Repairing a bolt handle cut out on a 03A3 stock.

I was asked by a local shop to fix a 03A3 stock that had a few issues. The main issue was that the stock had been used on a soprter rifle that had the bolt turned down for use wit a scope. The stock had been cut at the rear band, along with the hand guard, and poorly repaired with glue.
For this topic I’ll just cover the bolt handle cutout repair.
Here’s the. Victim. It looks like someone used a hatchet to make the cut.


These type of repairs are pretty much simple and straightforward. I will do a simple splice repair.
You first need to square off the area. This is the hardest part of the repair. I used a high speed mill bit on my Dremel tool to get it close and then finished up with hand files.


Next was to select a piece of wood that would closely match. Here’s a tip for matching wood that you want to blend into an old finish. Wet the wood with denatured alcohol and compare it to the finish. The closer the wet color is to the finish, the easier it will be to blend.


Next, fit the new pice to the cutout. You want the piece to be over size. This helps in clamping, final shaping will be done later. What you want at this point is a tight fit in the cutout.
I cut it close and then use a sanding board to get it to fit tight. All a sanding board is, is just 60 grit sandpaper attached to a 15” piece of 2x4.
Once you have the piece fitted, apply the epoxy and clamp in place.
Another hint; Always test clamp to be sure that everything will stay in place.


Once the epoxy has cured, it’s time to start shaping. I use a sanding drum on my Dremel to remove the bulk. CAUTION! Be very careful when used a sanding drum. It removes wood very fast and can get away from you very fast. If you’re skills with a Dremel are not that good, don’t try to get very close. Switch to hand files.


Here’s where I stop with the Dremel and go to hand files.


I start with a large rough cut file and finish off with a half round.
You have to be careful when filing. You will have to get flush with the stock, but you want to make sure that you don’t press to hard when finishing up, or you will end up with file marks that you will have to cleanup.


Blending the colors takes practice and knowing what colors to use. I used Chestnut Ridge and a touch of black alcohol base dye.
I then topped it off with some Tom’s 1/3 Mix.
I might mix up some dark brown to blend it a little better.

Jim Watson said:

My neighbor the gunsmith had a crate of old gunstocks and would choose repair wood with as similar grain as possible. He did a neat patch on the toe of my Walther.

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I’ve got a bunch of old stocks too. In this pic you can see some in the white basket by the window.

amd6547 said:

I need to do something similar on my Yugo kar98k. It was like a new rifle when the person I bought it from got it. He cut a chunk out of the stock and mounted a reciever sight. While I like reciever sights, in this case I’d like the rifle to look more original, and I like the standard Mauser sights.
It’s a laminated stock, so ideally, I hope to find a broken or sporterized laminated stock to cut a piece out of. I would just put a complete stock on it, but Mauser 98k stocks have gotten expensive.
Sad, because it was rebuilt by the Yugoslavs and put away. It’s literally like a brand new kar98k.

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Post a pic of the area that needs repair. I’m pretty sure I have an old laminated Mauser stock that I can cut a piece off for you.

EMC45 said:

Excellent work. Looks like an arsenal repair.

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That was the plan. The repair was to big to hide so, making it look like an old arsenal repair was about the closest way to make it look good.

AlexanderA said:

You see a lot of these "arsenal repairs" on British guns. Rarely on American guns. The philosophy among the American military was that if a stock was damaged, it should just be thrown away and replaced. That's what happens if you're a rich country with a huge industrial base. The Brits would scrounge everything.

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This is true. Now you do find arsenal repairs on US stocks no guns that were used in other countries after WWII. But US Military policy was trash and replace.

Here’s pics of another splice repair.
This is an old handmade stock for a single shot 32 Rimfire I have. The stock was broken in half when I got it.

You’re in luck, I have part of a laminated K98 stock. I’ll cut you a piece off and send it to you.
Your repair is easy. Just square it off and add the new piece.
I just need to know the size of the piece you will need after you square of the area.

amd6547 said:

Well, here is how it measures ..what would you suggest, sir?View attachment 931020

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You will need to cut the area square, then measure it. Trying to fill the small area below the main cutout can be a pain. It can be done in two ways.
1, It can be cut out with the rest to just make it one cutout. This will cut into the bolt handle area and would need to be re-shaped after the piece is put in.
2, would be to cut the main cutout square and the cut the lower part square. But then the splice piece would need to be cut to match. This would be harder.

total recoil said:

Whooda' believed you could splice the two pieces back together. Gunny did you hire one of those Cajun Voo-Doo Seers to bless your tools? There must be some magic in them or in your hands. Magical work you do for sure!!!

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Some call it magic. Some call it skill. I just call it having fun.

amd6547 said:

Realistically, I don't have time to start cutting right now.View attachment 931372

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When ever you get the time.
Or check with me I a week or two, I might be able to do the repair for you.