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Winchester 1906 stock problem

1K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  Grizzley1 
#1 ·
I "came across" a 1906 the other day that is in "VERY good" condition. When I took the stock off to clean it up, I noticed a crack in the wood under the top of the tang. Now this gun probably hasn't been taken apart in years so the oil and "stuff" is in the crack to the point that glue (Tite Bond) won't hold ( I tried using a syringe to inject the glue into the crack and clamp it together, to no avail. Question is: What, if anything will clean the oil from the inside of the crack so the glue will hold? Just leaving it alone hides it (under the tang), but it will crack further if not treated. Drilling, cutting, dowling, or other methods that will mar it is out of the question. Any ideas? BYW the gun is a beauty, and functions slick as a whistle.
 
#2 ·
That's an interesting dilemma. I just did the same on a 1924 MFG 1906 stock that I am also reasonably certain had never been off the gun. The internals of this gun and stock were filthy. It had 3 cracks. I used Loctite liquid super glue and it glued it up solid.
 
#3 ·
I used to soak the stock in acetone for a day or so. It draws out the oil. The wood looks lighter but stain will color it back easily. You may want to try an artists pallet knife to force glue into cracks. It is very flexible like a squeegee and it great for glue work. Being metal it will clean off.
 
#4 ·
I've had success using brake cleaner and carburetor cleaner on oil soaked wood, gently spread the crack and use the plastic wand supplied with the can to get the spray into the crack, hold the stock with the buttstock vertical so the cleaner will drip on the ground rather than run down the finish on your stock, it can damage the finish so be careful with it.

Then use a slow setting two part epoxy, work it as deeply into the crack as you can, clamp it and wipe off any excess epoxy.

If you want you can mix a small amount of an oil based wood stain in with the epoxy to color it the same as the stock wood.
 
#5 ·
Update on Stock repair.
I Used Griz's method because I had all the stuff at hand. Wedged the crack open, sprayed Brake Cleaner in 3 or 4 times, let sit for a day, mixed some JB Weld and forced it into the crack with my finger until I saw it coming out the other side, clamped it closed, wiped off excess and let sit 24 hrs. Will let it sit another 24 just to be sure. Looks good so far. Thanks guys....Merry Christmas to all !!
 
#6 ·
Good luck - I hope it works. I've used Brownell's glass bedding compound for stock repairs, and it seems to work as well as any two-part epoxy. I like the advice about using something like a brake cleaner (carefully) and spreading the cracked piece to allow the cleaner to reach inside, as well as forcing the epoxy as deep into the crack as you can. I've done this with several different old 1903 Springfield stocks - to include one C stock that was completely broken at the wrist - and they've held up for years under regular use.
 
#7 ·
I've never used JB weld for stock repairs but I suppose it would work as well as any other epoxy if it isn't somewhere that you could see the repair.

I've used Brownell's stock bedding compound with good results and have had just as good results with slow setting epoxies. what I like about epoxies is that you can stain them with oil based wood stains or artists paint to get an exact color match to the wood.

I suppose the five minute epoxy would be just as strong but five minutes might not be enough time to get every thing in place and clamped together before it sets.
 
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