Gunsmithing Repair ideas?

[Ranchhand]

I'm a dummy. I fell on my rifle. Zero shifted 1 mil low, windage was still good. After re zeroing I noticed this crack in the stock.
My initial thought is to just keep using it and see if it gets worse. It's a 6.5 creedmoor.
Thanks.

 

[Shoots 700's]

Buy a chassis

 

[Ranchhand]

Maybe

 

[Lunchbox27]

Shoot it and see if there is an issue. You can always throw it in a KRG Bravo

 

[Trigger Monkey]

Once the wrist cracks it's not likely to stay that way but it's not an uncommon issue and it's reparable for sure.

Stock Wrist Crack Repair: Step by Step

I will be shooting this one, a Reising M50 submachine gun, once the final NFA approval arrives. But meanwhile, the registered owner has allowed me to take the stock for the necessary repair work for a crack in the wrist. My goal was to preserve the outward appearance of the stock (it's really...

www.northeastshooters.com

There's a bunch of other articles and videos on similar stock repairs so it's definitely doable.

 

[acudaowner]

you can do it .

 

[Ranchhand]

Thanks for the ideas. Really wish I didn't fall on my rifle

 

[Highbrass]

I have repaired a few like that. If you can, use a razor knife and lift the cracked piece up enough to clean under it with alcohol.
then use plenty of Cyanoacrylate glue and use a clamp or something to apply pressure while it cures.
should keep it from getting worse

 

[Makinchips208]

Thanks for the ideas. Really wish I didn't fall on my rifle

You are not a dummy for falling on your rifle.
If you decided to fall on it just for fun, then you might be a dummy.
I’m sure you will get it fixed well enough.

 

[Mike Casselton]

That stinks, sorry to see that happen.

Not sure where your fall occurred, but something I learned when my dad bent a scope was this:

Never carry a rifle on the uphill side when walking hills. If you fall, you'll land right on it every time.

Always carry the rifle on the downhill side. If you fall, you'll instinctively protect it.

 

[spife7980]

Thanks for the ideas. Really wish I didn't fall on my rifle

Just glue it back together, pin it if possible.

Ive got an anschutz thats had the wrist broken off a couple times from falls now. A bit of glue and a day later its back to the firing line.

 

[Ranchhand]

That stinks, sorry to see that happen.

Not sure where your fall occurred, but something I learned when my dad bent a scope was this:

Never carry a rifle on the uphill side when walking hills. If you fall, you'll land right on it every time.

Always carry the rifle on the downhill side. If you fall, you'll instinctively protect it.

I've got skills, I was going straight up hill.

 

[Ranchhand]

Just glue it back together, pin it if possible.

Ive got an anschutz thats had the wrist broken off a couple times from falls now. A bit of glue and a day later its back to the firing line.

The crack doesn't appear deep. I can't flex the stock to spread the cracks.
I took some fine sand paper and made it smooth, reapplied linseed oil and I'll continue to use. If it gets worse I will reassess.

 

[Wannashootit]

Wrist cracks usually occur (absent falling on the rifle ) where the stock isn't inletted correctly and the back end of the tang is in contact with the stock.
This can even occur over time (stocks that aren't epoxy bedded), as the wood behind the recoil lug compresses slightly and a tang that had little clearance to begin with is now transferring recoil forces into the buttstock- common with milsurps.

Confirm your tang has clearance all around, since you can't spread the crack open manually (if you could get a small gap, I would inject some heated epoxy) I wouldn't expect it to get worse.

 

[Ranchhand]

The rifle is pillar bedded and the recoil lug and tang are bedded with marine tex.
Thanks for all the ideas everyone.

 

[elwarpo]

Couple of options... wish you did not applued linseed oil as you have oiled the wood face that needs to be reglued. Can you flex it to get the crack to expand, you do not need much. If you can then apply thin gorilla glue. Cyano acrylate is strong but brittle. As wood expands and contracts it will crack. Gorilla glue is polyurethane based and more flexible. It also foams and expands during cure to fill cracks. If you cannot get it to expand, pick up some solvent based polyurethane varnish. Force this into the crack with a rag. Soak the corner of the rag heavily and force it into the crack. Over time it will cure, fill the gap and bond the wood. Soak the rag in water before throwing it out to prevent spontaneous vombustion. ALWAYS SOAK LINSEED OIL RAGS IN WATER THEY WILL COMBUST.

 

[Bigfatcock]

It’d be best of you can get the crack to flex open a bit, but you then run the risk of spreading the crack.

I would use something like west systems epoxy. Use hot tap water to warm up the two parts separately, then mix them together. Or mix and heat, just keep in mind you’ll shorten your open time.

Heat the crack and surrounding wood with a heat gun. 150 degrees on the heat gun will get you where you need to be. The wood just needs to be warm, not burnt.

Apply the epoxy with a syringe. It should seep down well if the stock and epoxy are warm. Lightly clamp as epoxy is good to gap fill, and doesn’t need as much compression as PVA wood glues. That should fix it.

If you get epoxy every were, refinish the stock after it is all dry, lol. But I would just tape around the crack or rub some wax around the crack as a release agent to any epoxy that may get where you don’t want it.

 

[chevy_man]

Well now you've done the worst thing you could ever do and put oil in the repair.


Acra-glass. You're going to need to spread it, clean it, and epoxy it into place. This is the only guarantee it doesn't pop on you one day.

Look up Mark Novak on YouTube. Crazy amount of info on fixing broken wood. Lots of times he's fixing what the last guy thought he was fixing, but ended up a fail.


Glues don't belong in wood. Solid epoxy is an actual permanent fix.

 

[Bigfatcock]

Well now you've done the worst thing you could ever do and put oil in the repair.


Acra-glass. You're going to need to spread it, clean it, and epoxy it into place. This is the only guarantee it doesn't pop on you one day.

Look up Mark Novak on YouTube. Crazy amount of info on fixing broken wood. Lots of times he's fixing what the last guy thought he was fixing, but ended up a fail.


Glues don't belong in wood. Solid epoxy is an actual permanent fix.

Yeah, the oil is a bummer. If redoing the whole stock he can just flood it with acetone.

 

[Ranchhand]

I do appreciate the advice from everyone, thank you.
I removed the barreled action and tried to spread the crack, no joy.
I made the decision to sand it smooth and see what happens.
If it gets to where I can spread the crack I will wash the whole stock with acetone and fill with some epoxy.
I will comment here if or when I do something regarding my crack.
Thanks again.

 

[elwarpo]

Xylene is a better linseed oil solvent than acetone. Acetone evaporates too fast to wick out the oil. Do it outside, both are very flammable and toxic to breathe. What linseed oil did you use? Some will crosslink and act as a weak glue.

 

[Ranchhand]

Good to know, thanks.
I will see what oil I used.

 

[Ranchhand]

I used klean strip boiled linseed oil.