Cracked stock

L

littlephil

New member
Ok, so I just picked up an actual German 98 mauser sporter. This one was actually done pretty well and has a scope and aftermarket open sights on the military barrel. Not really sure why it was done, but at some point someone had the complete bolt, trigger, and bottom metal chrome plated. Looks ok I guess, just a little flashy for my taste. Any way, it's got a pretty good looking wood stock on it and I'd love to leave it on, however, there is a crack running down the right side of the stock. It goes from just ahead of the chamber all the way back into the wrist. This stock has a very pronounced grain, and the crack runs right in line with one of the grains in the butt portion. The crack is all the way through the wood in the action area and can be opened up if you push opposite ways on the wood above and below it. Is there any semi simple way to repair this stock, or should I just place an order with Boyds when I get some extra money? I'll try and get some pics posted in a bit. Thanks for any and all help!
 
My opinion is a crack through the magwell is very difficult to repair. A crack "following the grain" means the blank was faulted and probably should have been tossed instead of finished. Skip the hassle of trying to repair and get a replacement that won't fail later at an inconvenient time.
 
Thanks for the quick reply Mobuck. That's pretty much what I was afraid of. I also noticed that the crack runs right to the top of the fore end right at the rear sight. It's a real shame because this stock has some beautiful grain, especially in the butt of it. I guess I'll probably end up getting another walnut stock from Boyds.
 
I think that will be best for the long term. The crack might be repaired after a fashion if a collectible were involved, but a new stock will be best.

Jim
 
cracked stock

Looks like you have nothing to loose, I'd try to repair it. I don't think you will be able to hide the crack. looks like the wood is oil stained along the crack. Maybe cut it out from the inside to some extent and chase it down through the wrist area with a small drill. Pick a good glue and work into the crack, maybe fiberglass and bed the whole thing. You got nothing to loose and a fun project when you win.
 
Thanks fellas. I may try and do a repair job on it. At least I might be able to shoot it a few times to see how it shoots. I hate having a gun out of commission so that would at least get me by till I can get another stock for it maybe. Thanks again for the replies so far.
 
It could be repaired, but it would be time consuming, as the wood would have to be reinforced with epoxy, and all thread rod. That would be the only repair that might stop the crack from opening more, and continuing on into the grip. The problem is, the thinness of the wood around the magazine well, and accurately drilling small deep holes for 4-40 all thread, (just less than 1/8"), that will also hold the epoxy, which will stiffen the wood from opening up. Then, put some larger rod from where the receiver tang is, and at an angle through the grip. That is a big job in itself, and trying to hide those holes along each side of the mag. well would be something else.

If it were me, I'd buy a semi-inletted stock, and fit it to the action.
 
Yeah, I would probably start with new wood too. That gun was barely modified from looking at the pictures. Start from scratch.
 
I don't see the problem with trying an inexpensive fix- especially if you like the stock and don't want to dump more money into it as a sporter.

You said the wood is easily separated down most of the length of the crack. I would go the epoxy route. I would not thin it, as this weakens the strength of the epoxy, but mild heating does not an lessens viscosity. I would find/cut some very thin tapered shims, use them to carefully separate the stock (without stressing the crack causing to to get larger). Mix some two-part epoxy- I use nothing but West System, but others will work- and using a syringe designed for this, heat and inject the epoxy into the crack. First though- tape off the stock with blue painters tape to protect the finish from the epoxy that's going to ooze out, just the same as if you were epoxy bedding the action.

The heated epoxy will be absorbed better into the wood grain. Allow some time for it to do this, after each light application. Inject- allow time for it to absorb. Of course, you need to be mindful of your working time with whatever epoxy you choose- heat, decreases cure time. Once the wood no longer soaks up more, remove the shims and allow the crack to close.

Take some electrical tape, or surgical tubing, and evenly wrap/lightly stretch around the stock for the length of the repair, distributing even pressure. I'm not a fan of clamps for this type of repair, they point-load their pressure- and you don't need, or want, a lot of clamp pressure here.

JMO, YMMV.
 
Your call, on the fix

As others have stated, the stock can be repaired to a functional stated. However, cosmetically might be another question. It will take time but what the heck, it's your tie and measure. The latest stock that I repaired, was a Winchester Model-12 and it worked out quite well. .... :)

Nothing wrong with getting a new Boyd as they are very reasonable. .... ;)

Be Safe !!!
 
That crack is not a terrifically difficult repair, but it would take quite a bit of work to do right (degrease stock, drill and pin, epoxy, apply a layer of matte to the inside, sand and refinish). Since the stock is a 1960-ish sporter stock with no collector value, your option of going to a Boyds stock would work out to be cheaper. I bought a Boyds walnut stock for a customer, they look acceptable, and it would get you back in service quicker.
 
If you want to tackle it yourself, all it will cost is some epoxy, maybe some of the Brownells repair screws, maybe a drill bit, depending on the method you choose. And time, of course.
Paying a gunsmith to do it would run the cost way up, probably more than a new plain stock.

Does it have a scope safety? I would sure want to get rid of those "look under bracket" scope mounts. I would probably take off the open sight to get a low mount.
 
Don't mess with epoxy for that kind of crack.
Go to your local hobby shop and get some SuperThin Cyano
Hold the crack closed, run the cyano along the crack, hold for 5-10 sec
Done (and permanent)
 
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Thanks again for all the help. I'm just gonna try and get this stock shootable till I can get another one. Plus this will give me some practice on stock repairs. I'll see what I can do with it based on all of your suggestions. If I do anything that looks halfway decent, I'll put up some pics. Thanks again for all the help!
 
Most glues will thin if the container is heated up in a pot of water.
Just make sure the lid is on tight.
And don't use your wife's good cook ware. :)
 
SuperThin Cyano actually "wicks" into/throughout the length, depth, and
breadth of the crack immediately (fraction of a second) and on its own.
No extra steps required, and leaves nothing behind.
 
If you are going the glue route on wood, it is hard to beat good old wood glue. It has really come a long way. As already stated, the area to be glued has to be super clean or de-greased. Even fresh wood has natural resins in it that glue will not adhere to.
 
I am not a gunsmith, nor a stockmaker. Nor can I recommend some of the things that I've done.

But, this is something that I attacked in 2013:
(Long, messy post incoming...)
It was a Savage 258 bolt-action 20 ga shotgun that was rolled over by a horse, or driven over by a truck.

I bought it at an auction for nothing (something like $8). When I got home and took a better look, I realized that this stock was trash. "There was no saving it," ... so to speak.

The only thing holding the butt stock to the fore-end was a small piece of wood on the right side of the mag well - maybe 3/8" square. Everything else was broken clean-through the inletting. Some cracks started at the front action screw. Some started at the back of the mag well. Some just ran the length of the stock. Some ran through all of the inletting. And all of the 'bulkheads' in the inletting were broken out, including the recoil shoulder.

But, what did I have to lose, as long as the finished product didn't scare me?

Unfortunately, the only 'before' picture is horrendously blurry and you can't make heads or tails of what's going on with the stock.


Messy, messy, messy. I have no excuses for it - I just didn't care, since I knew what was happening afterward and was working on the guest bed in our crappy apartment at the time. ;)
The epoxy-filled hole on the wrist was actually a vent for a steel pin that was inserted through the wrist from the bottom of the pistol grip.

Savage258_redneckrepair_800.jpg



With some of the cracks pointed out:
The red arrow is pointing to the front action screw area, where there were 3 more cracks and major reinforcement needed (no picture of that).
All of the indicated cracks on the near side wrap down, under the stock, and terminate at the rear of the mag well.
I pieced what I could back together of the recoil shoulder, turned it into a big epoxy lump, then drilled a 1/4" hole one radius (1/8") from the edge and broached with 1/4" chisel for as precise of a hole as I could get with the tools on hand. I cleaned everything back up and epoxied it all back in after the big cracks were pinned.

Savage258_redneckrepair_800_arrows.jpg



After the stock was pinned, screwed, epoxied, and cured, I went back and epoxy-bedded the recoil lug.
But, again, I had no photo. So this is a photo from 10 minutes ago...
The arrows indicate areas where you can just make out the brass reinforcement I used for the recoil shoulder, under the dark epoxy.

Savage258_redneckbed_800.jpg



I beat the ever-living crap out of that thing, in my effort to see whether or not I would trust having that jagged, sharp piece of wood on the wrist, just inches from my face when it was fired. Eventually, I figured it was good to go, and ran some rounds through it. It did well, and has become a family favorite.


Painted (with texture! ;-)) to hide the laziness and messiness:

Savage258_redneckrepair_800_done.jpg





And, almost three years and 400 rounds later (plus whatever my nephews have put through it)... She's still holding strong.
(With a recycled butt pad added in early 2014.)

Savage258_redneckrepair_800_later.jpg



In the end, as noted in another post, I ended up with:
"...14 cracks repaired, several holes filled, 3 threaded pins, 1 brass recoil boss reinforcement, 1 brass pin, 2 screws, and several dowels..."
And the stock gained over a pound between the pins, screws, paint, and epoxy.
 
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