doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Hiding major cracks and breaks in checkered areas

Mark:

Given the fairly substantial nature of the break, can I assume you (or the preceding owner who did the partial repair) pinned the break for strength? If so, are the holes for the pins oversized so the two pieces would line up? I'm just wondering how to do it.

Thanks.

Mark - nice work!

I'm interested in the safety issue raised by SDH - that of possible injury resulting from a previously repaired (presumably poorly repaired) stock fracturing. Can any of the stockmakers on the board address this?

I'm an amatuer hack, but I've been shiooting a gun with a repaired break about as bad as this one--including with some pretty stout shells--for about 2 years now.
Shortly after I first did the repair the acraglas started separating, but it wasn't a sudden failure it was held in place by the pin I put inside the stock--I had not gotten good contact of both sides of the break and the joint was somewhat starved of glue. I re-did the repair and it has been going strong ever since. I also repaired an old stock on a fox last year to make a pattern stock, and shot a couple thousand targets with the repaired stock while shooting the pattern all summer--zero issues.

As far as oversized holes, I did not--I first epoxied the stock then after it had set drilled holes of the correct size and epoxied in threaded rod in a few places. Dennis Earl Smith was really great, encouraged me and gave a few pointers and some coaching--I definitely appreciated his time and generosity.

I've seen brand new stocks break into multiple pieces at my local club. Well, brand new stock, singular, anyway. No injuries, but, a messy sight to behold.
Wood is wood. It breaks, sometimes in areas that you would never believe it could. If you could see the repair from 6 ft. that might be a better heads up to go cautiously then a complete surprise on an un-broken and seemingly perfect stock.

Best,
Ted

You took a gun most here would not have even bothered to take if offered for free. Repaired it, improved the looks of it and made it into at worst a nice wall hanger and at best a decent shooter. Not every gun needs or deserve a complete restock. Yes the repair can be seen by a trained eye or if told where to look. But if a trained eye could not see it they would have to be not very well trained.

No attempt to hide the repair was done to fleece a future buyer. If the stock breaks again no big deal. This is not a one of a kind rare collectors item. It is a klunker given new life. Good job and thanks for sharing.

Very Nice..I wish I could do as well...

There's no reason to automatically question the integrity of Mr. Larson's repair simply because he's an amateur. And certainly no reason to trust it, either. Cosmetic reduction of the evidence of repair is a skill that has it's place but there's also an ethical imperative to reveal knowledge of repairs and mods for those who value their reputations. Guns change hands and one man's wallhanger might be the next man's prospective duck canon. Disclosure of repair at sale is in order whether Humpty-Dumpty has had the loving attention of Mr. Trevallion or Mr. X, as, for instance, "well-executed repair to stock head."

jack

Heartily second Last Dollar!

Also would like to point out that Mr. Larson starts off by pointing out he undertook this project as a personal challenge. Nowhere does he mention he is about to sell the gun.

Very nice job Mr. Larson. And if it is your first attempt at checkering, more even so; I tried it once and it is not easy (at least not for me it wasn't).

JC

Mark,
You have done a beutiful job. As a hobbyist I am sure it was for your own pleasure and a great challenge to perfect your art. You now have an attractive gun to play with for a while until the next project comes along. I have tried it with lacquers (had an old spare spray can laying around) but found that the oil finish somehow removed the color. I was trying to cover a knot that I thought was unsightly. I have tried acrylics with a little more success but matching the wood color takes quite some skill. The previous owner thought the stock was for holding down barbedd wire -I mean like anywhere on the buttstock.

Checkering has a huge learning curve even though it looks simple to do. Congrats on that too. Gifted hands and gifted eyes.

I would love to see what you do next.

Milt

Very nice work. I've been learning checkering and it is not easy. Thanks for sharing. I really enjoy seeing examples of gunsmithing projects.