Help! My SKS stock is cracked!

[A45acp1911]

When I took apart my new surplus Yugo SKS, this is what I saw.

Can anyone suggest how I might repair it?

Pictures follow.

Thanks,
Philip J. Hoffmann

Crack highlighted for clarity.

 

[A45acp1911]

Crack highlighted.

 

[A45acp1911]

No highlighting.

 

[riddleofsteel]

Try injecting some epoxy or carpenter's glue into the crack.

 

[FW]

There are probably a dozen different ways one could attempt to fix it.

Your pictures appear show a crack that may not be visible when everything is assembled. If that is the case, all you need to do is stop if from growing.

Epoxy would probably work pretty well. Just fill the crack with it. If everything is clean, it might stop it from growing.

I refinished a stock that had a crack in it, but it was a visible crack about two inches long. I used epoxy and clampled it tightly and it did the trick. After sanding, the crack couldn't be seen or felt. One problem was after finishing it, the wood didn't quite soak of the stain the same around the crack, probably because the wood soaked up a liitle epoxy and couldn't take the stain. This still was nearly unnoticable.

After a couple years, the crack had not grown, but could be felt. This was probably due to the wood swelling and shrinking from humidity, a natural property of wood. I still was nearly unnoticable otherwise.

If you do use epoxy, don't use the 5 minute stuff. I feel it is too flexible after it's hardened.

 

[riddleofsteel]

You might be able to find a new SKS stock at a gun show for a little more than a tube of good Epoxy if you don't already have some. I saw a whole table of various SKS stocks in great shape for 12.00 to 15.00 last year.
They start on E-bay at $2.00.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=36258&item=7112154810&rd=1

 

[jefnvk]

Last show I went to, I bought a stock for $3

 

[pbhome71]

You can use CA glue. It'll wick right in and fill the void.

-Pat

 

[Zeke Menuar]

I used Gorrilla Glue to fix a couple of cracks in one of my Enfields. Pretty tough stuff. Repairs are invisible.

ZM

 

[A45acp1911]

Thanks to all those who responded.

I didn't know which of carpenters glue, epoxy, or ca would provide the strongest bond, so I used a carpenters glue I had available (the container says the glue bond is stronger than the wood). I wanted to use the original stock, since it has the same serial no, etc.

The cracked area indeed should not be visible once the rifle is reassembled.

I'm happy to have the stock all glued, and the rifle finally decosmolined. I'm looking forward to reassembling everything tomorrow, and hopefully getting to the range to test the rifle next week.

Thanks again for all the help,
PJH

 

[riddleofsteel]

Give the glued area at least 24 to 48 hours to dry throughly before putting any pressure on it. This is due to the depth of the crack. May take a while to cure.

 

[DMK]

One way to stop a crack from splitting further is to drill holes at the ends. Use a very small pin drill and put the holes right on the very ends of the crack. Then fill the holes and the crack itself with epoxy.

 

[A45acp1911]

Riddle:

Thanks for the tip. I won't have a chance to use the rifle until at least next weekend.

DMK:

I'll keep an eye on the crack, and see if it is necessary to drill and fill, in accordance with your suggestion.

Thanks,
Philip J. Hoffmann

 

[Hoploholic]

I would suggest going with the CA. It will penetrate and wick nicely. The wood is oil finished though and CA is water soluable. If you live in a humid area, you might want to go with an epoxy. If you plan on refinishing the wood in poly or some other non-water permiable finish then the super glue should work fine.