Fix for gooned stock?

[PBSmith]

A previous owner of my treasured varmint rifle did a horrible job of installing sling swivel studs in the walnut stock. I'd like to make a respectable-looking fix.

The wood damage is extensive enough that those synthetic bullseye inserts are probably not going to make things look any better. I don't need or want sling swivels.

Looking for ideas and photos of options for an inlay of wood, metal or ?? material that you or others have made in a stock. The front hole will be easy: the aft one will be difficult because the gooned job was done off-center.

Any suggestions or links for such fixes will be appreciated.

[farmbif]

do you have some wood to make , lets say for example square shape pieces to inlay? I'm no expert but have a old 870 that someone put inlays into, it looks great, it was done right. I'm guessing they made some pieces that matched exactly and then carefully chiseled out spaces in stock and fore end to fit the pieces in, carefully sanded flush and refinished.

[farmbif]

come to think of it there is a video on youtube done by scotty of scotties gun shop where he repairs buggered stock and shows every aspect of how its done.
on youtube he goes by poboyspecial

[243winxb]

Make holes round, uniform on the surface. Add dye to match color of wood. Fill. Finish by matching gloss or semi dull.

The forearm needs to be a blind hole.

[country gent]

Use a plug cutter and cut couple plugs from under the butt plate. about 3/8" long and dia needed to cover the area. carefully fill holes with glue and match stick and drill a snug hole for plugs back on center line if needed. finish down to match stock. Plug cutters can be found at most home improvement stores in with the wood dowels

[243winxb]

Someone pried these grips off a revolver with a screw driver. Left a lot of damage. Given to me for free. Repaired and sold on Gunbroker. Used same method to repair a Ruger #1 forearm that had gouge when the guys screw drive slipped removing scope mounts.

[pietro]

.

FWIW, "easy" doesn't translate to "best"...….

If you plug the holes with a round wood dowel, the end grain will always stand out from the stock's natural graining; bedding compound/epoxy leaves a smooth/plain surface appearance, even if dyed.

I instead cut a slightly oversized plug from the side grain of wood similar to the stock wood (usually a piece of walnut board ), and fit it to the hole, being sure to mix a little walnut sanding dust into whatever adhesive I use to secure the plug.

.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

There are swivels bases that use two screws and are inlet into the wood. Installing them requires careful work with inletting tools, maybe a Dremel with a sanding drum, they do cover a good area. Usually found on really high dollar rifles. New England Custom Gun, Brownell's might have something similar, a little pricey but looks good when done.

[wv109323]

Woodworker supply stores have dowel rods of walnut. Or there is a special tool that cuts plugs from boards. That way you get cross grain instead of end grain. Drill out the hole to dowel rod/plug size. Glue dowel rod in place. Sand and refinish.
A tip is to wipe all excess glue off with a wet rag so finish is uniform.
A cabinet maker/woodworker may have a plug cutter.

[Wayne Smith]

Plug cutters are cheap! When you install a plug pay attention to the way the grain runs - it needs to be the same as the stock or it will be obvious.

[gwpercle]

Do a search on the term " Rifle Stock Inlays" all sorts of neat stuff pops up . There are plastic , black looks like buffalo horn , contrasting woods , nickel silver , brass in all manner of shapes and designs .
There are how to do it video's ... make your inlays simple or skies the limit .
I've inlayed a few in my stock making days when the only source was a Herter's Catalog !
Exacto knife kit and your imagination is all you need .
Gary