I have a 20 gauge Parker VH SN 178454 that I picked up at Cabelas a number of years ago cheap. I knew I had some issues with the stock but finally got around to pulling it off to see the extent of damage. Here are the pictures of what I am dealing, thoughts?

If I add the dislodged piece of wood back into the stock, this is what it looks like

That can all be repaired by a good stock man. I do my own but others will be along to recommend smiths that they have used.

Send it to one of the stock repair specialists, they can work wonders with repairs like yours. I use this guy <http://www.stockfixrs.com/>, but there are a number of them out there, some who post regularly here on Doublegun...Geo

That's not too bad. On my personal PH, which was an incredibly good deal but was in low condition, the Head was in six pieces. It was a complex puzzle, taking lots of epoxy, a Dremel, and seven brass pins made from thin brass screws with their heads clipped off. You can't tell it was repaired. Time consuming, but a nice sense of accomplishment afterwards.

Regards
Ken

That repair should be a piece of cake for a professional stock man. Take a look at what was done to my Lang under lever. The gun was headed for the "probably to never finish" pile until Chris Dawe, (forum member Newfie) said he would tackle it as a challenge. Couldn't ask for better. Maybe Chris will chime in about your stock.

Examples of Parker head of the stock staple repairs are here
http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/15127852

Craig Libhart and Dennis Earl Smith who both post here, they can do some amazing things!

agree with the above - that one (assuming the wood in not punky)would be an easy one for an experienced repair guy

Very fixable. The cracks are clean and you have the pieces. And no one has stuck a bolt throigh the head yet. So if done right, the repair will be completely hidden inside the head.

The head would be expoxy glued back together tightly and a staple installed in the front of thenhead to reinforce. And bedding the frame is not a bad idea on top of that.

Agree with Brian. Bedding is highly recommended after reconstructing the Head. (Really, for any Vintage Shooter, since stock shrinkage over time is possible) Since it's highly probable that poor head to action fit caused the cracks in the first place. Bedding will insure a proper fit to avoid issues in the future.

Regards
Ken

I've never seen a Parker (with the original stock) with "poor head to action fit." The damage was most likely caused by mishanling of the gun or falling on it.

I was referring to wood shrinkage over time, specifically to the Head. It's not unreasonable to think it would occur over a period of 100 years or more. Oil soaking could also weaken the Head. Since cracked heads are so common, I find it hard to believe so many guns were dropped so hard as to cause the heads to crack. Us "Bottom Feeders" run into cracked Heads all the time.

Regards
Ken

Loose screws.......

certainly cannot prove it

but i expect, with the number of guns we see with this kind of damage, the cause is more likely a steady diet of heavy loads over many years, not a fall.

The most important thing with damage like this is that no one has tried to fix it already.
Poor attempts at repairs make it even more difficult to do it right.

The "Curse of the Bolt through the Flats". In the first of the Brownells "Gunsmith Kinks" books, one person recommended threading a piece of welding rod and screwing it through the Flats. I have another PH with this travesty, I have no idea yet on how to deal with it. It's not just one, but several rods in various places on the stock.

Regards
Ken

I have a VH 16 on a 0 frame that has a bolt through the head, otherwise a pretty nice gun. I spoke with DES a few years ago and he suggested new stock cheeks with or without checkered panels. I suppose checkering would make the glue lines completely disappear, but look a bit rich on a VH.

I've heard the same recommendation. At least a bolt can be removed. What the he!! can be done about removing the welding rod? I'm thinking about using a Dremel with a carbide cutting wheel to cut a slot in the end of the rod and trying to screw them back out.

Regards
Ken

Youz guys are such purists



The OP's c. 1917 20g with 2 and slightly less than 1/2" chambers + "modern" 2 3/4" loads + 100 years of wood shrinkage and oil = cracked head of the stock

I think you guys have covered just about all the likely causes. My Trojan had the same kind of problem - likely many, many 2 3/4 promo and target rounds through it as someone's skeet gun, not thinking about it having 2 1/2 inch chambers. I had it glued up & bedded. The gunsmith (who had a good reputation) decided to add a brass rod on his own (one of several reasons I won't be going back to him), but on that gun (which already has an extension), it's no big deal.
Go read Salopian's thread on modern wood glues....
If I ever hit the lottery, I'll get a new stock made.

There is a concurrent thread about glues running right now --- I have repaired several similar stocks myself, at home with a good glue and latex tubing. Get glue on the piece, get it in place and get a good wrap around the wrist and head with the latex tubing. I have had several successes and no failures or need to send any out to fix my work or other wise be redone. The staple reinforcement is a good suggestion and addition though I rarely add it myself. I use Loctite 4011, which is incredible but requires very fast work.

This is enough to drive you nuts. Still, potentially a nice PH.






Regards
Ken