Cracked stock, Marlin 1895G

[thx997303]

I got me a new Marlin 1895G and the rifle is beautiful. Only problem being, the stock is cracked.

Well, I talked to Marlin, and they said that this was pretty common recently. They will be sending me a new stock for it.

Question I have is, has anybody else run into this with recent production marlins?

[DLCTEX]

Where is the crack? Wrist or butt?

[lbaize3]

I believe that Marlin is right. When I worked at a local gun shop we received several Marlin lever actions with cracked stocks. One memorable one was a Cowboy Competition 45 Colt model. It was cracked at the wrist when the box was opened. No real obvious damage to the box. The distributor replaced the rifles without comment. No idea if they were damaged in shipping or were shipped with cracked stocks. One would think that quality control would catch cracks before the weapon shipped. Definately a conundrum.

[thx997303]

Well, here's some pics.

http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll331/thx997303/100_1649.jpg

http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll331/thx997303/100_1653.jpg

[OutHuntn84]

That just stinks you would think they would have better quality control than that. Sure had pretty wood. Did you figure this out before or after you shot it?

[Tn_River_Ratt]

I haven't seen any cracks on my 1895m, but my curiosity will make me check as soon as I get home from work...Thanks

Ratt

[thx997303]

The cracks were discovered before it was shot.

I got a little excess oil on the tang, and didn't want the stock to swell, so I took it off to wipe the oil off, and tada! Cracks.

[pls1911]

It's a shame to have cracks on a new stock, and marlin should replace it without question.
KEEP YOUR STOCK.
I just restored a 40's vintage Marlin stock which was split through the wrist half way to the heel, about a 1/2 inch gap with the tang screw block and seating area simply distroyed.
New stocks just didn't quite fit right, and certainly could not do this fine old gun justice, so patience with splinters on the outside has really paid off!

The internals have been epoxied and are about to be carefully resculpted to a perfect fit.
When finished, the warmth and character of age and field use will have been carefully preserved, and the aged old stock better and stronger than new.

[Frank]

What is your secret? Once it has a crack, there's inherent weakness in the wood and it will eventually split again. Right?

[jh45gun]

I have used Epoxy on some old stocks that were cracked and they held up fine. I added walnut stain powder to the epoxy which helped mask the repair.

[Marlin Hunter]

That just stinks you would think they would have better quality control than that. Sure had pretty wood. Did you figure this out before or after you shot it?


It is probably not their fault. If the tree was not properly dried out, the wood could crack several months after it was made into a stock. I think the problem is caused when the trees dry out too quickly.

[thx997303]

I still have not received the new stock, which is a problem because I'm moving soon.

:groner:

[flounderman]

if the wood fits too tight and is not sealed, it can absorb moisture and swell and crack. the wood should have finish everywhere, including under the butt plate. any wood left unsealed and the stock can absorb moisture. the wood is kiln dried before the stock blanks are cut from it, so a tight fit, lack of proper sealing and moisture are the likely reasons the stocks split.

[pls1911]

Use TiteBond wood glue or clear epoxy.
Clamp from various angles.
Bonds are stronger than the origenal wood.
AFTER exterior contours are secure, rebuild interior surfaces with bedding compound. Remember, it's nothing more than epoxy thickened with glass micro ballons (get resin, hardener, glass balloons & more at RAKA Resins).
If it's gonna show, microfine sawdust from MDF mixed with clear epoxy makes a dark paste that cure strong and rock hard.
Good luck.

[beagle]

I read this somewhere. Marlin originally rough fitted stocks to the tang tightly and then used a red hot tang template and "burned in" the final fit. This was way back when. This would, I think, tend to give a very close fit and at the same time harden and seal the grain in the wood. I guess now, they have a CNC pantograph that inlets them pretty closely. Some of their wood is plain jane and leaves a lot to be desired as well and is probably not cured as well as it once was./beagle

[AnthonyB]

beagle; check your PMs and e-mail.
Tony

[skeet1]

I have a 1894 CB .44 Mag that developed a crack in the wrist. I used some Elmer's Wood Glue and so far so good. Usually cracks like mine are caused by too tight a fit at the end of the tang so I relieved this area just a little.

Skeet1

[Dan Cash]

I got the same problem on my 95 Win. About 1900 Winchester started getting that wet grown Alabama walnut instead of the slower grown Kansas wood that they used with earlier model rifles. Had to wrap some wet rawhide around the stock to fix it. Stuff just ain't as good as it used to be.

[Dale53]

A friend had a nice 30'06 bolt action rifle and the stock split through the magazine well and out the side of the stock. Horrible. It was not an expensive rifle but money was short in those days. I took it home, re-enforced the recoil lug with a steel bolt (like military Mausers were re-enforced). Used expoxy and built the whole front of the stock in front of the magazine box out of re-enforced epoxy. I refinished the whole stock and glass bedded the remainder of the wood. Full floated the barrel of the light sporter. When I finished it looked FAR better than new and the repaired area became the strongest part of the stock.

It shot under a minute of an angle to three hundred yards, reliably. I had the pleasure of going on a bear hunt with him in Canada and we both got nice bears, afterwards.

The whole problem was created by a terrible factory bedding job - the recoil lug on the action was NOT properly supported. The barreled action got a running start against the weakest part of a bolt action stock and just flat broke all of the wood out.

Dale53

[MGySgt]

My 1895 GG purchased when they first came out had a crack in the wrist within the first month. Called Marlin and they sent a new one right away - like within a week. It too was a tight fit but hasn't cracked again and that is a long time ago.

I was surprised when Marlin quit porting them, but shouldn't have been. That sucker really barks with heavy hand loads.

Drew

[thx997303]

Well, here it is, 15 days later. No stock.

I guess I'll have to call Marlin again.

[thx997303]

Called Marlin, and they failed to inform me that the stock was on backorder.

They expect shipment very soon.

We'll see.

[DarthTater]

It's pretty amazing what good glue will do for a stock:

http://www.fluidlight.com/Guns/03_sporter_5.jpg

(40 years and still solid as a rock.)

A hundred years ago, I guess it was different:

http://www.fluidlight.com/Guns/1894_rifle_3.jpg

But, yeah, out of the box, it ought to be a little different...

[Lloyd Smale]

little hint. Ask them when you talk to them if you can pay a bit extra and get select wood. Marlin does have a stockpile of nicer wood and id about bet if you asked and offered to pay theyd do it for nothing.

[HangFireW8]

Hmm. That crack looks familiar.

Bought a 444SS more than a decade ago, a couple years later (I shot it a lot) I noticed it was a little loose on the gun. Tightened it up, right after that the stock cracked. Looks a lot like yours. They sent me another one, I sent the cracked one back after I got it.

About 5 years later, that one cracked, they sent another one, only question was what color was the forearm, so they could try to match the wood. Kept the cracked one.

A couple of years ago I noticed the first replacement stock was getting a little loose. I did the threaded brass rod/epoxy fix on the second cracked stock.Then I glass bedded it to the 444SS. Yes, you can glass bed a buttstock. Some would call it skin bedding. You are eliminating any gap or clearance. It is possible to epoxy weld the whole gun together while doing it. Use commercial epoxy release and leave the gun pointing "up" while it dries.

This year I took the loose one and put a Pachmayr Decelerator recoil pad on it, and put it on a different Marlin. I liked it so much, I did the same thing to my 444SS. I also changed the butt angle, sloped the toe forward a bit to not dig into my pecks.

So, yeah, hold onto the cracked one, it can be fixed.

-HF

[thx997303]

That's actually kinda funny.

I had tightened the screw on the stock when I received it because it felt a bit loose.

Guess I oughta bed the new stock and repair the old one then.

And as an aside, I still have not received the new stock.

[LILLARD]

The same thing happened to a freinds new guide gun. The stocks were on back order it took a while but they sent him a new stock but it don't match the forearm.

[PatMarlin]

Ben can fix it like new.

[thx997303]

Remind me who Ben is.

[No_1]

Everyone knows Ben:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/member.php?u=441

Robert

[thx997303]

I hate when my brain stops working. :oops:

[PatMarlin]

My brains stops daily,. Like right now even ...:mrgreen:

[thx997303]

Well, no stock yet.

Kinda annoying really, gues I'm gonna call Marlin in the morning.

[thx997303]

Still no stock.

Been shooting the gun anyway, the accuracy of this gun is nice.

Going to call Marlin today.

[thx997303]

And now I'm pissed off.

They don't have an order on record. Bull.

I've called them about this stock several times.

What the hell is wrong with their customer service?

[HangFireW8]

What the hell is wrong with their customer service?

You probably just called the wrong person at the wrong time.

The problem is 2009, the busiest year ever for the industry. I've returned more stuff bought in 2009 than any year in over 20 years of reloading, and it was not my busiest buying year, not by a long shot.

The good news is, of Lyman, Lee, and RCBS, all took care of me. Now its Lyman's turn again. I'll spare everyone the vitriol throwing until they make it right or fall on there face.

But for now, it will take another 2 years to make up for the QC problems of the last year.

-HF

[thx997303]

Well, got an email yesterday.

My stock is in the mail and should be here next tuesday.

Bout time.

[JesterGrin_1]

Wow fast Service only 3 months and 16 days lol. Hope it works out. :)

[gon2shoot]

Ya got to learn patience with the 45-70 jer lol

[thx997303]

Well, I now have the new stock in hand.

Guess I should get to repairing the old one.

[rmaster14145]

i just got a marlin .357 rifle. SAME crack as yourse. the shop had already called marlin and they had 2 on the way. YES, the store had 2 marlin rifles. the one i got had a small crack. the other rifle stock was in 2 pieces. YES the stock was broken into 2 pieces.

the shop owner said he called marlin and they said they were on the way. he also said they must have known they had a problem because they did not ask nim any questions.

rm

[45r]

Well at least you got a 45-70 with 2 stocks now.sure did take a while though.I got an XLR even though I've never been into SS rifles but I'm glad I did.it is very accurate.I'm thinking it won't have any stock problems.The quality looks very good with perfect wood to metal fit.

[tcrocker]

I got a 1895 gs when they first came out and mine was broke into twp pieces . They guy I had order it took it back and got me another one.