hole in forearm

[frenchman]

good day gentlemen ,
i have a hole in the forearm ,should i trim the forearm first or close to complete and fit a longer entry thimble or make the long tail and fit on the square forearm like if i was placing a normal thimble and fitting it

[T*O*F]

Build the gun.  Deal with the hole when the time comes and save the piece you slab off to make any needed repair.

[Pete G.]

Perhaps a "wear plate" inlay ? A lot of old rifles have a long inlay on the bottom of the forearm.

[frenchman]

that's is what i was trying to explain. If i do ad a long inlay do i finish the forearm than ad that long inlay

[Dphariss]

You could plug it with a piece of maple then "tattoo" it with stain toe look like a pin knot.
At any rate unless its a drilled hole you need to shape it to see what it looks like after the forend is shaped. Natural holes can "grow" the really ugly proportions and may need a wear plate or inlay to fix.

Dan

[Dphariss]

Holes and such can only be filled at the surface you will see. Try to fill it before its shaped and its probably gonna be ugly

[mjm46@bellsouth.net]

Use a small half round gouge similar in size to the error and make a plug from some of your scrap. Then gouge out the same size cut over the hole in question. Glue in your plug and wrap it with rubber bands or rubber tubing so it's tight till it dries. When it is dried file it smooth and sand. you may see a faint seam after staining but you'll have to really search for it.

I've done this technique to fix errors with great success. Works for me should work for you.

[Mark Elliott]

I am sorry, but I have to ask how that hole got there?    I can't for the life of me figure it out.   I have had any number of ramrod drills come out of the bottom, but they never left a round hole. 

[Acer Saccharum]

door #1: a beetle boring its way out

door #2: old maple sugaring tap hole

door #3: your kid was helping you

[Acer Saccharum]

Refer to a recent thread started by Tallbear: http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=29392.msg281948#msg281948 where he patches and carves over the repair.

[Dphariss]

Get the stock to final contour. Cut some maple so that you have several pieces that together will OVERFILL the hole some what they should be tapered. Glue hole with Titebond or similar. Glue the ends of the pieces.
Put in the first two-three then DRIVE in the rest or last one carefully with a 4 ounce hammer. Let the glue set and file back to contour. If this changes the outline of the hole so much the better, perfectly round may be harder to hide than something not so round.
The pieces, with a little luck will look like a wood flaw, unless perfectly round, once stained and finished if it does not look right then, before finishing perhaps, use a needle and some dark stain to tattoo  something that makes it looks more like a flaw.

Dan

[frenchman]

Hi Mark,
 like you i wondered about the hole, it's door no 2 , i found others on the stock as i was filling down , these are boring holes . With the ideas i am getting i will have a chance to try most of them, a few others came out on different places on the stock
  Haaa!!! gun building you have to love it .I now take it with a stride ,used to make me angry . Most people wont even notice the repairs.
C'est la vie

[Acer Saccharum]

Frenchman, many, many original stocks, especially European stocks, have patched in pieces.
I'll dig up some photos. Back in a sec.

[Acer Saccharum]

Patches and plugs on comb. American:


Huge piece on toe, not likely a repair, but during original build. Rectangular patch on comb:


European patches, done before stock was shaped and carved:

[Clark Badgett]

Folks back then were not in the habit of waisting a perfectly usable stock over a little inperfection that could be repaired.

[jamesthomas]

 Stuff like that gives them character and us stories to tell.