Masking wide inletting of the tang?

[DavidC]

I ended up with some gapping along the sides of my tang and I want to fill in those gaps. Are there historical examples of this? Maybe choosing a contrasting piece of wood to fill in the gaps on the sides? I was even considering widening the gaps of the maple stock and slipping in some walnut or pieces of brass.

[P.W.Berkuta]

If it was me I would just glue in slivers of the same wood so as not to focus your inletting error to the tang. You want to blend in the patch not bring it to the forefront as an eyesore .

[smylee grouch]

I agree with PW. Make your patch tight and use a glue that wont show as some glue's will not take stain well and stand out.

[mikeyfirelock]

See attached......it’s a pretty good bet that a lot of posters here are very accomplished at covering their boo boo’s.  This was my first attempt at a swamped barrel, and I made the mistake of using an “ inexperienced gouge” .  If you have a cut off from that area see if it will match up to the grain, get the surfaces flat, and glue and clamp.   Matching surfaces prep is important, and matching grain also ( won’t be perfect, but won’t be noticeable.)

[EC121]

Patches can be hidden with a good fit.  Here's a tang on a rifle I bought with three patches around it.  I have to look hard to see them.   FYI: Mr. Schippers did the engraving.

[Dave Marsh]

I think his real question is that he has gaps and was considering widening them and adding a contrasting wood like walnut to maple.  Second part of the question was are there any historical examples of this??  At least that is the way I read it.  Not something I would recommend but I think that is the question.

Dave

[rmnc3r]

How far along are you on shaping the forestock?  Is it still square?  I would plane off a few lengths then glue in a layer or 2 or 3 or 4, using the tang as the 'clamp'. Use some plastic wrap or thin tape on the Tang to keep the glue from reacting with the steel and darkening the patch.
I would do one side, let it dry, then the other, rather than both sides in one go.

If not the forestock, then maybe the bottom / toe area, or other off cuts.  Using the same wood will help a veneer patch be less noticeable.

Historical? Maybe. Maybe not,  as original craftsman never made mistakes 

[J. Talbert]

What I did to correct an error for someone I was assisting with his first rifle, was to glue in an oversized piece of matching wood along the side of the tang and then trim it down to the correct fit just as I would when normally fitting the tang.

Jeff

[577SXS]

I had a kit that had gaps in the barrel inlet I wanted to fix. I glued maple stir sticks along the gapped area and then inletted the barrel back into the stock. Turned out where if you didn't know it was there you would never see the repair. Key to repairing a gap is making sure the grain of the repair wood is running the same as the stock. If grain is running in a different direction it will stick out like a sore thumb.

[Tim Ault]

With me being a better metal worker than wood worker my first thoughts was to make the tang slightly wider . It's soft steel and moves quite easily . This of course depends on the size of the gap you are wanting to fill

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Personally, I think adding a contrasting wood would look aweful...just me.  And I have never seen an original with contrasting wood added to a tang inlet.

[bama]

The mark of a good gunsmith is how well he hides his mistakes!

[Eric Krewson]

Here is an example of one of my builds when I should have put down my tools and didn't. The shims are cut with a knife edge to go in the gap and with the same grain orientation as the wood around them, I use superglue.



Try to find them now;

[borderdogs]

I had some gaps along a barrel inlet and I took a piece of the wood from the stock and using a Stanley #8 jointer plane set fine and planed strips as long as the piece of wood and glued them in. Once the stock was cleaned up it disappeared.
Rob

[Marcruger]

I think you'd be ahead if you stained the mating surfaces before you glue.  Glue doesn't take color well, depending on the glue of course. 

[DavidC]

Dave Marsh is correct. I'm thinking about the inlays and veneers seen in period furniture, like early federalist desks, and whether such contrasting accents of wood are seen on any guns.

[Eric Krewson]

Superglue leaves a black line, all my guns tend to be dark plus I make the shim fit tight so their is seldom much if any black line to see.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

To reiterate, I have not seen any antique rifles where contrasting wood has been inlet to highlight a mistake.  So I'd say that the consensus is that there should be no gaps around inlet parts, and thus, no obvious repairs.  To add contrasting wood to a tang inlet would be to draw attention to a mistake that could have been disguised easily.

[BadDaditood]

With Schippers’ engraving I didn’t even notice the wood 

[lawrencea]

With me being a better metal worker than wood worker my first thoughts was to make the tang slightly wider . It's soft steel and moves quite easily . This of course depends on the size of the gap you are wanting to fill

Hasd this problem. Gaps were not to big.
I used a ball pein hammer to spread the tang a little wider and close the gap.
Worked fine.
Took it slow and easy not hitting hard just enough to move metal and strike often.

[Dphariss]

With me being a better metal worker than wood worker my first thoughts was to make the tang slightly wider . It's soft steel and moves quite easily . This of course depends on the size of the gap you are wanting to fill

Hasd this problem. Gaps were not to big.
I used a ball pein hammer to spread the tang a little wider and close the gap.
Worked fine.
Took it slow and easy not hitting hard just enough to move metal and strike often.

Peaning will fix many problems. But some areas need shims. I never use superglue for wood. A quality wood glue like Titebond works best for me.

Dan

[Dphariss]

I think his real question is that he has gaps and was considering widening them and adding a contrasting wood like walnut to maple.  Second part of the question was are there any historical examples of this??  At least that is the way I read it.  Not something I would recommend but I think that is the question.

Dave

You want to hide them not accent them.

Dan

[Dphariss]

Personally, I think adding a contrasting wood would look aweful...just me.  And I have never seen an original with contrasting wood added to a tang inlet.

I agree.
For those you might wonder google "Weatherby Mk V Crown Custom". The maple stocked versions were particularly hideous.

Dan

[smylee grouch]

IIRC there is at least one Jacob Kuntz rifle with contrasting wood inlays BUT it was not around the tang. In my opinion a gap around the tang is fairly easy to repair/hide with a glue in piece of the same wood that it is the only way I would do it.

[paulitus]

I have had some success with a mix of hide glue and fine sawdust from the same stock.