Brass pin stock repair?

So I bought a Winchester model 97 take down and it’s a little on the rough side but was a great deal. The biggest issue is the stock. It looks like it split just under the comb from the heel almost all the way to the pistol grip AND the guy did a half hearted job of super gluing the thing back together. I have been reading some stuff about stock repair and came across a kit to drill in some brass pins to reinforce the stock along the break. I know it would be a lot less hassle to just replace the stock but I would like to keep the gun as original as possible. Has anyone had any experience using these?

Thanks for the help in advance.

Lots of experience. I suggest buying a repair pin kit from Brownell's. The kit comes with instructions. Also order the smallest container of Brownell's Accra Glas Gel.

The biggest issue will be getting the old glue out so the new can bond to the wood and not the old glue. Otherwise its a straight forward job.

AcraGlas gel is a great product for this repair along with the pin set. Great advice so far.

Go to a hobby shop that caters to RC airplanes if you have one nearby. They will have cyanoacrolate debonder which is specifically for removing this type of adhesive. It's much faster and more effective than acetone for removing "super glue." Hobby Lobby sells CA glues in their model section and may have the debonder as well. A small bottle runs $4-$6; not cheap but it's really good. Work it in with a stiff brush and you should be able to remove all of the CA glue. It will probably take a few tries to get it all off. Have plenty of paper towels available to clean it up. Most CA glues are fairly thick and don't soak into the grain of hardwoods very well so there's a good chance of getting it all off. With a little luck the wood will fit together well after removing the CA.

You don't say whether the detached piece has actually come off. If it hasn't, it is going to be very difficult to remove without breaking some wood away, and impossible to get the old glue out unless you do.

If the joint is reasonably close to a plane surface, I believe I would detach it with a saw, plane or belt-sand it dead flat, and epoxy on a new piece of matching wood, which I would finish off to replace the comb. That is a lot of area in contact, so you shouldn't need pins. If the new piece extends close to the toe of the butt, you might feel happier cutting a vertical slot which will be hidden by the buttplate, and epoxying in a piece of wood with the grain running vertically.

Pins are really needed for stocks broken at the grip, and threaded rod is just as good for this job. Similarly it might be that other epoxies don't have the dimensional stability of Acraglas for a bedding job. But plenty are just as good for this one, and cheaper. A slow-setting epoxy gives you the chance to rectify a mistake.

If you do use metal pins, and the dimensions of the wood give adequate strength whil having them end about a tenth of an inch below the surface, you can cut little cross-grained plugs with a small holesaw and drill. Any metal tubing will be good enough to make one which will last for one job.

Thanks for all the good info.
The piece hasn’t come off yet but I am not sure how old the repair is or what exactly was used. I am definitely keeping an eye on the size of the cracks to make sure they don’t open up with use.

Another way to do this is go to your local hardware store and buy some brass machine screws. Make the hole just enough smaller than the screw that you have to screw it into the wood. Put some glue in the hole and on the screw and screw it in. Cut the screw head off and carefully file it flush.

I used the brass screws and 2 part epoxy on my Yugo M48. Worked great and extremely strong.
hc18flyer

That’s a pretty good idea too. I might have to see how long they are and just go ahead and put a few in. I really like the shotgun and after a few skeet sessions, the gun still shoots like a champ.

clean out the old **** best you can, acraglass it (not gel imo the gel is too thick for cracks), work the glass in the crack and clamp it. will be stronger than the original wood, and really no need for pins.

Used Acraglass to repair a split sledge hammer handle. It got lots of use afterwards and held up fine. There were 2 or 3 splits from the head to within about 8 inches of the end.

https://youtu.be/x-HdLKcSu1w

There is a longer version of this (20+ minutes), but this is a quick video where Larry Potterfield shows how he does it. I suggest watching the longer one before deciding, but it is up to you.

God Bless, and One Love.

GoodOlBoy

Found the full version, sorry.

https://youtu.be/AAMspI1BeyI

enjoy, and God Bless.

GoodOlBoy