Stock repair recommendation

[Ken The Kanuck]

John Y Canuck suggested that I post this here and he is right. That letter is probably cut in about 1/8" to 3/16" ( pretty deep ).

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I pulled this old Winchester out for another reason today and thought that this might be a good time to see if anyone has any ideas on how to repair the stock.

As you can see in front rifle someone has carved thier initial into it. As this is a pretty old gun ( 32-40 ) with a serial number of 191### it should be respected I figure.

I also believe that I that I have an issue with the magazine being shortened, but that can be a topic of another post.

Any ideas what I could with this stock?

Thanks
KTK

 

[jethunter]

It looks like a nice old rifle, and in good enough shape that new wood is out of the question. I believe you have 2 options and neither is great...

1. Cut the whole initial out in a square, and splice a new piece back in. Not a perfect solution but better than trying to fill in the initial itself. It can be done so that it will look good, but will always be noticeable.

2. Leave it as is, rub in some stain and oil to make it match the existing finish as close as possible, and live with it.

I believe I'd try #2 first.

 

[hicaliber]

That's sad.
As jethunter said no good way to repair it but if you don't mind doing the entire stock you could use a wood scraper ( Lee Valley Tools)and clean it up.
The scraper will allow you to remove a good amount of wood and not gouge the stock in one spot.

 

[heavyBullet]

Not that this will help you with your problem, but it may make you feel better.

Take the stock off, and beat the stock over the head of the guy who did this to the rifle.

 

[fastex]

John Y Canuck suggested that I post this here and he is right. That letter is probably cut in about 1/8" to 3/16" ( pretty deep ).

--------------------------------------

I pulled this old Winchester out for another reason today and thought that this might be a good time to see if anyone has any ideas on how to repair the stock.

As you can see in front rifle someone has carved thier initial into it. As this is a pretty old gun ( 32-40 ) with a serial number of 191### it should be respected I figure.

I also believe that I that I have an issue with the magazine being shortened, but that can be a topic of another post.

Any ideas what I could with this stock?

Thanks
KTK

Anything that you try with this stock is going to look as bad or worse than what you have. If it were mine I would leave it as part of the story that all these old rifles have. By trying to fix it you can't put the blame on someone else!!!!!! ha

 

[mojoman]

Don't know how big that is but you could always inlay a silver dollar from around that era in there, would look better than the G.

 

[rgg_7]

An experience stock guy could remove the initial from the butt.

It would involve carefully reshaping the the sides and raising the grain. Is there any cracking in the wrist? I've seen a lot worst than this restored.

 

[mojoman]

rgg 7 is right, that would be the best option.

 

[dmv]

Don't know how big that is but you could always inlay a silver dollar from around that era in there, would look better than the G.

Similar to a Lee Enfield or the Winchester commemorative editions. They look OK

 

[maple_leaf_eh]

An inletted disc or medallion would be the easiest to do - Forstner bit and epoxy. Whether it is a coin or a wood disc is up to you.

 

[trevj]

Hunt down a replacement, used stock? They are not exactly super rare. What, a few million made? And a correct era Winchester chunk of wood is still going to be as correct as it gets.

I like the inlay idea, other than that, to do a decent job of it, you have to effectively create a deception that this inlay is of the same era as the rifle. Not much point in sticking a modern coin in it.

Seems a lot of wood to remove, if you go the "shave" route. Would play heck with the symmetry of the stock. Not that a right handed shooter would notice, but I think it would look crooked.

There are some pretty good woodsmiths out there. Grafting in a patch is a possibility, but probably as expensive, or more so, than just buying a suitable used stock.

Cheers
Trev

 

[BlackBrant]

An inletted disc or medallion would be the easiest to do - Forstner bit and epoxy. Whether it is a coin or a wood disc is up to you.

Lee Valley does indeed sell Forstner bits sized to various coins (It`s a new product ,look at their web site)
Of course ,that is if you go this route.

Almost as bad as these idiots who spraypaint their names on the sides of cliff walls ,boulder faces etc.Like anybody gives a F$%# who they are or who they are in love with (hmmmmm.....kind of similar to people personal "BLOGS")

BB

 

[Winnipeg Toymaker]

Covering the mark up by putting a coin or medallion would make it too obvious. I would invest some time talking to a furniture refinishing service and they have excellent ways of repairing damage and make invisible repairs. Well worth the effort.

 

[jethunter]

Similar to a Lee Enfield or the Winchester commemorative editions. They look OK

I'd rather have the "G" than a medallion, this old girl deserves better. The commemorative medallions look cheap and artificial to me.

I always opined that if it needs a medallion in the stock to tell you it's a commemorative, it's not.

Win-Toy has a good idea with the furniture refinishers - let a professional do it and you won't regret it later.

 

[scanner]

I would leave the stock exactly the way it is now. Anything you do to remove, or try to hide, the G will leave a "played with" look that will change the gun forever.

Maybe the G will identify your gun to someone very important in history one day? Have you ever watched antique roadshow when the guy says "it's a very important item, but now that's it's been refinished......."

 

[BCRider]

The OP says it's between 1/8 and 3/16 deep.

If you try to infill it the letter will stand out like a sore thumb.

If you shave the surrounding wood down to remove the letter then the actual change to the shape of the stock will be very noticable.

If you inlet a piece of wood then the mismatch in the grains around the edges of the inletted patch will make it obvious as that sore thumb again.

There's four options as I see it.

First is leave it and oil it and accept it as part of the gun's history.

Second is to hide the G with a mod of your own using a meddalion or big coin as has already been mentioned.

Third is repair it by planing off the whole side from butt to receiver and slab on a full length patch which would then be carved down to match the original shape. This will leave a couple of full length glue lines and some grain mismatching but it won't stick out like the sore thumb. A good bit of creativity in the finishing would blend and hide a lot of the repair as well. Of the repair options it is likely the best that'll leave the stock looking the most original other than the signs of a properley crafted repair.

Fourth is to find and replace the stock with a period part.

Because I do a lot of my own woodworking of this sort I'd likely repair it using my Option 3. But I'd also be on the lookout to eventually replace the stock and possibly foregrip with good condition authentic used parts. That is assuming the cost isn't out of line.