Wood question

[Robby]

This is black walnut crotch wood. Its hard to see, but there is a crack developing, right now it is a little bigger than a "hair line", you can feel it, and I'm not sure what to do. The gun was finished about two months ago, so it was made in the dry air of a heated home in winter, now its real muggy. the end grain under the butt plate is fairly sealed up. I was thinking of maybe filling it with wax hoping that would at least slow down or stop moisture gains and losses and keep it from growing, but, if it does grow to the point that i need to use glue on it, I'm thinking the wax would prohibit good glue adhesion. Maybe I should leave it alone? Any thoughts would be appreciated

Robby

[Ky-Flinter]

Robby,

I had to compliment the carving on your piece.  Very nice!  I like it.  How about some more pictures of the gun?

I don't know what to suggest on the crack, but I'm sure someone here will.  I agree with you on the wax interfering with glue.  Seems odd that more humidity would cause cracking, I thought it would be the other way, drier=crack, but what do I know.

-Ron

[Roy S.]

I have dealt with them, but not after the gun was finished.  Its hard to tell... Did you use a stain on it?? 

[gibster]

I agree with KyFlinter (Ron), I would like st see some more pictures of the gun.  Great carving in my book. 
As far as the crack,  I would leave it alone and see if it goes any further.  If it does, try to glue it.  If not, go with the wax.  I don't know if you could take the butt plate off and run a screw down from the top to try to stabilize it.  Just a thought.
Eric

[Robby]

Roy, I used aqua fortis and a very light wash of alcohol based aniline dye (cherry). it is a little worse than the picture shows, and there is some displacement because you can feel it.

[Roy S.]

I would be cautious of using a wax, it may not stop the check and just make it a pain when you have to fix it with a glue.    Its about so darn small now that I am not sure what I would do... if it was just unstained walnut I would scrape away the finish and soak it with glue...

 I have a feeling that no matter what it may continue to grow.  Running a screw down through that area may not be a bad idea.  I would have to look for it, but Brownells did sell a reinforcing screw that was fairly small diameter with a fairly aggressive tooth.  They are usually found on bolt actions and they run behind the recoil lug to keep the stock from coming apart from heavy recoil.   I will see if I can find a part #...

[Ron Scott]

Back a few years I had about a hundred English Walnut stocks in various states of drying. Occasionaly a surface crack would start to develop near a figured area. I was able to stock the cracks from enlarging by applying the thinnest of Cyanacrolate (I1m positive this spelling is wrong) glues. I`d consider removing the butt plate and attempting to apply a drop of glue to the end of the crack. It should wick up through the crack. This would minimize the amount of glue clean up on the surface of the stock as compared with dropping it directly onto the stock surface. Most woodworking stores and hobby shops sell this item. Regular super glues are to thick to wick into the crack. You want to glue to flow into the deepest part of the crack and bond the whole thing together. Hopfully this is the only stress point in your stock and you wouldn`t have to repeat the process.

[T*O*F]

Remove the buttplate.  Locate the inside terminus of the crack and drill down into it with a bit only slightly larger than the crack.  This will stop it from proliferating further.

Obtain a small hypodermic syringe.  You don't need the needle, jus the syringe.  I get mine from my Vet, but they are available elsewhere.  Next obtain the old formula Acraglas, not the Gel formula.  Mix up a small quantity and dye it black with the provided dye.  Thin it with lacquer thinner until very runny and put some in the syringe.  Cover the outside of the crack with masking tape.  Place the syringe in your drilled hole and inject it into the crack until it is filled, allowing it to seep down.  Once it's completely filled, it will reach a plastic state before becoming hard.  At this point, remove the tape.  Any residual can easily be cut/scraped off with a razor blade at this point without hurting the external finish.  Once hard, it should be a permanent repair that has stopped the crack.

[Robby]

TOF, Ron, Roy. thank you for taking the time to respond. I think I now have three good options to consider. This gun is for my grandson, who hopefully, will roam the game fields of the pacific northwest someday with this in hand. As it is, he's a little small right now, so I have some time to decide on what to do. I think I might strip it down, the photo shows me that I lost quite a bit of detail of the carving with too much finish, Time for another eye exam.
gibster, KyFlinter, Here are some more pictures. This didn't turn out the way I saw it in my minds eye, but, with the help of some other folks on this board its a very accurate gun and comfortable to shoot. thank you for the compliments, I do appreciate them.





Robby

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

You have got one lucky Grandson!! That is quite beautiful. I have a beautiful black Walnut blank with a .58 cal rifled Griffin tapered Octagon to round barrel that will be my next build. Hope I can doit the justice you have!!

[Robby]

Thank you Dr. Boone, I know you'll do a fine job, and i'd like to see it.

[TENdriver]

Robby,

For figured wood I'd also go with the thin CA glue in the crack.  This is what I'd use on a figured piece of wood on my lathe. 

[Stophel]

Take off the buttplate and drill a hole right where the crack is and drill (carefully) really close to the outside of the wood...but of course, don't drill out!  Make it 1/4" or 3/8"...whatever you have for a dowel rod to fit into it.  Drill it an inch or so, just however deep you think the crack goes.  Fit it with the dowel rod, and epoxy it in with Brownell's Acraglas (just about the only epoxy I care for at all).  That'll hold 'er for sure.

A couple of years ago, I made a walnut stocked gun, and I paid no attention to where I cut the blank pattern out of the big hunk of wood I had.  I cut it out real close to the end, and of course, I ended up with several checks in my butt.  Fortunately, only one of them showed on the outside of the finished gun, and it wasn't really visible.  I drilled and pegged several cracks there...pretty solid now.

[Gene Carrell]

What a gorgeous rifle!
I too have had success with thinning Acraglass and other epoxies using rubbing alcohol. Slows setup time a bit, but plenty strong.

[lew wetzel]

iread this post the other day and just came back to it again and seen the additional photos and i must say that is one good looking rifle.sucks that there is a crack in her.hope you can fix that and your grandson im sure will cherish that rifle and probably take many meals from the game fields...

[Brian]

It is indeed a lovely rifle!  Well done.  Given that you obviously have both talent and patience, and with the expert advice you have received  - I'm confident you'll get a perfect repair.  Again, that's a very nice looking rifle.  Your grandson is a lucky lad.

[Robby]

Thanks Brian, I appreciate your comments. I think I will go with the accra-glass, as recommended. I've
never tried it before and have seen it recommended for many other uses on this board, so it won't hurt to have some around.

[T*O*F]

Robby,
If you doubt the ability of Acraglas, look closely at these pics.  This piece of walnut is extremely dense crotchwood from a double-crotched stump.  This piece weighs almost 8 lbs.  It's over 25 years old since cut.  NONE of these defects were evident in the blank externally.  Many would discard this piece.  However I won't and have made guns from pieces that were just as bad, saved with acraglas.  Once repaired, I have no doubts about its structural integrity.  The buttplate has been strategically placed to minimize the apparent flaws.  There are 6 cracks, as well as the inclusion.

[northmn]

The biggest thing on stopping cracks is drilling a hole at the end.  It works on wood and metal both.  My own personal preference would be for the acraglass used as described by others.  Over time with a little carrying it will not be so noticible.

DP

[Dphariss]

This is black walnut crotch wood. Its hard to see, but there is a crack developing, right now it is a little bigger than a "hair line", you can feel it, and I'm not sure what to do. The gun was finished about two months ago, so it was made in the dry air of a heated home in winter, now its real muggy. the end grain under the butt plate is fairly sealed up. I was thinking of maybe filling it with wax hoping that would at least slow down or stop moisture gains and losses and keep it from growing, but, if it does grow to the point that i need to use glue on it, I'm thinking the wax would prohibit good glue adhesion. Maybe I should leave it alone? Any thoughts would be appreciated

Robby

It will have to be glued. I would do it now.
If it is deep enough drill into it under the buttplate, 1/2 in from the finished surface or more assuming the check is that deep.
Fill the hole with carpenters glue then screw in a wood screw that is near full thread depth in your hole and near full depth for length . This will force glue into the grain of the wood and with any luck into the crack. Might need to repeat a couple of times. When glue comes out the crack it *should* be fairly stabilized. When you are done *pumping glue* remove the screw and let the glue set 25 hours. Then plug the hole with scrap of stock wood.
Slow cure epoxy will work as well maybe better for this type fix. The non-gel acra-glass would work. Thick epoxies will not work for this.
Hypodermic needles and syringes are great for getting glue in the cracks and holes.

Dan