Cracked stock repair

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Goneshoot'n

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I did a bad thing... The other day I was cleaning the bolt on my cz 527, I had the gun leaning against the counter, and it fell over on the tile kitchen floor.... It cracked at the front of the stock, right up by the barrel. It goes a couple inches down he stock, parallel to the barrel, and goes all the way through to the inside. Any advice on what can be done at his point?
 

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There is nothing to worry about, this is a minor damage and it's easily repairable. Since this is a non load bearing part of the stock, a thin, low viscosity CA glue (like Loctite 401) will do the work. Fill the gap from the inside, while trying to expand it (gently!) with a thin knife blade, or something similar. If you don't feel confident with that just put the glue on the crack - it will work it's way in. On the outside use the same CA glue to fill the scratches - you can use a needle for applicator. Use it sparingly! For blending in the repair you can polish it with a fine nail polishing file. If you put too much glue, first level it with coarser grits - like 1000 grit sandpaper backed by a piece of thick leather, or the coarser side of a nail polishing file (block). And last, but of much importance - always use water while sanding polymer finishes (varnish). Since this is a satin finished stock you may have to experiment with the grits to blend in the repair in the most unobtrusive way. Good luck!
 
Is the barrel free floated and do you have any kind of indication about how accurate it was pre repair (groups etc. )? I am guessing from the wood that it is a stained beech stock which means depending on the repair needed, you may have to refinish around the repair. Others will probably also post but 1) it is fixable, 2) it may not be as accurate post fix without some additional work, and 3) are replacement stocks available if you mess up.

The weakest fix is simply using a very good wood glue (in heavens name no foaming resin type glue like Gorilla Glue) and clamping it. You will need to actually wedge the crack a bit to open it to the wood glue--thinner glue generally wicks better but is weaker. The thick glue resists wicking into the crack so it may have to be manually applied. A way to strengthen that repair is to use some sort of threaded rod--preferably one that does not rust, you will have to work within the barrel channel if you do not want the repair seen so the stock is going to have to be dismounted from the action. Cut a wood slot in the barrel channel (dremel, hobby knife, oscillating saw, whatever), lay the cleaned (acetone, etc.) threaded rod in the slot across the crack, use clear epoxy to cover the threaded rod (even a small bolt with a nut works). The old time version of this is to use brass threaded rod, drill a hole through the crack, apply glue/epoxy/etc. to the threaded rod and inside the hole across the stock, screw the rod through the hole, clamp, etc. after the glue sets, cut the rod on both sides, use a file to file it down to the level of the wood, refinish the wood in those two areas. It will be seen, but may add "character" to the rifle.

You can use acraglas which is a two part resin based adhesive--spread the crack, apply, clamp, and make sure to cover areas on the stock's surface with paste wax, or some other epoxy. Acraglas has a brownish tint so it does blend into dark wood, resembling wood grain, you can add a black colorant to it. You can also use epoxy alone available at any hardware store--use the type specified for wood--make sure crack is clean, apply, clamp, etc. Clear epoxies rather than gray JB weld are easier to hide.

If your barrel is freefloated, the fix may not affect your POI and accuracy or it may depending on workmanship, receiver bedding,etc. You may have to go ahead and glass bed the rifle after the fix or even use full barrel channel bedding. If your barrel depends on upward pressure from the stock for accuracy, then you can have a problem--you will need a stronger type fix than the simply glue one as it will probably try to split again at the same location and the fix is under constant pressure. Getting the pressure right is also an individual rifle thing and may take trial and error to restore the rifle to its former glory.

Fancy fixes include bowties inlaid across the crack, wood dowels instead of brass threaded rod in the drilled hole (don't use oak or pine dowels--I have had good luck with bamboo bbq kebab sticks at Walmart for that purpose. Bamboo is a tough material that resists cracking which is what you want, and so on. Wood dowels are less obtrusive and easier to blend in to the existing rifle stock's finish. You can get a dot sander from an automotive paint supply store that allows you to sand about 1/4 inch or so in diameter, use toothpicks and pointed swabs to apply small amounts of matching stain, top dress with poly/shellac/etc. Let me know if you want more specifics on a fix, I am just trying to point out a few options.

A THR poster, GunnyUSMC did stock repair on firearms--do a google search for Candyman and rifle stock repair. He documented each step of various repairs with photos and does amazing work.
 
I hesitate to recommend CA for a reason on stocks where the fix may be under load, in my experience, I have had it fail. If you do choose to go the cyanoacrylate (CA) glue route (aka crazy glue)--consider buying Hot Stuff (try Amazon for it)--it is better than the stuff typically at the mass merchants. Hot Stuff is very thin, wicks well, and you have to be careful not to get on something you don't want it on.

Epoxy is messier but if done right is permanent as the fix done right is stronger than the wood--CA lasts until it doesn't. As usual, YMMV. I would definitely recommend using additional support via threaded rod, inlaid bolt, wooden dowel, if using CA--preferably using another type adhesive to anchor the support rod/dowel/bolt. Make sure to clamp and wait at least 24 hours to cure.
 
Use without the fiberglass chips. Build a dam inside stock with latex putty. Let Acraglas run down into the crack.
On the outside, a thin coat of petroleum jelly. p_081003002_1.jpg
 
Home Depot used to carry this Evercoat Everfix epoxy. I am looking at a 16 ounce bottle as I type.

http://www.evercoat.com/all-products/us/?find=everfix
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Marine (that is boating stores) have this stuff. I have used it in cracks, it flows like honey and once cured it is very strong. It is stronger than the wood.

Boom Boom has given some excellent advice on a procedure, just think on it. Make sure you understand the stuff will flow like a liquid, and all over everything, till it hardens. Might be an hour before it is really tacky. Put easy release tape on everything you don't want the glue to adhere to and rub everything other than the crack with Johnson Paste Wax. Johnson paste wax is a release agent. It is cheap, grocery stores have it. Have lots of paper towels pre cut for wipes and wear nitrile gloves. Pull off the gloves when too much glue gets on them, and put on new ones.

You can buy die coloring. I think I found brown and black tubes in a Boating store.

I leave a check sample in the cup, test for hardness. At at certain hardness level you can trim the stuff with a knife, but, wait a couple of hours, and you might have to grind it. So, I check, when it is appropriately hard, I trim away excess. As the epoxy cures I can bend the coupon left in the bottom of the cup with my bare hands. But give it a day, and I can't. The stuff is strong.
 
good quality wood glue -properly applied- is much stronger than people think. I worked in a house installing trim that went into holding while the company building it reorganized, and forgot to turn off the heat for a few months in the summer (drying the framing, heat at max). The room was over 140 degrees when I went back to redo some of the stuff that was heat damaged. The glued miters in the moldings held, but the actual fiberboard had ripped itself apart.
 
Thanks for the product info. Never tried this stuff but I know a lot of products for boats are really tough stuff. I have boating supply stores around so I will check it out. Looks to be a good product for split toes on a stock.

Marine stores have an amazing stock of epoxies. Attending the National Matches, I always go to Port Clinton and visit the Marine stores and find a vast array of rust preventatives and epoxies. Boaters use a lot of epoxies.

"a boat is a hole in the water into which you pour money".

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good quality wood glue -properly applied- is much stronger than people think. I worked in a house installing trim that went into holding while the company building it reorganized, and forgot to turn off the heat for a few months in the summer (drying the framing, heat at max). The room was over 140 degrees when I went back to redo some of the stuff that was heat damaged. The glued miters in the moldings held, but the actual fiberboard had ripped itself apart.

I agree that wood glue, depending on how old it is, and who makes it, can be pretty strong. I use it instead of epoxy when I build cabinet boxes and the like. Good furniture glue is well behaved, can alter the flow with a bit of water in a pinch, forgiving, and doesn't give off nasty smells--but I use reinforcements such as screws, dowels, etc. to keep the joint solid. The major fly using it with firearms is you don't know what solvents and oils can cause it to fail. If I was merely inlaying a gouge with a patch or a cosmetic repair, I would probably use wood glue because a failure would be unsightly and not structural.

Epoxy is pretty impervious until you get to the really nasty solvents such as MEK and the like. I use CA for items that I don't stress or move if I want it invisible--even used it for a crack in an oversized travertine tile on a wall surround once. Done right, it can be darn near invisible. In fixing a hairline crack along the side of the barrel channel, I drill a reinforcing pin (or two depending on the crack) from the top, force CA into the crack, clamp the heck out of it (irregular surfaces use surgical tubing--fast cheap, and very strong) and wait 24 hours. Hairline cracks become invisible (snipping the head off of cabinet panel nails --the ridged ones, which come in different epoxied colors like brown, black, tan, and length from 1/2 to 1 5/8 " lengths make good small reinforcing pins--the ridges hold the epoxy really well and these nails are very strong--the epoxy keeps them from rusting). Acraglas and the Midway generic equivalent do pretty good work if the cracks are extensive and you are going to stain it anyway. The resin seems to flex a bit which is good for areas that need it like stocks. Mixed with sawdust, it makes a decent filler.

I did woodworking long before I got into firearms much as I fixed cars, lawnmowers, chainsaws, etc. before doing any gunsmithing on firearms. I am of a certain age and time where shop was a valued class in high school. Fortunately for me, fixing up battered old rifles is fun because it combines woodworking with metal work and I have a medical condition that requires activity of the joints or losing any flexibility in them. Working on them is soothing, interesting, and much cheaper than physical therapy and seems to work better too. For a while, I could barely type. Of course, given the length of some of my posts, some might regard that as a mixed blessing.
 
By the way, original poster, welcome to The High Road. Sorry I did not notice that sooner. Hope this thread gives you some ideas--if you don't want to tackle it--it is a fairly standard gunsmith repair that should not cost much but at least you know what to ask now.
 
Thanks for the ideas! I think I'm gonna channel out the inside with a dermal tool and go with some threaded brass rod and epoxy. Hopefully I'll have time to do it tomorrow, I'll post pictures when I'm finished. As for accuracy, most of what I have done with it is shooting steel, so hitting a 3 inch circle at 80 yards is about as specific as I've gotten. but I'm taking it deer hunting next month, so I will be sure to make sure the POI has not been affected. It's a free floating barrel, so I'll hope for the best.
 
Good luck. For your enjoyment, this is a fine example of Bubba at work. Only thing lacking is duct tape.
BadRep05.jpg
 
Needle style epoxy glue applicator and some padded clamps will fix that with no fuss. Epoxy glue dries clear so you really don't need to worry about the colour.
"...with a dermal tool..." NO Dremel tools. Or dermal tools either.
 
Gorilla Glue......... When it foams it forces the glue into every crack. Easy to wipe off.
Clamp with out damaging anything. Let dry. Good as new. J s/n.
 
Needle style epoxy glue applicator and some padded clamps will fix that with no fuss. Epoxy glue dries clear so you really don't need to worry about the colour.
"...with a dermal tool..." NO Dremel tools. Or dermal tools either.
Epoxy generally does not work with a needle applicator as it comes in two parts that have to be mixed which makes it too thick for a needle applicator. Do you mean Cyanoacrylate type glues which aren't epoxy?
 
I'd use Accraglas like 243winxb suggested. I'd also get a piece of round stock that fits into the stock, then cut it in half such that it is a half circle that is flush with the top of the foreend. Treat that with release agent. This will give you a bigger clamping surface. BTW, for that part of the stock, I would use a bar clamp.
 
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