Hello, not sure if this should go here, or in another forum. I recently lucked onto what is left of a later production model 1803 rifle in a local flea market (lock, stock, and barrel). Converted to percussion and lacking a buttplate, but still mostly there. My talented woodcarver neighbor, Jack, spent many hours tediously using solvent and a dental drill/pick to remove a mass of some sort of putty/sawdust mixture from the lock mortise. Now that we are down to the original wood, it is clear that the lock area was broken and repaired once or twice, with some wood replacement. Our main problem is, how to deal with the lack of wood in the mortise area? It is very thin and nearly hollowed out in some areas. While I have encountered untouched guns with "caves" for lock mortises, this is an extreme -- and very weak. Any ideas on how to proceed (a better filler, wood patches, etc.?). I'm posting a few photos which might be of help. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Photos:
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