Fixing a teeny tiny gap at the top corner of my butt plate.

[LehighBrad]

Hey guys,,,,,I was shaping down my butt stock at the butt plate and noticed a tiny gap between the wood and brass in the small curved upper corner of the butt plate. I seen it when I was fitting my butt plate and tried to hammer the soft brass butt plate just a bit to close up the gap, which I did. After a little filing of the butt plate it was unnoticable. Now as I was rasping away the excess wood from the stock at that area and small gap opened up in that trouble spot again. Just under a 1/32". Any ideas on how to fill it before the final staining and finishing??? I was considering using some of the rasp wood dust from the stock and maybe mix it a little with some dark wood glue and kind of "putty" the gap shut, but will it stain o.k. like that? Or is there some thing else that can be done???

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Cut a wood shaving from the same wood as the stock, a little thicker than the size of the gap.  Soak the shaving in water so it's pliable, and use use some wood glue to stick it down to the gap.  You might be able to use the butt plate itself as the clamp.  When it is dry, like 24 hours later, carefully cut away all of the wood you don't need, leaving the gap filled.  It'll stain well and no one will be the wiser - except us.

[LehighBrad]

Thanks once again Tayler We'll keep this on the down low. 

[Pete G.]

Isn't it strange that someone who builds to perfection knows about this kind of stuff? Must have been looking over my shoulder. Sometimes it seems like I spend half my time in "recovery" mode.

[Acer Saccharum]

Isn't it strange that someone who builds to perfection knows about this kind of stuff?

 I think Taylor read it here. Has no actual experience.

[Daryl]

 

[JoeG]

the difference between a novice gunsmith and a Master  gunsmith
is how well you can hide your mistakes

[Mesingw]

Well put JoeG.
 It's all about what experience teaches us and what we do with it down the road. I think we're all novices  about some part that we could increase our knowledge in .

[Long John]

I am NOT the gun-maker that Taylor is by a long-shot, but depending on exactly where this gap is it might be hard to get the wood shaped right with the grain in the right direction. 

Remember that the brass can be nudged over to meet the wood.  How wide is the gap?  The width of the gap will decide whether you add some wood or move some brass. 

Keep in mind that when we hammer the brass we are not banging the brass toward the stock wood!  We are using the ball pein hammer on the edge of the butt plate with the direction of hammer impact perpendicular to the long dimension of the butt and parallel to the surface that goes against your shoulder.  Careful peining of the edge of the butt plate will fatten the edge, moving the brass toward the wood.  Make sure that the other side of the butt is supported by a soft, non-marring surface like your thigh.

I have been successful in closing gaps as large as 1/16th inch this way.

So, you have two ways to address your problem.  Both will work depending upon the width of the gap.

Best Regards,

John Cholin

[Roger Fisher]

You would also be surprised what you can fill and blend in a teeny gap with stock wood dust mixed with thickened/kinda gunky BLO.  This assumes it is not headed for judging at Chuck's Gunstockers show....