GunnyUSMC
Member
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.
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.