doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com first time fixing a cracked stock...help

Hey there everyone.

I just picked up an old Zanoletti over/under. There is a hairline crack under the side plate and it extends up to the neck of the stock. I am going to use either epoxy or acraglass.

Should i soak the stock in acetone first? If so, for how long?

I can open the crack with a bit of pressure under the plate, but it does not open up near the neck too much.

Should I epoxy the front end and use wood super glue towards the back?

There doesn't seem like there is any room to pin.

Thanks.

Pietro

Can you post a picture? You may not be able to pin but maybe could 'staple' it after wicking in super glue.

Thanks Patriot.

Here is a picture.

Also, how does one wick in super glue?

The good news is this is a fixable crack. You need to use liquid type acraglass (not the gel!!!) as the liquid will penetrate the wood fiber.

First degrease the head of the stock. The more oil you get out the longer the repair will last. I degrease with dollar store oven cleaner keep applying this until it stops turning brown. Then remove the residue throughly with acetone. (make sure the stock dried out after this)

Second mix your acraglass liquid (4 to 1 ratio) you will then need to warm this mixture up slightly to increase its viscosity, a hair dryer works well for this and it only takes a few seconds until the glass gets really runny. (this helps increase the penetration of the glass may sound like overkill but it really works)

Third apply to the cracked area and let it sit for a minuet or two until the glass starts to cool and becomes little thicker then apply some more glass, clamp the crack closed, and walk away for 24 hours. This will require some clean up work to remove the excess glass once it has hardened but that can easily be done with a small scraper inside the inletted area and some sand paper on the outside.

good luck

If the sidelock fits good with crack open like it is, I might not clamp it. One problem is old wood shrinks over time which can comtribute to it cracking. You could put a clamp on it first to see if both sidelocks will still fit.

After glueing, you could also 'staple' it. Where the crack is the most open, probably a one inch staple could be installed. I use coat hanger wire; the ends bent 90 degrees to go into the wood but not through it. Drill holes a little oversized. I then use a round tip cutter in my Dremel to make a channel for the span of the wire so it is flush with the surface. When drilling holes, don't forget to allow for the depth of the channel. 'Dry fit' the staple first. Put Aacraglass in the holes and channel and install the staple and scrape off excess with a straight edge. Wouldn't hurt to also put a staple between the hole and the end of the lockplate recess.

Heating the thinned Acraglass with a heat gun will make it suck into the crack(thanks to one of our members). I tried it and it works amazingly well. Super Glue is not strong enough, IMO. I also agree with Patriot about making sure the sidelock or plate will fit in afteryou squeeze it. If not, don't. A general tip about using epoxy to fix a crack or glue two parts together is not to clamp the parts too tight. It can squeeze the glue out to the point that the joint ends up weaker.

FWIW.... I picked up an adjustable nozzle for my air compressor, no bigger than a chubby ink pen. A light stream of air moves adhesive material very nicely into cracks and crevices. Randy

After fixing the crack, I would CAREFULLY dremel a groove into the wood 90 degrees to the crack and bed a brass pin in acraglass. Then I would glass bed the lock.

Rob.

Learning alot myself about this repair. What do you think caused the crack? Do you think that the head of the stock has become softened and the action is now pounding the locks into their mortice and cracking the stock?

Thank you everyone.

Just an FYI. In that picture I was spreading the crack open just to highlight it.

I have spent the day cleaning it with oven cleaner. The wood is clean now.

I spoke to a gun smith in town. He can not get acraglas. He said he uses Gorilla Glue and has had super success with it.

He suggested drilling a little hole at the end of the crack, the radiusing will stop it from spreading.

I tried with a clamp, and lightly clamped it. I don't think I am going to need too much pressure at all. The sideplate fits nicely.

So, after it thouroughly dries I will glue it.

wish me luck.

Pietro