Hairline cracks/walnut/glue?

[Stevie]

I was rubbing some blo into the wood on my ancient M1 carbine..and noticed a couple hairline cracks in the wood that I hadn't realized were cracks.:(

About the only thing to do (that I can think of) is to de-grease these areas..and work some thin superglue into the cracks.

Does anybody have any special favorite 'super-glue' brand that is clear, thin and holds well?

Thanx, Stevie

[calaloo]

Woodcraft has some very thin super glue that I have used to repair and fill cracks in stocks. you can order it online if you dont have a Woodcraft store in your area. Here is a link :

http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2021102/24487/Instant-Bond-CA-Adhesive-Thin-2-oz.aspx?refcode=05INFROO&gdd=149430

[nicholst55]

Brownells carries something similar; Satellite City Hot Glue (http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=13081/Product/HOT_STUFF_INSTANT_GLUE). For that matter, plain old Acraglas (http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=1033/Product/ACRAGLAS_reg_) works very well for repairing cracked stocks.

[hornsurgeon]

after cleaning out the cracks extreamly well. then mix up some slow set or 2 ton epoxy. place it on the crack, then heat up the epoxy. i found the best way is to heat a metal ruler and use it to spoon the epoxy on to the crack. the heat will thin the epoxy down to near water viscosity and not damage the integrity of the epoxy glue job.

[Char-Gar]

Superglue will work, but Brownells Acra-Glas thinned with a little mineral spirits is a far better adhesive.

[MtGun44]

Hot epoxy will be much better than superglue in this application.

Bill

[gnoahhh]

Heating and/or thinning epoxy WILL effect it's integrity, but probably not enough to matter in a situation like a hairline crack in a gun stock. I worked in a yacht carpentry shop for a long time, where our epoxy use was measured in 50 gallon drums per year. Believe me when I tell you we tried every trick in the book, including heat and thinning, under controlled circumstances, and found that nothing beats letting epoxy to cure in it's own sweet time. Tutorials conducted by epoxy industry engineers at our shop confirmed this. (Amazing how much industry support you get when you're buying that much epoxy!)

[Wally]

Hot epoxy will be much better than superglue in this application.

Bill

Bill,
I have a Marlin .45 Camp Carbine with the infamous crack in the wood stock just back of the receiver---would hot epoxy work well to mend it? Is it best to fill with the epoxy and let set or to fill then squeeze/clamp it and then let the epoxy cure? Sure wish I would have bought a Ramline stock for it when they were still available cheap.

[MtGun44]

Should work fine, as long as it is clean and then clamped tight. Don't overheat the epoxy, it can
weaken it and will greatly speed up the cure, which may be problematic. If I need the
epoxy to be less viscous, I warm it with a hair dryer just a bit. No need to get it very hot,
most epoxies dramatically thin out with a bit of gentle warming, maybe 110-120F. In the
summer, working in a hot 95F garage, probably will need no heating. In the winter, 50F
epoxies are much more viscous and hard to get to flow down into small cracks.

Also, look into the root cause. Like possibly using Acraglass (filled epoxy) to glass bed the
stock to fit the receiver in the rear which will strengthen the stock and spread the load
from recoil evenly to prevent a recurrence. Get a kit from Brownell's which has dyes to match
the stock color, but other epoxies (not 5 minute) with a proper filler like cotton flocking or
short fiber glass fluff will work FOR GLASS BEDDING. They also supply a good mold release, too.
Easiest to use the Acraglass kit for most people. Pure epoxy without significant filler is what
you want to use for getting into a tiny crack.

Bill

[Wally]

Thanks....will see what I can do--the cause is the bolt blowback. Too much for the wood stock...

[Bret4207]

Wally, you're a lucky dog to have that Carbine. Wish I'd bought the one I saw.

On the cracks- one thing to consider is WHY is the crack there? If it's a structural crack from recoil or poor bedding that's one thing, but if it's from drying and seasonal humidity changes and you fill the crack...you might end up moving the crack to another location. Think it through before making a change you can't undo.

[David2011]

Almost all superglue products cure to a very brittle state. There are some that are advertised as flexible cure but I've never used the flexible stuff. Like they said, stick with epoxy. WEST System is fairly easy to find and has a variety of hardeners for different temperature ranges. WEST also has a good range of fillers. I wouldn't hesitate to mix it with their milled glass fibers to bed a stock. This assumes familiarity with mold release agents or your stock and action will become one.

David

[Canuck Bob]

I've had good success with unwaxed dental floss to clean, degrease and then introduce glue in thin wood cracks. I also use epoxy heated, it flows like alcohol and better than water. I build a little dam with masking tape and use a heat gun and a razor craft knife to open the crack a smidgeon. In fact masking tape to not get glue on the stock is recommended with any adhesive work.

I see no reason why super glues won't work for small thin cracks. For structural repairs I would avoid it.

The biggest problem will be contamination of the glue surfaces. Do all you can without hurting the finish to flush the stock oils and gun oil from the crack. Test your solvent on a hidden spot first but good old alcohol works good. Not the drinking kind it contains too much water and might swell things up.