Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
The owner came by yesterday afternoon to look at the problem we have with the Butt Stock cracks, the damaged bottom corners and the 2 missing chips on the top of the receiver end of the stock.
Talked about the options and what it would take to repair each problem and what I believed would be the quality and longevity of each repair according to what he he saw as the usage pattern for the gun. He is adamant about it being a shooter for the range and maybe some rabbit, gopher and such hunting. So this means solid, strong and working repairs ... no eye candy solutions.
He chose the amputation option:
Only difference being the top cut will start about another 1/2" to 3/4" further back ( to the right in the picture ). Will use a little steeper cut angle and come out about the same place on the bottom. He wanted further back to make sure the larger and longer crack is totally eliminated and the new piece is attached to solid wood on the stock.
So today I will get a piece of walnut and do some experimenting on methods to get the new piece fabricated along with getting final repairs and prep done on the stock for the refinish.
If the Action Bar fix doesn't come through ( which I fully expect it will ) were gonna have really nice and pretty "wall hanging" or a really nice large paper weight.
Have done a rethink on fixing the Butt Stock. After I got finished with the first sanding I was kinda surprised at how well the major crack and the other two sanded out as far as appearance. So I thought I might look again at gluing them.
Since the decision had been made for the amputation and replacement this gave me the freedom to see if I could open the crack enough to get glue into it. If I happened to crack it a little more in the attempt and the attempt failed the replacement solution was still on the table.
So I forced the crack open and in doing that it really didn't do any more damage. Just tapped a wedge in a little at a time with a small hammer as far as I dared fearing hearing that loud little "snap" signalling I had gone too far. Forced glue into the crack the full length of the crack. When I got it clamped glue was coming out on the inside and the outside of the crack so there is glue filling the entire length of the crack.
The 3 holes that are in the stock serve no purpose that I can see. There are no corresponding pegs that fit into those holes that would serve as stays or posts that would prevent the stock from turning. So I filled the holes with epoxy. You can notice where the epoxy worked itself out through the small cracks. The epoxy will fill the holes and the small cracks and strengthen those areas.
There was glue further back but I had already scraped and cleaned it out before I remembered I was wanting to take pictures.
So - an hour and half into a 4 hour wait for things to set up. Overkill on time I'm sure but better safe than sorry. I need a little time - well a lot of time for shop cleanup - got stuff laying around that needs to be put back in it's proper place.
If this works out and seems to be stable ... will just slice the chipped area out on an angle with the band saw and replace that area with a walnut replacement slice.
Stripping and first sanding revealed these problems:
The 3 holes filled with epoxy then squared away.
Need to get the chipped area sawed away and a piece of walnut cut to take it's place. When I get that done it will be one final once over with 400 Grit sandpaper and ready for stain. These are 220 Grit finished.
Got the ribs finished on the fore grip. Was a fun time getting a thick and kinda semi soft combination of finish, dirt and oil out of the ribs so they would take a stain and finish. Really never thought about that being a chore when I started filling in the missing ribs but the fresh wood where I was working and feathering in the new ribs showed real quick the ribs all the way around were going to have to be cleaned out and sanded down.
Did some sanding and reshaping on the bottom front corners that butt up to the receiver. A good amount of wood was missing on the inside of the right corner. So I sanded that out flat to remove any rough surface and to prevent any further splintering. I then reshaped the corners to a little more rounded look. Also removed some of the stock surface and feathered the stock down toward the new corners. This is going to leave some additional metal showing just above the safety. When I prepare the Trigger Group refinish I will polish the metal in this area above the safety on both sides and blue it when I do the rest of the Trigger Group. I don't think it will be something anyone will notice unless they are a Model 12 nut or expert and just know the gun that well.
I was really concerned about getting the stock prepped back toward the Butt Plate edges. Sanding these down is usually not a concern because if need be the Butt Plate can be easily modified to match however much wood was removed in the sanding prep. Not the case here. Shaving down and reforming the STEEL Butt Plate is not something I think would be a "fun" endeavor if I went over board in working this area down. They were pretty dark on both sides about an inch in from the rear of the Butt Stock.
I would have liked to have finished this with just TruOil but I don't think that is going to work. I am going to check by applying a little to the Butt Stock and the Fore Grip but I am afraid the two pieces are made from two different batches of walnut and I don't believe the Fore Grip will be near as dark as the Butt Stock is going be with just the TruOil finish and no stain.
Should have worked on getting the chipped area done today but the multiple hours of sanding did me in for the day. I have become more of a "sissy" in my advancing years.
Trigger Assembly completed. Got it cleaned and oiled. Worked on the rust pitting and a few battle scars had to be filed, sanded and buffed out before the Assembly was blued. One more task done.
Guest Post provided by:
Bobby Turner - STOCKAID RESTORATIONS - stockaidrestorations@gmail.com.
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