I have a early 50s vintage M70 that has some pretty deep stock gouges in a couple of places. I've tried steaming with an iron but not successful. what else might I try? thank you.

A hard man to beat
http://www.thestockdr.com/index.php

I agree.

Have you tried a steam cleaner? MUCH better than an iron. Works wonders. Just get close enough back to the surface and fill any remainder with super glue.

Handheld Steam Cleaner

quote:

has some pretty deep stock gouges in a couple of places

Doubt steam will handle the issue. Once your remove wood or cut the fibers a steam repair is far less successful.

Send me pictures of the damage. I will help you all I am able to via phone if possible. I have been very ill. Caught a very bad bacterial infection early Jan. Have been hospitalized and hope to get doctor's OK to go back to work today.

You better get well soon!

quote:

Caught a very bad bacterial infection early Jan. Have been hospitalized and hope to get doctor's OK to go back to work today.

Speaking from experience a bad infection can kick the crap out of you. As butch has said do hope you get better real soon.

Got cleared to return to work. Wife says my endurance is needing to be built up slowly. I will start by getting my shop cleaned up. All of my gear/display material from DSC is still packed and waiting for me to put away. Thanks for the well wishes! I need to get back to work...but only at a level of not going backward in health. I have good advisors and supporters.

Dennis, if I had looking at my dirty shop and knew that I had to clean it first, I'd get sick again.
Take care of yourself.

Hi Dennis, glad to hear you are on the mend!You have really had a time with that infection. My dad always told me getting old isn't for sissies!

Dennis: Thanks much for the offer. Will try getting some pictures to you.

Devere

Take your time and heel up and hair over before you get in walnut dust..

Ray, I have so much gunstock finish in my system my wife says they won't need to embalm me...I'm already full of preservatives! If they try to cremate ,me they had better use a small flame as the dust in my lungs will cause the fire to increase 75% in heat.

Used to burn walnut gunstock scrap in the fireplace...until the fire got so hot the screen bolts let go of the mortar in the bricks and it fell out on the hearth.

Dennis coached me through repairing a stock toe break. It went so well that the repair truly is invisible. I had never thought of using elmers glue. Thanks Dennis.

Dennis, I understand that, If I cough up flem I just rub it in to one of my stocks and let cure!

Blanks that have damage can still be used in a high quality firearm, the black pattern was the selected portion of the blank to be used for the stock. The red pattern would have missed a majority of the repair, however would have lost a large amount of the figure on the opposite side. To do the repairs I have made a plug that i shaped to fit into the holes of the damaged sections of the blank, this will take approximately 30-40 refittings to match the plug to the hole. You will know when the plugs fit perfectly after you can push it in with your thumb and require a pair of pliers to remove it.

Don't be afraid to repair a damaged stock/blank correctly, below you can see how i have inletted a matching piece of wood from the same blank in each of the damaged areas. The final photo is the stock with just a scrape finish and a light coat of linseed oil. When the stock is completely finished the repairs will be difficult to see. Repairs when done correct will not detract from the finished stock.


Damaged exhibition grade blank.


Duplicated stock from my pattern, explored damage.


Preparing Repairs.


Matching colour and pattern for repair piece.


Fitting and shaping repair pieces.


Checking fit for repair piece.


Glued and Clamped.


Repair pieces filed to match stock.


Final piece.

Wow Roger, pretty amazing fill job!

Roger,
How can I order another blank if you don't check your emails mate.

Repairs to nice wood, be it a stock or a piano, will become another of the "lost arts", like so many other tasks that require skill and patience. Most of those tasks that require skills and patience also require time, and in our "right now" world these things just don't add up for the majority. Low cost, perfect and fast is what most look for. Most have never done anything/made anything themselves, if they have only the simplest of things, so they haven't a clue.

Roger that looks like they were part of the wood now, great work.

Slivers: That's why plastic shit stocks were invented!

George

Mr. Vardy

That stock is lovely. It's shape is particularly attractive. And so is the metalwork. Would you mind telling us just exactly what all of that is? Action, barrel, caliber, bottom metal, bolt handle, etc.

Almost any damage can be repaired, just matching the wood is the hard part, that's why I save every scrape of walnut..make a plug or shape a piece to inlet in..make the patch match the grain and color, sometimes a black marks a lot can save the day. being unable to detect the patch is first and foremost..Good work Roger.

Lindy, the rifle consists of a g33/40 action, a shilen recontured barrel to reduce it's weight, Blackburn bottom metal reshaped at the front (to make the fore-end slimmer) and a Canjar trigger (With new trigger design.). The bolt itself has a Rabourn three position safety made by Joe Zufall, the bolt handle is custom made to my design. The grip cap is a two screw by Jerry Fisher with the pad made by Pachmayr.

Jasper Rabourn many yrs ago did work on my 98 Mauser, surface ground etc. turned out beautiful. Last I heard he gave up smithing and was farmimg/ranching in Oklahoma. I remember those safetys in Rifle and Handloader magazine. Be nice if they are both back in the game.

I wouldn't buy a less than perfect blank for one thing, the other is Ive seen many plugs over a long period of time ease out a tad even if glassed in and damage the finish, and that to is repairable but a pain..An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure IMO..Damage from a hunting trip or whatever is whole nuther ball game, needs to be repaired as best it can be. the best stock repair is the damage itself, its a memory of a certain successful hunt..Im a nostalgic btw...

Ray: Understood..My own 270 from 1986 (second barrel, third scope)

I have a patch that acts exactly as you describe, but I suspect Roger, as I, might use the less perfect but totally functional and otherwise attractive blanks on our own rifles

ONe thing I will suggest to anyone who damages a stock and wants it repaired properly is up to you, tossing it in the back seat and packing it up sending it to the fixer upper just doesn't fly..

Always pad the break, both ends, all of the exposed part with lots of cottom then tape it,if you have any slivers of any size place them between cotton and tape them up..most of the time they can be replaced in the damage.

I was sent a 577 Jefferys double, hows that for rare, stock broken in half at the checkered grip, but the owner protected the break as I described to him..The owner (an African ) said he despertly needed the money as fast as possible, so he would sell it for $8500. I sold it quickly sent my man his money and was proud of myself for doing so..That kind of money would have strained me a bit so I let it go as opposed to keeping it an fixing it and selling it myself..The buyer paid me to fix it as I recall, He sold it for $35,000. Im told and don't doubt it one bit. Some days are diamonds and some days are stones. it was good repair and couldn't be detected unless you got it out in the sunlight, they all usually show up to the experienced eye...

Duane,
Yep its the gunsmith delima, use the rejects for ourselves and sell the good stuff! Im good with that..

However unlike you, Im not in the business, so I build them all for myself and use them until someone buys them, but I still keep the rejects, Nice thing about that is you don't have to baby a reject, just use it hard.