Kibler Kit Restoration

[Robin Henderson]

Yes, restoration(didn't want to hijack the other kibler thread)....I agreed to donate my time to put a Kibler SMR kit together but when I received it I discovered that someone with an obvious lack of skill got to it before me. I am not a professional builder but what building I do I make my best attempt to do it neatly...here goes...The end of the fore stock was glued and clamped to correct that split. It looks pretty good but I thought I might pour a simple nose cap to further strengthen it. My biggest concern is the lock inlett. No draft had been filed in the lockplate and a little bit of over zealous chisel use has resulted in some small but glaring gaps. There were other small problems and I'll be ok fixing them. I guess I'm asking advice on hiding the gaps around the lock plate. I'm thinking stained acraglas and then finishing to try to hide...advise??
     

[Frank]

That stock is really messed up. I would probably ask Jim if I could buy a new stock

[bama]

The old saying, they took a $1000 dollars worth the parts and was proceeding to make a $300 rifle out of it. You do good work Robin and I have faith that you will save that rifle from the above fate.

As good as Jim Kibler's kits are there is still a little skill involved in putting one together.

Good luck Robin, keep us posted on your progress.

[alex e.]

My thoughts are together a new stock.
But I've repaired worse things
Good luck to you!

[Bigmon]

There is so much figure in that wood that once everything is repaired I'd bet most would ever notice?

[helwood]

Wobbly,  I have one question.   Did you contact Jim of the condition of your stock before you posted these photos?  If not, I think this is highly unfair.  I have known Jim for along time and can not believe he would allow you to accept a stock/kit in this condition.  Jim is a Man of Honor.
         Hank Elwood

[bgf]

I would try slivers of wood with appropriately shaded glue around the lock.  The other breaks look awful, but they should glue up fine.  I actually enjoy repairing things like that.  Nothing looks hopeless so far.

Definitely not Jim's doing! 

[rich pierce]

Helwood, this is a kit someone worked on and cobbed up if I understand correctly.  I’m sure it was not delivered like that by Jim.  Wobbly shot is trying to fix a newbie builder’s mistakes, I believe. 


Wobbly, did the kit come with an extra piece of wood you could use to splice in pieces?  If not, I’m thinking stained acraglas is the answer to those lockplate problems.

[Ky-Flinter]

......when I received it I discovered that someone with an obvious lack of skill got to it before me......

Hank,

The kit was not received from Kibler in that condition.  Wobblyshot is trying to repair the atrocity that was perpetrated by "someone with an obvious lack of skill".

-Ron

[Mike Lyons]

This type of glue is good for the cracks.  Put some inside of the cracks that fit together and the thin stuff will soak into the wood nicely.  It's better than super glue and comes in thin, medium and thick and different setting times.  How in the world did Bubba do that to the front of the stock?  Was it from a rotary tool?
https://modelmerchants.com/shop/bob-smith-insta-cure-medium-thick-ca-super-glue/?attribute_pa_size=2-oz&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIr5nm-YSe3QIV1luGCh1SWQKuEAQYAyABEgLFF_D_BwE

[alacran]

I second that. Bob Smith instacure is really good. Be aware the fumes will irritate your eyes. I tend to hover directly over my work. That is how I found out. Have a fan pull away the fumes. Bugged my left eye for a whole day.

[Robin Henderson]

First of all, I want to thank everyone for their help but must say that Jim Kibler had nothing at all to do with the condition in which it was received. Jim's kits are top notch and great shooters to boot. This is simply a case of an inexperienced builder not following and/or overlooking his instructions where he did say a little draft may be necessary. To answer a few questions, there is no extra wood. It looks like the boo boos around the lock inlet were made with a small gouge. As far as a new stock, it seems logical to replace as an option but there is a time constraint so waiting on one may not work. Besides that, this is a beautiful piece of wood and a shame to waste. Again, thanks for the good advise. I guess I'll plug along and see where it goes. I'll post pics of the finished products soon.

[Angus]

You can get "extra wood" from inside the barrel channel or under the butt plate comb. I would fix it too, very nice wood and the experience will more than pay for the satisfaction the end user will enjoy. Accept the challenge. There are stocks out there that have dried and shrank up more than that gap with cracks that eyes don't see and those rifles still shoot. Good luck!

[Marcruger]

I personally have never seen Acraglas look good on a repair, unless it is black and the area is antiqued later.  For some reason the browns always seen to come out grey-ish brown.  Yuck. 

I would definitely stain the areas to be glued before any glue is added.  Stains won't work on areas that have had glue soaked in. 

BTW, that glue noted above is indeed superglue.  It is just gap-fill super glue often used in model making.  No wonder it bothers the eyes!  It has some form of cyanide or derivative in it.  It does however work really well. The consistency when dry is very similar to styrene plastic, and can be sanded and shaped.  It used it in model building. 

Best wishes, and God Bless,  Marc

[helwood]

Sorry.  I read over this a couple of times before I posted and didn't pick up on what was occurring.   Again sorry.  Hank

[little joe]

If you read Wobblyshots post he was very clear the kit did not come from Jim. I  would repair it as it would be good practice.

[Ron Scott]

As in instructor at the Bowling Green Seminars over the last decade, I have seen a number of situations that required some repair. Both of these cracks can be glued. Epoxy and super glues are not good choices. Tight Bond two or three are your strongest choices. Force the glue into the joints with compressed air and clamp firmly. You should have little or no problem staining the wood after.

Frankly, I would find a good Tig Welder and have some steel added to the lock plate to fill in the gaps. With proper reshaping, the change should not be noticeable. Just be sure your welding don't use a stainless wire.  You can guess why I suggest this.

[G_T]

Superglue and the usually available epoxy choices are not good choices if you might plan to pour a nosecap. The epoxy turns into a stinky mess with that much heat, and the superglue melts then burns (it is not a cyanide problem but it will irritate your sinuses!).

I'd be tempted to treat the cracks a bit like woodwind music instrument repairs. Carefully drill and cross-pin at several locations to hold it together. The pins can be metal, threaded into the wood even, with wood caps at the surface which match the grain.

Or you could inlet a narrow cross channel at intervals in the barrel channel, and glue pieces of wood to hold it together securely. That's probably much easier and won't show on the assembled rifle since nothing reaches a visible surface.

Do I racall correctly that the new cast lock plate for that lock is slightly larger, enough to not fit the original inletting? I doubt it is enough larger, but perhaps Jim could answer?

Gerald

[alacran]

That crack is mostly going to be in the barrel channel. Just about any conventional wood glue will take care of it. I would recommend Tite-bond 3. It has a longer working time. That would allow you to take a proper sized dowel wrapped with blue painters tape, to allow for clamping to the barrel channel. Doing that, will keep  both sides on the same plane. I would also use the tape to basically make a wrap clamping of the whole thing.

[Craig Wilcox]

Wobblyshot, you really have your work cut out!  I admire you for tackling that mess, but I am betting that you turn out a nice finished rifle in the end.
You have a lot of good advice here on ALR, free for the asking.

[Jim Kibler]

Now you see why I keep trying to make things easier and easier.  People certainly have various skill levels.  What’s that saying about making something fool proof?☺️

Jim😉

[Dave Marsh]

Well Jim you are pretty close to fool proof as this old fool has his colonial kit together and it looks great.  Just have to finish the wood and age the metal. Thanks for a great "fool proof" product.   

Dave

[rick/pa]

Now you see why I keep trying to make things easier and easier.  People certainly have various skill levels.  What’s that saying about making something fool proof?☺️

Jim😉

Jim, nothing is fool proof.  The fools keep finding new ways to screw things up.

[Darkhorse]

In a momentary loss of concentration I split a forend almost as bad as that one. I was nearing the end of the build and luckily had all the pin holes drilled. I used plain elmer's white wood glue and glued the sliver back in place, then pinned it and clamped it. All the glue that squeezed out of the crack was promptly wiped off. I poured a pewter chevron nosecap on that rifle.
That was 15 years ago and the rifle has had a lot of use in the woods. You can not see the crack I glued up. Even I can't say for sure where it is. So the forend on that rifle is far from a lost cause.