Void in gunstock repair

[jims]

I have a figured walnut blank being milled/inletted/shaped for my action/barrel. Unfortunately when this was being done two large natural voids in the wood appeared. Nickel size or more near the wrist and below the cheek piece.

Could use West Epoxy and color it but considering using some of the extra wood to make a walnut circular plug/dowel and circular hole and match the grain direction. It is the same wood but from a different area so it cannot be a perfect match. I could inlet a square piece in after chiseling it for the same.
I may run an all thread rod up through the bottom where it would not be noticeable to strengthen the wrist.
As I already had it paid for on the inletting not much else I could do. If nothing more it will be a utility stock. Any thoughts or guidance is appreciated. Thanks

 

[ShawnT]

Can you post a pic so we can get a better idea of what you have? Nickel size is a pretty good size void and the wrist is an area that takes a lot of strain.

 

[52Bore]

Repairs of such inclusions was done more than you’d imagine on some of the British Best pieces in the 19th century.
Wrist is a concern, you can judge that as a proper repair may be even stronger with today’s epoxy.
Good luck..

 

[jims]

Here are some photos, it may give a better understanding of what I am working with. Thanks

 

[jims]

Now in fairness this was a stock blank gotten off of ebay. It was large and did not have any visible imperfections. It only showed up during the wood removal in the shaping. The shaping is an early rough out, it will be 95% or better at the end.

 

[Busta]

I think I'd cut my losses before spending any more time and money on that one. Just too much going on in that wrist area for me.

 

[Panhandle]

Agree with Busta...

 

[jims]

I do understand that void in the thin wrist area was about the worst place for it to show up. Probably will use all thread rod or pins to stabilize it. Not much money beyond this wasted, only my time. I have more of that than money so it will be a bit of a challenge for me.

 

[ShawnT]

If it were mine, I would cut my loss on it. Hate like the dickens to say it. The One in the Butt is not a big deal really but that one in the wrist is pretty bad. From the Pic it looks like the top of that gouge is extending up toward the top of the wrist. In my opinion even with a threaded rod up through it, the strength of that wrist is just not there. That is especially concerning if the chosen rifle for it is a hard Kicker. It will just snap the wood. IF, BIG IF, your were building something like a .32 or .36 caliber that has light recoil then you might have a couple things you could try, that I can think of, but I still don't think I would do it for anything with any amount of recoil.

 

[jims]

I plan to put some all thread rod, ring shank nail or a spiral nail in to strengthen the wrist when I get it back. Thought several small diameter pieces versus a larger one. Any thoughts on diameter etc.?

 

[ShawnT]

Jims,

What caliber rifle do you plan using the stock for?

I don't think I would go with several smaller rods. The way I look at it is that small rods would be more flexible than one larger/stiffer rod. IF I were to try what your planning, I would use the threaded rod for one main reason. The threads on the rod will hold more adhesive. For the size, Not sure as that will depend on how thick the finished wrist will be. I'm thinking 3/8 as a bare minimum, the larger the better but still keep as much wood as you can.

As for the Defect, That looks like a knot in the wood, which is a weak spot anyway. For that IF it were me, I would get some of the same/similar wood and cut some thin strips (1/16" - 1/8") thick. They should be cut so that the grain will run in the same direction as what you already have in that wrist. Then glue them into a couple blocks shaped to fit the hole and glue and clamp them in. I think you would have a better chance of getting some strength by sort of laminating the wood back in instead of one block, or just pouring it full of something. I would probably do the other defect the same, but a single block would be ok there as that is not a real stress point like the wrist. The other thing that come to mind is to try to keep out as much air when mixing up any epoxies for this. Air bubbles in the epoxy will just create another void.

I held off replying anymore till I could locate a stock I has buried somewhere but found it tonight.

The pics below is just an example of a wrist repair. This was not done by me and not real sure who did this. An uncle gave me this shotgun to "Fix up" but was missing some parts so I have not be able to work on it. The stock apparently was almost broke in two but not quite, as it was described to me, across the wrist. It is for a Mossberg 20 ga bolt action shotgun. The Dowel used was 3/8" in diameter. Not sure how long it held up but the split you see in the top of the wrist at the back of where the action would be is where it failed the second time. The dowel did not fail but it ended up splitting out the stock and falling apart. At the moment I forgot what the 2 small holes were for but were not part of the repair. There is no fixing this one. This is why I was saying that I would not repair the wrist on one that is for a caliber with much recoil.

Let us know how it goes. I know I will be curious on the out come of the finished product.

Well that's my 2 cents for what it's worth.

 

[jims]

Thanks for the information. I will know more how to proceed when I have the same here.

 

[donparadowski]

I'd get a new stock blank and start over.