AmericanLongRifles Forums
General discussion => Gun Building => Topic started by: jdkangas on May 31, 2010, 05:33:18 PM
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About 30 years ago, when I was 20 years old, I built a Bethlehem County style longrifle. It shot well, but I made a lot of mistakes and was never happy with it. I finally got around to restocking it and things were going well until my wife yelled at me for something, I got distracted, and the rifle fell off my drill press table. The stock broke in two right through the lock mortice area. I was able to glue the stock back together, but things got stretched out about 1/4 inch. I was able to move the underlug inlets and stretch out the tang a bit, but I'm left with an unsightly gap at the front of my lock inlet. I'm at a loss on how to fix this other than filling in the gap with wood filler. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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I would glue in a block of wood matching the grain as close as possible and reinlet the lock.It would be a lot less noticeable than useing filler of any kind.
Mitch
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Jd, I had one that bothered me for years. It was the angle of the lock, it just didn't look right. I did what Tallbear recommended. I did plane down the panel, can't remember how much, but the glue joint, pretty much fell in with some moulding, I re-inlet the lock, correctly this time, and you would never know it was done. Good luck!
Robby
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I would glue in a block of wood matching the grain as close as possible and reinlet the lock.It would be a lot less noticeable than useing filler of any kind.
Mitch
That will work and farther on down the road fouling and gunk will hide that line. If you already have a fairly dark finish on the lock mortice border it will be easier to blend in that line.. I know of at least one rifle (not mine) where filler was used and it looks terrible... ::)
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Filler stands out. I have even used plane shavings from the stocks construction to fill gaps etc.
DP
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I am a little concerned about how "things got stretched out"? Can you describe the repair you have already made please? A 1/4" gap is a rather large one and if that is nothing but glue the integrity of the rejoin is in question. Until the break is repaired in a manner which will give it strength, pursuing any of the cosmetic solutions around the lock is a waste of effort.
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That must have been quite a yell! ;D
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Well, 1/4" is on H of a gap....... and a lil more than stretched out. IMHO. I think I would make a new stock for it & eliminate the errors from the past & present. ;)
Keith Lisle
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If you look at the lock panel straight on, the break was on an angle from the upper right to lower left. I had two jagged edges that fit together perfectly. I used Titebond wood glue on the joint, clamped it down and then pinned it with some small finish nails. The repair looks good and the glue joint is barely noticeable. I was estimating that the gap in front of the lock plate was 1/4 inch - it looks huge. I just measured it and the gap is actually 3/32. Evidently the clamping pressure on the joint (before the pins were put in) caused the forestock to slide forward a bit along the angle of the break. My initial thought was to scrap the stock, but I have so much time and energy invested that I wanted to see if it could be repaired. It's been my experience from building furniture and banjos that glue joints are usually stronger than the surrounding wood. I'm fairly confident about the integrity of the repair, and I don't have a situation where there is nothing but glue holding the gap together.
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The repair of the mortise with a piece of matching wood I believe is a good one. I would really consider replacing the stock. If it broke that easily the first time I don't hold much hope for the future. I would at the verey least run a rod of wood or metal down through the wrist.
Skillman
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It will always be there and it will always bother you even if no-one else can see it. Been there-done that. If you can swing it, a new stock and start over is the sure cure.
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Outside the box:
Can you stretch the lock plate? If you are good with a TIG or MIG welder, or know a good welder, you can add metal to the end of the lock. File it down smooth and re-inlet that end of the lock.
Tom
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Acer beat me to that one, That's another good option.
I put a kit together for a guy about two years ago and when it arrived UPS had done a number on the box. The stock was broken in just the area we are talking about. I advised a new stock but the client wanted me to try to fix it. I told him I would try but that I would have to be satisfied with the glue job before I would go any further and reserved the right to stop the project. I have to say that short of handing it back to UPS , i tried everything to break it and was shocked at how that glue joint held. The gun came out fine and the guy is still shooting it.
I don't think I would volunteer to do it again only because like Nate said, I would always know its there but if its truly a good joint I wouldn't be afraid of it.
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Or peen the nose of the lock from the back to stretch it forward at least part of the way??
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OR --- how about making a new lock plate --- ;)
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awwwww Paul...................
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i like the idea of a new lock plate. absent that (in order) i'd try putting in some matching wood, or filling in the gap with horn - as in, i meant that; you gotta problem wid' dat?! ... filler is (to bowwow from Faulkner) an anathema and apotheosis.
just one guy's free opinion, and no doubt worth every penny.
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Or buy a whole new lock. I had similar issues with a broken wrist. The gun was finished and fell off of a poorly designed loading table at a shoot. When it hit the ground things snapped. Trying to hold the slanted break and glue it turned out to be a real ##$$@@$$. It still did not glue up perfectly aligned. Problem was that I had to do it again as it did not hold for some reason the first time. As one individual stated, that break will always be there, but in this case it is a rifle in progress not a finished one. A break in one finished can add a touch of patina, but not so much in one finished. I still plan to scrap that rifle for parts down the road.
DP
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Thanks for all of the advice. I went ahead and planed down the lock panel and glued on a matching piece of maple. The seam is barely visible and I'm sure I can conceal it further in the staining and finishing process. I'm certainly not intending my first rifle in 30 years to be a showpiece anyway. I didn't want to mess with the lock plate because I was afraid I would mess it up and it's a Haddaway flintlock, which I understand are hard to come by these days.