How to reglue a stock

[happy7]

I have a Styer M95 where the stock was cracked all the way through on one side of the receiver, and glued with wood glue, I believe, but not clamped, apparently, as there is now a glue filled gap about 1/16 thick. It is strong enough but really ugly. It has been this way since I had it for many years, but I would like to fix it. How do I get this old glue out so that I can re-glue it properly? Any ideas?

[happy7]

bump bump

[Molly]

I have a Styer M95 where the stock was cracked all the way through on one side of the receiver, and glued with wood glue, I believe, but not clamped, apparently, as there is now a glue filled gap about 1/16 thick. It is strong enough but really ugly. It has been this way since I had it for many years, but I would like to fix it. How do I get this old glue out so that I can re-glue it properly? Any ideas?

Yeah. Dig a few small chips of the old glue out, and add to a bit of water, or a bit of paint stripper, a litttle xylene, or a bit of water to see which will soften it. Whatever does the job, get a small paint brush or an artists brush, and swab the glue down regularly. As it softens, dig (preferably with something like a toothpick and a stiff bristled toothbrush) the softened glue out carefully, until you're down to bare wood.

If that's too much trouble, try Numrich Gun Parts for the easy fix.

Molly

[bruce drake]

Molly's easy fix is to buy a replacement stock from Numrich. They might still have them in stock.

Once you get the glue out of the crack, I had an Arisaka that was cracked at the magazine and wrist area. I drilled out holes slightly smaller than the diameter of several brass screws I had and then glued the cracks with a two-stage slow-cure epoxy. While the epoxy was setting I then inserted the screws and cut the heads off flush with the level of the stockwood.

After the epoxy cured, I had reinforced the stock while still keeping the weapon original. Now it is one of my favorite shooters.

Bruce

[happy7]

Thanks for the ideas. The stock is the original with matching serial number, so I don't want to replace it.

[Molly]

One other thought to consider: I have no idea of the size, location or configuration of the crack, so this might not work. But if the crack is suitable, there are two more alternatives that might be worth considering.

1. A crack - though repaired - is still a very weak spot. You might want to consider cutting the entire cracked area out with a dremel tool and epoxy in a block of hardwood that matches the stock reasonably well. This will give a more obvious repair, but one that's probably stronger than the stock was to begin with.

2. If that sounds intimidating, go back to cutting out the crack with a dremel tool, and save all the shavings and sawdust. This would also be a good time to consider refinishing the stock, which would provide more sawdust from sanding. You might even want to consider scraping some of the unexposed surfaces (barrel channel, under the buttplate, etc) for more wood dust.

Now estimate the volume of the cavity, and mix enough epoxy to fill it, along with all the shavings and sawdust you can get. Try to add enough wood to make a pretty stiff paste of it. Undercut the (formerly) cracked area a bit to be sure the patch holds. Then press the epoxy paste into the cavity, and use a putty knife to smooth it off reasonably well. Once cured, a light sanding will bring it to the contour of the stock. It will still be an obvious repair, but it will match the color of the wood, and will be strong as BLEEP!

Note: DO NOT use 5 minute epoxy for this! I recommend a liquid, two component something like Brownells Accraglass, but any hardware store two pack with at least a 20 minute working life should be fine. Let it harden and cure for at least a couple of days before shooting it.

[happy7]

More good ideas, thanks.

[corvette8n]

I repaired a totally broken stock with pins cut from a brass rod and Gorillia glue.

[bruce drake]

Gorilla Glue expands as it cures. How smooth was the resulting bond?

Bruce

[shooter575]

Good info from everyone,here is my .02 worth
Getting out the old glue is most important.Along with any solvent that works,heat may help also.
Dental picks, x zacto knife etc. I have been using "West system epoxy"I use the slow setting hardner
But any brand will work.But get the slowest setting you can as it will be stronger.
I keep all my wood scraping,sanding dust just for this usage.You can also color epoxy.I use powdered
poster paint brown that makes a a great walnutcolor for glass bedding.Colored chalk dust scraping work
great also.I swiped the kids pastels.It does not take much.As each epoxy brand may be a bit diffrent color
be sure to make little test batches for color match.The wood dust is like stone in concreat,it gives the strength.
Depend on the break I sometimes use pins.If I can drill a hole that will be under the triger guard,under the barrel
so it will ce covered all the better.I have good luck with common nails cut to length and epoxyed in.
If you have time to watch it after a couple hours the glue is still somewhat rubbery.A razor blade can cut any exess off
cleanly .
Hope this helps.

[Bret4207]

Gorilla Glue won't expand if you clamp it. Yes, the excess will squish out, but it won't force the crack apart if clamped. Surgical tubing is the ticket for wrapping gun stocks in a case like this.

I'd recommend something much more vicious than Gorilla Glue for stock work, something like Acra Glass. I have used Gorilla Glue and it works well for those not too important jobs. I fixed a shattered Stevens 410 bolt shotgun stock that had pieces missing. Sanded it down and the GG filled the missing spots well enough for rabbit hunting.

[shooter575]

On thing I found out about Gorilla Glue is it need moisture to cure.I apply glue to one surface and wet the other surface. I keep a spray bottle of H2o handy for this.This is on other non firearm projects though

[tn gun runner]

I've repaired about 30 stock and the best stuff I found has been Marine- Tex [like JB weld] most bench shooter use it for glass bedding [better that accra-glass] it don't shink and
solvents don't both it . I had a stock in 4 piece , the prettiest wood I ever saw . did it over 10
yrs ago and still in one piece the last time I saw it .

http://www.brunoshooters.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=BSS&Category_Code=3M

[MtGun44]

Use Tite-Bond 2 (not 1) glue, clamp with many wraps of nylon line like
parachute cord, or surgical tubing. Gorilla glue foams and tries to push
the parts apart and is only a reasonably decent glue for wood anyway
compared to glues made specifically for high strength joints. Resorcinol
two-part is the very best but expensive, messy and unnecessarily strong
for your application. Some of the better epoxies are good, but epoxies
have WIDELY varying properties, some are blended to cure hard and
brittle, others soft and stretchy. Titebond 2 is waterproof and extremely
strong, but requires a clean surface and tight fitting joint, no more than
aroun 0.005" gap for max strength, altho it works OK at around .010", but
will look bad on a stock with that gap. Water cleanup before it dries, available
in Home Depot, Lowes, hardware stores.

You must get the old glue out. With a good glue and a clean joint,
the glue joint is stronger than the original wood. This is proven many
times in wooden aircraft construction. Clean wood, good contact,
good glue = good joint.

Bill