Thanks Keith. I have likely overspent on my advice requests... however, here is another. This is a very tight crack in the fore-end wood at the hinge. As the photo shows, there are actually two cracks, close but they do not meet. If not repaired they will meet sooner than I like. The challenge is how to wick glue down into such a tight crack? These cannot be opened at all without risk of injury to the fore-end wood. The crack coming off the interior channel does not appear to be very long. Would this be a place for CA-gap filling as it will wick into this crack nicely? And I do not need to be concerned with finish. The one on the outside has me uncertain as to how to proceed. Once again I am appreciative of any help or suggestion you may offer. I am right at point of gluing up all of the splits and cracks once I have a clear idea of how I will address each one. Thanks.

{on sanding... I have a very nice 1890's Sauer hammer 12b that someone sanded all the wood down to let the metal stand proud including the grip cap. Unbelievable}