Bark Inclusion's - Your Thoughts

[coutios]

While roughing down the lower forestock I had an inclusion show up about 3/8's of an inch below the top of the stock. It started as a stain and grew to 1/4 x 3/4".
It is now shrinking as more wood is removed. Presently it is 1/4 x 1/2" in size. It does not show up on the inside of the barrel channel. There is another 1/16" to come off so I am sure it will shrink some more.  I do not mind it's being there as this rifle is  for me. My concern is that it is very hard and seems to want to brake apart. My question is.. If it looks like it will remain when and how would one deal with a repair??

Thanks in advance...
Dave

[rich pierce]

If you're worried pieces of it may fall out you could cut it out and patch it.  Make a regular-shaped patch, like a rectangle, not one to fit.  Otherwise there are epoxy-based thin runny stabilizers for rotten wood used by people who restore antiques and after you stain the stock you might inject the bark inclusion with that.

[Jim Chambers]

The rifle that was on the cover of our old catalogs (a rather fancy piece) had an identical bark inclusion on the left side of the forestock.  I discovered this as I was doing the molding work on the forestock.  I simply cut out the inclusion, selected a scrap piece of wood that has the same curl pattern, made an inlay, and finished the rifle.  No one has ever noticed the repair.  You guys are way too anal about things like this.  18th century gunmakers made repair routinely and surely didn't waste an otherwise good stock.

[George F.]

It sounds like it's on the side of the forestock? Or is it on the top edge of the forestock next to the barrel? How far from the muzzle is it? Is it possible that it would be near a barrel pin location, where you could use a long escheon for a pin, maybe accent that with some wire. If it is, and it isn't quite covered, maybe cut a two ended pointed oblong patch, especially if your concerned about it breaking free, since it so hard. ...Geo.

[Dphariss]

Like stated above, fix it.
Smaller ones I plug by just driving or inletting a glued piece of wood from the same area of the blank.
I once covered a pretty nasty one with a thumb piece after I filled it with Acra-glass and a chunk of wood.
The particular details depend on the particular fix needed.
I am told you can "tattoo" curl into maple with stain. Sometimes you have to be creative.
Dan

[P.W.Berkuta]

I had a knot the size of a quarter show up on the side of the forarm about 5" from the muzzle on a very nice curly flinter stock. It grew from a small dark spot the size of an eraser on a pencil. When the forarm was shaped the knot was big and ugly and looked like it would break the side of the forarm off. It had cracks & gaps running through it. I dribbled some of that cyanoacrylate glue down into the cracks so that it would not fall apart. I then stained the stock a nut brown color. I then made up a epoxy mix with some stain added and filled the knot's cracks & gaps. I then applied the finish to  the rifle. Yes you could see the knot with its cracks but I knew for sure that it would not fall out and it gave the gun "character". Still holding up after 17 years.

[keweenaw]

If you need to fill it, because it's large, you can do it almost invisibly as Jim suggests.  If you want it to go away the thing to do is DO NOT MAKE THE PATCH A REGULAR SHAPE.  Your eye will pick out a circle or rectangle almost immediately.  It's more more to make an irregularly shaped patch - cut to clean wood in some irregular shape slightly larger than the flaw - but it will hide much better.

Tom

[coutios]

Thanks for all the input.. Have a ways to go.... But I'll take a shot at a repair.. I guess we all have to learn sometime..

Thanks Again
Dave

[AMartin]

The only rifle own , built by myself is a little Berks Co. Schimmel and it has a bark pocket down toward the toe on the lock side ..... I couldn't sell the stock so I built myself a hunting rifle .....
Most people now look at the bark pocket and say , "where can I get a stick of wood like that"??
If the bark feels loose , just squirt a bit of "HotStuff" glue into it and finish the rifle .... a touch of flat black paint will hide if any glue shows .....

Greg Dixon owns a early Bonewitz rifle and right in the middle of the carving , behind the cheek , is a ingrown branch , no joke , and ol Bonewitz carved right through it like it wasn't even there !!! Looks really cool ... so I'm not against using wood with a lot of detail ......
Another thing is the perfect stick ..... no green or heart wood ,  I already used a dark green heart and let me tell you once you apply stain ...... it blends into a dreamy looking stock with even more detail ..... try a small cutoff ...... I need to bring some samples along to Dixons for testing ..........

Allen ...