Advice with crack in stock

[Nhgrants]

Well I just about got the barrel full inletted and noticed a check or small crack in the cherry blank.
I plane there off to get a better look. This will be a left handed flintlock. The crack is just above the lock panel. My hope the crack doesn't  go too far in and working to final thickness would get rid all or most of it.
The plank was local cherry sawed in Vermont.  What have you guys don't after you found a defect like this?
Thanks





2014 x6m 0 60

[Mike Brooks]

Should be gone when you're done shaping out the stock.

[BJH]

 I must agree with Mike, I would expect it to work out. If not it would be easily fixed with a heat gun and Accraglass resin. BJH

[M. E. Pering]

I agree with Mr. Brooks... That crack does not look that deep at this point.  This is a critical area of the stock, and I understand your concern, but it also shows the grain is running well.  I know... I am an optimist, but I wouldn't give up on that stock yet.  Now, it could be you get deeper, and it is more of an issue.  In such case, a different assessment should be made.

M. E. Pering

[Goo]

If you are haunted by Murphy’s law use some water based glue to stabilize it during the carving process.   Like the other people said you will probably carve past the anomaly.

[Eric Krewson]

I fill cracks like this on bows all the time. There is a very thin super glue sold at hobby stores called "Zap-A-Gap", it is about as thin as water and will flow into any crack. I either use the zapagap or regular super glue that has been heated slightly and keep putting the glue in the crack until it won't hold any more. The crack ceases to be a crack and will show very thin, almost invisible dark line in the finished wood. If you stain your wood with oven cleaner and make it dark you won't see any line.

Like most, I believe the crack will be gone when you shape the wood, a little superglue insurance beforehand wouldn't hurt. 

[Scota4570]

I'd super glue it too.  Just slowly drip it into the crack. 

I discovered that harbor freight now carries it and cheap.  I also make RC models, accelerator spray will make it dry instantly when desirable.  I can not prove or disprove that the accelerator weakens the glue.  It will stop it from penetrating.  It is the perfect thing when an inletting mistake is about to happened and the chip is still attached.  One drop, hold with pokie thing, spritz, never happened. 

https://www.harborfreight.com/industrial-strength-super-glue-68347.html

[P.W.Berkuta]

This is what I see ---

[Chowmi]

Just a few thoughts from a guy who is hasn't built a lot of guns.  Take it with a grain of salt.

IF that crack is as deep as P.W. thinks, and the picture seems to show, you are probably still alright.

here's why:

Looks to me like it is still enormously fat on that side.  Looking at the picture, the side with the crack (I'll assume it's a right handed gun, and the crack side is the side-plate side) looks to be twice the width of the lock side.  Which means you can probably take half that wood off, right?  If PW is right, the crack runs to about half the depth of the wood, and therefore would be completely, or almost completely gone when you shape the stock.  Especially considering that you will take away the wood from the edge of the tang to the edge of the sideplate panel.  I guess that 90% or more of that crack is in wood that will never be on the gun.  (hard to say about further down the wrist though...)

If you do decide to super glue it, use the Thin Zap-a-Gap CA stuff. Don't buy the cheapo box store stuff.   Zap-a-Gap is excellent ( I also used to make RC airplanes, and that stuff is really good).  I would not use the accelerator.  Just let it soak in and dry on its own.  Realize that if you put the thin CA in now, before removing more wood, the CA may not go all the way in to the deepest end of the crack.  It dries quickly, so may form a dam, preventing it from going the whole way. 
So,  you might stabilize the crack now, so you don't have chip-outs as you rasp the gun to shape.  Then remove wood after you have the tang in and the side panel drawn.  As you remove wood, you might find that you get to a point where the CA has not penetrated and need to glue it again.

I hope that all makes sense. 

Last thing:

The second time you open the CA bottle, the top might be stuck to the bottle from leaked CA.  Do not, I say again, Do Not grip the cap in your teeth and pull the bottle away from your face.  Super fast drying, super strong CA might just splash out of the bottle and stick your eyelids to your face. 
Ask me how I know. 

Cheers,
Norm 

[Eric Krewson]

If you fill the crack with zap-a-gap you will need to put some tape over the area circled in red on the picture above or the thin glue will run out of the cracked end

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Build the rifle as if there was no crack.  If it is still there when your rifle is fully shaped sanded and stained, then fill it.  Be sure to stain it first before you use super thin CA, or you'll have a white line that will not take stain.

[Old Ford2]

In cracks like that, I  tap an exacto blade into the crack in a less obvious area to open the crack, then apply the super glue. Then lightly clamp or wrap tightly with an elastic band. Even a vacuum hose sucking the glue as deeply as possible helps.
With my gun making skills cracks are common place.
As previously posted, it is well accepted to stain prior to gluing to escape the glue line.
Fred

[Mike Brooks]

Build the rifle as if there was no crack.  If it is still there when your rifle is fully shaped sanded and stained, then fill it.  Be sure to stain it first before you use super thin CA, or you'll have a white line that will not take stain.

There you go.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I've built more than a few rifles that ended up with cracks, mineral deposits, and/or bark inclusions, and they all turned out just fine.  Perfect stock wood doesn't grow on trees, you know.

[Nhgrants]

Thanks for all the replays. I'm still in the keeping things square phase but have removed some excess
Wood off the sides. Most of the crack is gone and more wood will come off during shaping.

[Willbarq]

I'm no expert.  I think you should keep going.  That being said, judge the situation as you go along. Maybe you can work some wood glue into the spot. If the crack breaks out a section,  glue and clamp it back into place. I agree, it does look like it will mostly work out.