (in a channel cut by a dremel tool)on the inside of the stock if the crack is visible inside. There is no need to pin a stock from the outside if you can see the crack inside. Way too many guns were repaired with dowels through the head of the stock. Wouldn't hurt to send us a photo of the cracked area.

Do what Stan said.
JR