What are my options here? I was working on a stock and had it hanging in the shop when the kids car broke down. I've spent the last couple days laying under that thing and didn't give the stock a single thought until I got up and hit my head on it causing it to fall to the ground. Now there are 2 dents in it right on the check piece. About .060 deep. The stock was to the point where I sealed the pores and the finish needed to be cut back again. I never did a repair like this, is there a way to raise the dents any so I don't have to cut down the cheekpiece that far? It was sealed with custom pro oil.
Don

Dear Don:

What has worked for me is a wet paper towel folded over twice to give you four thicknesses.

Get it really wet in clean water, wring it out, and place if over the dent. Hit it with an iron on the cotton (high) setting, and watch the steam raise that dent. Don't let your paper towel dry out too much, so only hit it with the iron for about 10 seconds.

Lift the wet paper towel off, and see how far the dent has risen. Re-wet, re-wring, and re-heat with the iron for another 10 seconds if needed until the dent is gone.

Now if the dent has an edge you may have some more work to do.

Lastly, let the stock thoroughly dry, maybe touch it up with some 400 wet sand paper, and rub in with oil.

Good luck.

Sincerely,

Chris Bemis

yale is right on, but only if the wood is only dented. if the grain is broken the lift doesn't work to well

Put a pinhole in the center of each dent, maybe .060" deep or so. Put a drop of water in each dent and let it sit overnight. Next day use the the hot iron as Yale described. The pinhole and water will get moisture down into the wood rather than just the surface. If this doesn't do it, time to drag out the belt sander.

A clean 1/2 gallon can, like paint thinner comes in. Put a small hole in the cap, like with a nail. Fill the can 1/2-3/4's full of water, put it on a hotplate, stove burner, Coleman stove, whatever, hold the dent over the steam jet coming out of the cap.

You can drive oil out of wood with this set up, also.

For either purpose, it leaves you a free hand and works.

Thanks TinCan , that makes a whole lot of sence !

quote:

A clean 1/2 gallon can, like paint thinner comes in. Put a small hole in the cap, like with a nail. Fill the can 1/2-3/4's full of water, put it on a hotplate, stove burner, Coleman stove, whatever, hold the dent over the steam jet coming out of the cap.

Just don't seal the can super tight. Ally too much heat and your hole will not allow enough steam pressure to be released. Last thing you want is the can to compart under pressure and cover you will super hot water and steam.

I've used the following successfully:

1. Superglue

2. Iron as described above

3. Steam gun - same as iron, no rags/towels needed.

On all three above, I've used them to restore damaged fine edges - like around the butt of a rifle.

Thanks guys, with closer look the bigger issue is going to be the chip I found. Probably end up going be glued up and sent to the duplicator. Still be good practice on repairs, so I'll try to fix it up first.
Don

A system I picked up some where. Using a hypodermic needle.
IGot mine at the drug store.
Fill the chamber, put a seried of holes in the dent and inject water. Use the tip of a clothes iron with a two layers of dish towel, flour sack.
Fill needle holes with Linspeeed or some such.

Jim

Good news! Because you used Pro Custom Oil as your finish you can easily remove the finish from the dent with some carefully applied paint stripper. Then follow the instructions for raising the grain as given above. You can easily "patch in" the finish with more Pro Custom Oil and no one will be the wiser. You also don't have to sand the cheekpiece except to blend in the finish build up around the repair. You can use a Q-tip for the paint stripper applicator.

quote:

Originally posted by ramrod340:

quote:

A clean 1/2 gallon can, like paint thinner comes in. Put a small hole in the cap, like with a nail. Fill the can 1/2-3/4's full of water, put it on a hotplate, stove burner, Coleman stove, whatever, hold the dent over the steam jet coming out of the cap.

Just don't seal the can super tight. Ally too much heat and your hole will not allow enough steam pressure to be released. Last thing you want is the can to compart under pressure and cover you will super hot water and steam.

good point, well taken.

Thanks guys, the dents steamed out. Real close at least. The grain was cut in one dent so it left a mark, but I can live with it. It is smooth to the touch after a few coats and a wet sanding. It's just a deer rifle, probably look worse than that is a few years.
Don
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