Cracked M1917 forward hand guard repair

[MosinMan13]

I’ve got this Eddystone M1917 I recently acquired, nothing fancy, showy or of any pedigree worth stating. That said I’m still usually careful when doing any work on milsurps because I respect the time they’ve put in on this earth.

The forward hand guard is cracked, I don’t know much about how it happened, but it’s there. I’m looking for experience with this kind of repair, should I pin it with a brass/steel rod and glue/clamp? Or my other thought was to mortise a dovetail across the crack and make a dovetail tenon out of a similar wood, again with glue/clamp.

I just don’t want to leave it an open crack unsupported, and I’m not crazy about packing up anything from the inside where it could interfere with the barrel/fitment.

 

[Potashminer]

On a crack on a hand guard - on inside, I gouged out several gouges - along the crack and across it. Then cut some short lengths of wire - to be like "stitches" - then filled in gouges with liquid epoxy and dropped in the wires - one can still see the crack on the outside, but it is not going any where. I suspect anything more would be "cosmetic" since I think the "structure" has been restored. In your case, I like the idea of a dovetail cut of similar wood - that would probably hide any visible "crack", if you did the inside, first. I think in "old days", armourers had access to multiple replacements - so I doubt they were repaired, when in service.

On an associated issue - do you know how to tell whether a front hand guard is for a P14 or for an M1917 - I do not, and need two sets made by "R" - not "E" and not "W". If there is no difference - P14 to M1917 - I have several on hand.

 

[Dmay]

I agree with Potash....the inside repair would give integrity, and done right won't interfere with fitment. I'd look at the outside crack as "character". Just a thought.

 

[MosinMan13]

On a crack on a hand guard - on inside, I gouged out several gouges - along the crack and across it. Then cut some short lengths of wire - to be like "stitches" - then filled in gouges with liquid epoxy and dropped in the wires - one can still see the crack on the outside, but it is not going any where. I suspect anything more would be "cosmetic" since I think the "structure" has been restored. In your case, I like the idea of a dovetail cut of similar wood - that would probably hide any visible "crack", if you did the inside, first. I think in "old days", armourers had access to multiple replacements - so I doubt they were repaired, when in service.

On an associated issue - do you know how to tell whether a front hand guard is for a P14 or for an M1917 - I do not, and need two sets made by "R" - not "E" and not "W". If there is no difference - P14 to M1917 - I have several on hand.

That’s an interesting idea, I’ll certainly explore it. Would a bedding epoxy work in that case? Just thinking what I have on hand. I’m not too sure, I know when you buy the replacements off Prestigous Wood Stocks they’re advertised as P14/1917, I don’t know if that applies to originals.

I agree with Potash....the inside repair would give integrity, and done right won't interfere with fitment. I'd look at the outside crack as "character". Just a thought.

I’ll probably pinch clamp the top when I do it either way because the crack closes up with little effort, just to prevent any further splintering or crud getting inside