Hairline crack in my kibler colonial! How should I fix it?

[adingus]

Hi all, I was out shooting my kibler colonial and I noticed a hairline crack in the wrist just behind the lockplate big bummer. Whats the best way to fix it? I was shooting on a warm afternoon in the sun and it seemed a little more open then. Can I ever get glue into this crack? I also saw a suggestion once to widen the hole that the lockplate screw goes through, as the recoil from the barrel is impacting the screw, transfering force through the lockplate and into the corner of the inlet.


In case the image doesnt show up: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipP9gY35ERtGb4SH3YXkvNp5wh9iiZ5X2qQgFV-v0EmzTIn16hwSoEIbqe-BGT9TlA/photo/AF1QipOFuf6BN15TFFfa9CK93AhqR5t-a1bN8h-lXdyz?key=T084V25wOHZCQ2hNdFp6OGRvZ3BDdURmNHhneVp3

[Jim Kibler]

I would say that this was in the stock when you received it.  Looks like fine drying checks.  Give us a call and we’ll figure out a way to make things right.  I don’t think the stock is going to get much worse anytime soon, but the defects shouldn’t have been there.   You could try to repair with CA glue, but being finished makes things more difficult.  You might be able to use a small amount of acetone on a q-tip to strip the oil, glue the crack, sand flush, touch up the stain with aniline dyes and then re-finish.

Sorry about the trouble.

Jim

[steven baker]

That advise from Jim sounds like the truth, I would stick to his words ,
take care Steven.

[Mike Brooks]

It will be fine, carry on.

[Eric Krewson]

I would put the superglue in from the lock inlet, no need to try to clamp it closed, just fill the crack and it will be gone. You can tape the crack on the outside to keep the superglue off the stock but will probably have some cleanup to do anyway.   

[Bob Roller]

Super glue with the same viscosity as alcohol and then forget it..
Bob Roller

[JTR]

Follow Jim's advice!

[GrizG]

Some thoughts formed from my fine woodworking background and exposure to the thoughts of chemists in my woodworking club:

CA glue can be useful if it's the right type of CA glue and it's the appropriately applied. Traditional CA glues are susceptible to shock and vibration failure as they are very hard. Compounding that problem is they tend to soak into wood leaving a very thin film for the actual bond. Traditional CA glue also demands a very small to non-existent gap between surfaces to be bonded... this as they lack gap filling properties and if the gap is too thick the shear and shock failure risks increase. If a repair is to the forearm along the barrel they can work fine. If the repair is to the wrist or lock areas of the stock, where shock and wood movement can occur, the risk of failure is greater. In the long run, repairing an area already soaked with traditional CA glue can be very difficult. Add in the effects of various chemicals on CA glue and the seductive initial benefits of traditional CA glue fade over time.

All is not lost however as there are CA glues with additives that overcome the shortcomings of traditional CA glues. Sometimes referred to as Super CA glue they typically require the use of activators. For example https://www.superepoxysystems.com/product/ca-glue-for-wood/  Woodcraft carries Super CA glues https://www.woodcraft.com/categories/ca-glue

Me personally... I generally stick with PVA glue and epoxy in my wood working and wood repair adventures. Your mileage may vary...

[Enfield]

This Crack wouldn't bother me at all... Gives more Character to you Gun.

[Jim Kibler]

Some thoughts formed from my fine woodworking background and exposure to the thoughts of chemists in my woodworking club:

CA glue can be useful if it's the right type of CA glue and it's the appropriately applied. Traditional CA glues are susceptible to shock and vibration failure as they are very hard. Compounding that problem is they tend to soak into wood leaving a very thin film for the actual bond. Traditional CA glue also demands a very small to non-existent gap between surfaces to be bonded... this as they lack gap filling properties and if the gap is too thick the shear and shock failure risks increase. If a repair is to the forearm along the barrel they can work fine. If the repair is to the wrist or lock areas of the stock, where shock and wood movement can occur, the risk of failure is greater. In the long run, repairing an area already soaked with traditional CA glue can be very difficult. Add in the effects of various chemicals on CA glue and the seductive initial benefits of traditional CA glue fade over time.

All is not lost however as there are CA glues with additives that overcome the shortcomings of traditional CA glues. Sometimes referred to as Super CA glue they typically require the use of activators. For example https://www.superepoxysystems.com/product/ca-glue-for-wood/  Woodcraft carries Super CA glues https://www.woodcraft.com/categories/ca-glue

Me personally... I generally stick with PVA glue and epoxy in my wood working and wood repair adventures. Your mileage may vary...

  Theory is fine and I appreciate this as an engineer, but suffice it to say that
CA glue would work just fine in this application.  No need to overthink things.

[adingus]

Thanks all! This board really is great. If people think it's not going to get much worse then I'll carry on shooting for now. Jim, no sweat about the stock it looks great and I don't think anyone could know a split would be there. I have a SMR as well and love it.

If it grows noticably I'll think about CA glue or maybe I'll order another stock and finish it a little differently. Variety is the spice of life.

[Jim Kibler]

Thanks all! This board really is great. If people think it's not going to get much worse then I'll carry on shooting for now. Jim, no sweat about the stock it looks great and I don't think anyone could know a split would be there. I have a SMR as well and love it.

If it grows noticably I'll think about CA glue or maybe I'll order another stock and finish it a little differently. Variety is the spice of life.

Well, if you end up needing a new stock, remind us about the issue and we'll fix you up.

Thanks,
Jim

[oldtravler61]

   Jim Kibler is 100% behind his products....but what I don't get is why not call them in the first place....?   JM2C. which don't mean much....

[Eric Krewson]

My super glue experience comes from bow making, I have filled hundreds of drying cracks on the working portion of bow limbs over the last 28 years. All of these areas have experienced bending and the shock of releasing the arrow, some, up to 100K times or more, not once has the superglue crystalized or failed.

I usually install tip overlays with a two-part urea epoxy but have glued them on with superglue. This is the area with the most shock on a bow, almost like cracking a whip, none of my superglued tip overlays have come off.

[adingus]

   Jim Kibler is 100% behind his products....but what I don't get is why not call them in the first place....?   JM2C. which don't mean much....

I thought it was more of a general gun building/repair question than anything else. I've had the gun for over a year and dont think Jim owes me anything at this point! For all he knows I could be a barbarian who swings his gun around like a madman. If I do decide to replace the stock I probably won't even mention it and just pay full price... I feel like these kits are a good deal already

[Cody Tetachuk]

I would leave it alone unless it "develops" (which I doubt). However, when it comes to fixing cracked stocks, I use carpenters glue, try to get the crack opened as much as possible and inject the glue into the crack with a syringe. I get once used syringes from diabetics for this exact purpose. You can get the glue right into the crack and get full coverage and carpenters glue is stronger than the parent wood so as long as the crack was clean, it will never crack there again. After injecting the glue I wrap the area TIGHTLY with surgical tubing to pull the crack GOOD AND TIGHT with zero chance of damaging the finish. Of course you have to have a "crack" to do this. What you have is too tight to get a syringe into without making a pin hole where there needle went in due to the crack being too tight. Also, this SHOULD go without saying but........once I use a syringe for this they go in the trash as they are no longer reuseable. 

[GrizG]

Some thoughts formed from my fine woodworking background and exposure to the thoughts of chemists in my woodworking club:

CA glue can be useful if it's the right type of CA glue and it's the appropriately applied. Traditional CA glues are susceptible to shock and vibration failure as they are very hard. Compounding that problem is they tend to soak into wood leaving a very thin film for the actual bond. Traditional CA glue also demands a very small to non-existent gap between surfaces to be bonded... this as they lack gap filling properties and if the gap is too thick the shear and shock failure risks increase. If a repair is to the forearm along the barrel they can work fine. If the repair is to the wrist or lock areas of the stock, where shock and wood movement can occur, the risk of failure is greater. In the long run, repairing an area already soaked with traditional CA glue can be very difficult. Add in the effects of various chemicals on CA glue and the seductive initial benefits of traditional CA glue fade over time.

All is not lost however as there are CA glues with additives that overcome the shortcomings of traditional CA glues. Sometimes referred to as Super CA glue they typically require the use of activators. For example https://www.superepoxysystems.com/product/ca-glue-for-wood/  Woodcraft carries Super CA glues https://www.woodcraft.com/categories/ca-glue

Me personally... I generally stick with PVA glue and epoxy in my wood working and wood repair adventures. Your mileage may vary...

  Theory is fine and I appreciate this as an engineer, but suffice it to say that
CA glue would work just fine in this application.  No need to overthink things.

There is wisdom there... My chemist associates do go deep into the weeds sometimes but I've found their advice to be sound numerous times when it comes to adhesives and finishes. I do however recall discussions held about CA failures members experienced and the lengths guys went to to recover from them. Granted one could say they had pushed the limits of the product at times so perhaps failures should be expected? Sadly the club membership has aged and we've lost many of the most skilled--3 in the past two weeks alone. Same fate for 3 of the 4 journeymen gunsmiths with whom I worked. I'm happy to say that I've learned from the experiences of them all...

[Bob Gerard]

Crazy me, but I can’t say ANY hairline crack to worry about  🤔

[Beaverman]

Rub some dirt on it... it will be fine!