doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com How do you fix stocks like this....

Here is an example of one of the LC Smiths I am refreshing. Note the shrunken wood and chips missing at the head (and a few other spots).

How do you guys fix this? again the gun probably isn't worth a new stock and a full restore (see my other post about this).

Acraglass?
Chips of wood glued in place?
What do the pros do?

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Jerry

You don't....most of what I see was caused by neglect and abuse.

There is not much you can do about shrinkage, but, the chips can be replaced by gluing in walnut pieces and filing and/or sanding to a perfect fit. You then must color match the repair with stains and finish.

It all depends on how far you want to go and how much time you want to devote to the project.
Missing chips are the easiest of fixes. A good hunting ground is under the trigger guard strap for matching wood, remove what you want and replace with another piece of wood glued in its place.
Shrinkage now that calls for skill, The method is to drive a wood chisel bevel outwards about an eighth of an inch from the outside face this will lift the timber clear of the action edge. Next you make a fine timber wedge dip in glue and tap in to the split you have made, after the glue has dried cut the wedge off level with the wood. Now sand the excess wood on the outside level with the action. It sounds just like a walk in the park but it definitely isn't it needs practice and patience the corners are the very devil to get right.

A field grade Smith in that condition fits into the category of "an old brown gun" or clunker, good for carrying around in a pickup truck. Wasting effort on "refreshing" such a piece is an exercise in futility and frustration, and it will be a sad mess when done. Go find something nicer.
JR

Go to Dewey Vicnairs web site and look at the Smith and the Fox C grade he repaired. You can repair the chips and even add a veneer to the side plate areas. When sanded to shape and blended with the stock then stained to match the repair becomes almost invisible.

It comes down to how much you want to fix. Degrease the stock to get all the oil out of the head of the stock. Then you could just acuglass with matching stain it to fill in the gaps and chips. Trim and finish. That would give you a strong shooter but with visible repairs. Great as a rainy day gun or as a backup spare to keep in the truck. If you want better repairs then it just takes more time. Materials are the smallest expense in any stock repair. Labor, time and effort is the greatest.

Wow Mr. Roberts, the idea is to preserve these guns for the next 100 years. BTW I got these guns for a reasonable price, some are my favorite shooters.

Thanks to damascus and KY Jon

It's obvious the previous owners weren't too concerned about "preserving" this specimen....

No one said we had to bring them back from the dead.

Jerry, that is one beautiful Smith. Good luck on what ever you decide.

Jerry: you've been messing with enough "Farm Implement Grade" (and better) Smiths to know that the head of the stock is surely in need of more work than just chip repair. And even the dead can be resurrected by skilled craftsmen



As Jon said, done right this will require a complete stock refinish and glasbedding

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