doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com CA for stock repairs

Dennis...keith,

This information is exactly what I needed. Along with some very good advice and suggestions from Doug (PA24) I feel much better about this particular job. The last, while holding well for years, is nowhere near an invisible joint, and mars the looks of an otherwise attractive gun.

This kind of information, given generously, is what young men used to only obtain only by an apprenticeship, or by hanging out for years around a gun shop sweeping floors and hauling out trash.

Thanks to all, SRH

Just to add, Stan, it has been my experience with CA vs epoxy that a really good epoxy like Acraglas from Brownells is hands down much stronger and permanent than CA, especially when you mix in the fiberglass floc that comes in the Acraglas kit. I bought bulk Acraglas, floc, and hardener, along with little packets of their powder stain years ago and am still using it. You can really get a good match of color by judicious use of the floc and stain.

CA has its uses, and would like to try the Zap-a-Gap on a small crack next time I need a quick fix.
JR

Would you say, then, that runny Acraglas is better than Acraglas Gel. I prefer to use the Gel as it does not run all over the work and I am really not into plasticene dams.
Any opinions on one vs the other?

I did a little experiment several years ago where I cut and planed some black walnut into strips about an inch wide and 3/4" thick. I cut these into pieces about three inches long and glued pieces together using various adhesives to see which would give me the most unobtrusive glue joint after sanding, and after applying various stock finishes.

Titebond II was hands down the best. Polyurethane was a very close second except where squeeze out or foam out stained the joint. It worked very well where you could sand off enough to remove the mess. It's also messier to handle and harder to clean off of your hands. But I've been told it works well on wood that may have traces of oil contamination. I found a thin 4:1 mix boat builders epoxy also gave a pretty invisible joint, while regular Acraglas was just a bit more visible. A thicker 90 minute Duco or Devcon 1:1 epoxy was most visible leaving a very visible amber line that only Watco Danish Oil finish did a good job of covering. Among the epoxies, it seemed that the greater the viscosity, the more visible the glue joint was. I think this is because fillers like silica are used to thicken them.

The Titebond is nice because, depending on your clamping, much of the squeezeout can be quickly wiped off with a wet rag as long as you don't saturate the glued joint. If you try that with epoxy and denatured alcohol or lacquer thinner, you may have thinned epoxy soak into the surface around the joint and later interfere with stain or finish if you can't remove it by sanding. Forget about trying to clean off the squeezeout or foam out from polyurethane. Best to let it set and cut it off flush after it hardens. This foaming does a great job of gap filling, but if you want a really invisible joint, the joint must be very close before glueing. Surgical rubber tubing works great for wrapping around split wrists, etc. without marring the surrounding wood or checkering. I stretch the rubber tubing and wipe on a thin coat of paste wax on it so that the glue or epoxy won't stick to it, and it can be re-used. I'd rather not fill large gaps with epoxy when I can replace missing walnut with matching walnut, so the only place I ever used Acraglas Gel was for bedding rifle barrels.

Mike, I think I tried the gel on a rifle bedding a long time ago; don't really remember much about it. Never used it since.
JR

I use the Acra-Glas Gel for some rifle bedding or on something I am going to make disappear by artistic faux graining. I prefer the liquid with the fiberglass floc for bedding. The composition of the gel tends to not harden enough for my tastes. I try really hard not to need bedding when I make a stock of any make or model. However as a skim coat I find the liquid best for my needs. When fixing a broken stock I prefer the liquid over the gel. I get the stock together first then I make the patches necessary afterward.

Here's the patient, getting dried out good after the soaks.

This area has a crack, and also the piece completely broken off that you see. It had been glued previously, but the A & A soak loosened it. I'm glad.



SRH

Stan,

That is the 'perfect' candidate for steel pins and a slow curing "two part epoxy" as we discussed IMO.......

Fix the crack first with two or three centered horizontal pins and let it cure while clamped......leave about 1 1/2 or 2 inches extended out on each pin to fit the broken piece on........have the broken piece pre-drilled/channeled to match those steel pins.........after the crack cures solid, epoxy and clamp the broken piece in place.......Sand, finish and checker as normal....

Good Luck and Best Regards,