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First, let me apologize for the thread title, accurate though it may be. I just couldn't help myself.
Anyway, I just received a 1951 Marlin 336A in .35 Remington (having fallen under the influence of local enabler supreme EarlM), and the butt has a serious fracture running from the tang through the cheek piece and almost to the buttplate. We're talking a big old pancake of a fracture here. It's not worth having professionally repaired as the stock has already had a couple of cracks and holes filled and has been refinished with too much Tru-Oil. So even Old Bill here can scarcely make things worse. That said, should I just squirt a coupla tubes of crazy glue in there, wrap with waxed paper and surgical tubing and call her good, or would two-part epoxy be a better choice? Whatever I use, I will likely scrape down to bare wood and throw my own finish on it.
Thanks for any advice pards!
With the oil finish, would glue even stick to the wood?
D. Brian Casady
Quid Llatine Dictum Sit, Altum Viditur.
Advanced is being able to do the basics while your leg is on fire---Bill Jeans
Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up---Robert Frost
I just finished fixing up several cracks in a new (to me) 1913ish version of an 1894 Marlin. If you are a little bit patient and want to do this just one time, it's not hard, but probably will result in a buttstock that will lose whatever original finish it has and thus will need some degree of new finish to be applied in the end.
As for whether you use crazy glue or epoxy (I like Devcon or Marine Tex or Acura Glass - all dyed black), in my experience it depends on what the cracks are like and how accessible they are. If you can spread them wide enough to get epoxy in there, that would be my suggestion. If you can't then use the cyanocryolate (thin, not the thick, viscous stuff). You might even be better off breaking the crack completely for better access and possibly building in some internal reinforcement (like threaded sections of bolts or wood butterfly spines) that would be invisible to the outside.
But all this depends on how much oil is down in those cracks. Probably enough that the acetone/alcohol rotational soaking is required. If this isn't a great stock in the first place, then it is a great stock to attempt your first major repair. And it might turn out way better than you could have guessed.
Super glue usually fails after a few years, moisture breaks it down.
If you can get a small quantity of good epoxy - 2 hour stuff like they use for boat building, it's usually low enough viscosity to seep into some very fine cracks. You might need to build a little dam out of masking tape or modeling clay around the crack to keep enough epoxy on it. Sometimes you can use a shop vac to help out, but it does need to be just the right crack for that.
Soon as I saw the title I thought, " better fitting trousers".
If you use epoxy I would suggest getting marine grade. Mix it to a putty with fine sawdust similar in color to your stock and it should last indefinitely and look pretty discreet as well.
Bob
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You have got to love democracy-
It lets you choose who your dictator is going to be.
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gundownunder wrote:Soon as I saw the title I thought, " better fitting trousers".
If you use epoxy I would suggest getting marine grade. Mix it to a putty with fine sawdust similar in color to your stock and it should last indefinitely and look pretty discreet as well.
If you mix sawdust into a crack repair, you will never get the two sides of the crack to mate properly.
Sawdust mixtures, if you must (I don't care for them) should be reserved for filling voids, holes, caverns maybe. But not cracks.
I prefer the capillary action of thin cyanoacrylate glues which penetrates deep into cracks and sticks on to just about anything including oil finished woods. Fast curing time is nice too. I have been using the stuff for decades on wood repairs and never had issues with it breaking down with age. I prefer epoxies when there is a gap that also needs filling but purely for cracks I prefer the "crazy" stuff.
Illegitimus Non Carborundum Akā, ʻo ka poʻe hilinaʻi aku iā Iēhova, e ulu hou nō ko lākou ikaika;
E piʻi ʻēheu aku nō lākou i luna, e like me nā ʻaito;
E holo nō lākou, ʻaʻole hoʻi e māloʻeloʻe,
E hele mua nō lākou, ʻaʻole hoʻi e maʻule.
`Isaia 40:31
Most of the reports are anecdotal, but a lot of turners who sell their work will not use the stuff because it means replacing work they sold years before.
If it works for you, go to it. I'll stick to epoxy
I had a crack on my Gran Dad's old 37 Winchester shotgun, running the length of the wrist and beyond. I got a large, long drill bit and drilled straight down the crack length ways, towards the buttstock. I filled it with the 2 part epoxy....shooting it in With the syringe provided. Then, I inserted a dowel rod into the hole(same diameter as drill bit, sanded it down slightly beforehand). Inserting the dowel rod in forces the epoxy into all the cracks. Then, quickly clamp and sponge off the epoxy that runs out. Let dry and unclamp. So far, mine has held tight for about eight years and you have to look hard to see it.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
Bill in Oregon wrote:First, let me apologize for the thread title, accurate though it may be. I just couldn't help myself.
...!
C2N14... because life is not energetic enough. מנא, מנא, תקל, ופרסין Daniel 5:25-28... Got 7.62?
Not Depressed enough yet? Go read National Geographic, July 1976 Gott und Gewehr mit uns!
Most of the reports are anecdotal, but a lot of turners who sell their work will not use the stuff because it means replacing work they sold years before.
If it works for you, go to it. I'll stick to epoxy
I've been turning wood for 18 years and never had a failure with CA glue in all that time. I would never use CA glue for a segmented bowl blank but for fixing cracks it has worked fine and easily my favorite woodturning adhesive. These pieces are artistic and sealed from moisture spending most time on a shelf to be admired. For pieces used for food such as bowls I choose solid blanks for longevity and abuse of repeated washings so no glues, no finishes except walnut oil. In repairs on straight cracks in gunstocks CA adhesive has held beautifully in my experience. When adding on to a butt stock a block to increase pull length where more strength and shock resistance is needed I use epoxy without a second thought. Both type adhesives have their place in my experience.
Illegitimus Non Carborundum Akā, ʻo ka poʻe hilinaʻi aku iā Iēhova, e ulu hou nō ko lākou ikaika;
E piʻi ʻēheu aku nō lākou i luna, e like me nā ʻaito;
E holo nō lākou, ʻaʻole hoʻi e māloʻeloʻe,
E hele mua nō lākou, ʻaʻole hoʻi e maʻule.
`Isaia 40:31
Stupid me. 
