Identify My Martini please!
- Thread starter Loki610
- Start date
Nice rifle Loki610.
I want one of these.
It is an easy job to stabilize the crack in the butt stock.
I did this with one of my MK IV martini Henry`s a few years ago.
Remove the butt stock and drill a small hole or two,(3/16" or less) from the face that fits against the receiver, towards the butt, inline with the crack.
I used a quick grip to hold the crack together while I drilled to keep it from splitting any more.
Wrap the stock in news paper and masking tape to protect it from your sticky fingers. Now force one of the many bonding agents used for wood down the hole with a toothpick, piece of wire or similar.
I use a bedding compound like Acra Glas or Bedrock, if I want to make it super strong.
If you can gently open the crack a bit while doing this it will force some into the split.
Clamp together with a padded C clamp or Quick Grip and let `re set up.
I would also make some shims the same size as the face of the butt, to put between the butt and receiver.
There should be a small gap all the way around the butt where it meets the receiver.
This will stop the this area from chipping out when you shoot.
Save your drill shavings to mix with carpenters glue to help hide repairs if you ever need in the future.
Put it back together and blast away.
Hope this helps.
I want one of these.
It is an easy job to stabilize the crack in the butt stock.
I did this with one of my MK IV martini Henry`s a few years ago.
Remove the butt stock and drill a small hole or two,(3/16" or less) from the face that fits against the receiver, towards the butt, inline with the crack.
I used a quick grip to hold the crack together while I drilled to keep it from splitting any more.
Wrap the stock in news paper and masking tape to protect it from your sticky fingers. Now force one of the many bonding agents used for wood down the hole with a toothpick, piece of wire or similar.
I use a bedding compound like Acra Glas or Bedrock, if I want to make it super strong.
If you can gently open the crack a bit while doing this it will force some into the split.
Clamp together with a padded C clamp or Quick Grip and let `re set up.
I would also make some shims the same size as the face of the butt, to put between the butt and receiver.
There should be a small gap all the way around the butt where it meets the receiver.
This will stop the this area from chipping out when you shoot.
Save your drill shavings to mix with carpenters glue to help hide repairs if you ever need in the future.
Put it back together and blast away.
Hope this helps.
Even better is 1/4" surgical tubing. No risk of denting the wood and you can get really even pressure over a long area if you need to.
If there is any hint of oil in the wood, it's not a bad idea to run a bit of acetone or similar into the crack area first and wick it up. (It will likely take off any stock finish, so be careful.) If you need to, epoxy can be thinned by warming it a LITTLE. (May speed up curing time unacceptably if too warm, though.) Cyanoacrylates (such as Insta-Bond, but there are "waterier" versions from mfrs. like CA Glues) are useful as well if the crack is too thin to get epoxy in. They set up almost immediately, though. I used a thin CA glue to repair a fine crack in the wrist of my Marlin 1895.
Stuartwell i finally got around to removing the stock and gluing it, I was able to use a syringe and inject glue deep into the crack before wiping clean and clamping, and wrapping with rubber. Looks great now cant even see the crack! Will take it out tomorrow and fire a few rounds to see how she works now.
How did it shoot, accuracy-wise, or were you just making sure it would go "BANG!"?
Stuart188 yards? Can you get closer, even to 50 yards? Most old military rifles were zeroed around 200 yds. or so. Yours would likely shoot lower with the original 215 gn. load. Odd it is 1' to the right, and hard to correct as I don't think the sights are adjustable for windage. Still, it's a start.
Hmmm... I wonder if it has Metford rifling, which was designed for black powder? (There was a thread on rifling types on CGN a few months, maybe a year, back. The search function might help you find it.)
StuartYou always told me it was shot out. Bastard.
You're letting me play with it this winter when I'm down there.
