Pentacryl for use under barrel??

[Meadmaker]

Has anyone used Pentacryl or a similar compound for sealing the channel under their barrels?
Pentacryl is compound we use in woodworking and wood turning with spalted woods or areas of wood that is "spongy" to structurally stabilize the wood for turning, carving or planing.
Pentacryl is a polymer solution that goes on like "wet" water, penetrates deep into the wood fibers and solidifies to stabilize the wood, waterproof the wood and strengthen the fibers to stand up to aggressive tool working.

Q: Would using this on a barrel channel provide any increased protection or benefit for stabilizing the stock wood against excessive movement outdoors or aid in the weatherproofing the area of the under-barrel along with some type of metal protection?

Pentacryl is not cheap, but a little goes a long way.

[smart dog]

Hi,
I coat most of my barrel channels with a varnish thin layer of Acraglas tinted with Laurel Mtn Forge stain or aniline dye.  It does seal the channel but my main reason is it strengthens the thin barrel channel walls greatly.  On my guns, those walls get pretty thin.  I would guess pentacryl would work as well particularly if you can tint it when needed. With respect to stabilizing the wood, I don't think that is accomplished by sealing the barrel channel because there are so many other avenues of moisture into the wood and none of our traditional finishes are really water proof.  The original guns rarely had any finish in the barrel channels and they worked and survived a long time. However, on all of the original 18th century guns I own, the thin sides of the barrel channels are extremely brittle, have been repaired, or are cracking away.  Hence, strengthening them should provide some increased level of insurance against breaking.

dave   

[Eric Kettenburg]

Is that the same stuff sold by minwax (I think) called "wood hardener?" 

Either way, it probably couldn't hurt provided there is nothing in it that rusts steel over the long term.  However, since Dave brought up the subject of thin side walls:  I would stain the stock first and make certain you get the color you want and maybe even give it a sealer coat or two which often alters the color.  Often I find that the sealer coat after staining will bleed through the sidewalls into the inside of the barrel channel, so I would assume this stuff you'd like to use may do the same in the opposite direction.  That may screw up your staining if you treat the barrel channel first.

[Mike Brooks]

Slot your barrel lugs and you won't have to worry about where your wood moves.

[Eric Kettenburg]

Slot your barrel lugs and you won't have to worry about where your wood moves.

That, and if you cut the lug inlets through into the rammer groove, now you have effective drains if out in lousy weather! 

[Meadmaker]

Slot your barrel lugs and you won't have to worry about where your wood moves.

Pentacryl, unlike Minwax Hardener, does not turn "brittle" after curing, rather it is "tough" after curing.
In order to be able to work the wood on a lathe, carve it or perform joinery tasks with chisels a compound like minwax hardener does not work as the treated wood tends to crack, split or even shatter.
The minwax product is really best for after all the work is done.

Pentacryl was developed to permit working the structurally compromised or less dense woods, therefore, rather than curing brittle it remains tough and takes all manner of impact and cutting pressures while maintaining  the workability of a denser form of the wood.

[Dave Marsh]

Out of curiosity I looked up Pentacryl on the internet.  It says it is a green wood stabilizer.  I assume it works for dried wood also but was surprised there is no reference to dried wood at least what I looked at. Just curious.

[bluenoser]

Pentacryl appears to be a brand name.  Is it the same as PEG (Polyethylene Glycol Green Wood Stabilizer)?  It seems to serve the same purpose.

[Meadmaker]

Pentacryl appears to be a brand name.  Is it the same as PEG (Polyethylene Glycol Green Wood Stabilizer)?  It seems to serve the same purpose.

Originally it was and still is.
It was also found to solidify and strengthen soft woods, spalted woods and even "punky" wood to the point where it could be easily and safely "worked" such as on a lathe without breaking, splitting or in many cases shattering while turning it.

[Mike Brooks]

The old timers didn't use anything, ain't that something? Guns that have come through my shop that have sealed barrel channels usually have rusty barrel bottoms. Water has no where to go but just sits there rusting the barrel. Not that it makes much difference,  it would take several hundred years to rust bad enough to be dangerous.

[Daryl]

Barbie Chambers pictured one such barrel, removed from the stock in their shop.
The barrel had never been removed from the stock for cleaning - or anything. It
was badly rusted from one end to the other. She did not note if the stock was sealed
or not.
As far as I am concerned, this is abuse.

[kutter]

Coat the bbl with something to prevent rust. The wood will dry out on it's own (eventually).

[Jim Kibler]

With our kit business, I've found that many with little to no experience are highly motivated to seal their inlets.  Even after I've said that I don't find it to be all that important...  Just read the comments In my video putting together and finishing one of our kits... 

That and you apparently need to use proper gunsmithing screwdrivers when building a longrifle, otherwise you're a fool