1905 Ross

BTW, most epoxy glues can be washed with methyl hydrate when still uncured. This will avoid a lot of sanding. Care must be taken not to dig into the repair by removing too much or using too much alcool, though.
 
Useful conversation about working with old materials. I would throw out that the choice of material for pins becomes important if there is going to be any strain on it. (Show of hands - who hasn't overstressed and broken a screw because of a heavy hand on the screwdriver?) That strain might not just come from the installation, but from recoil too. It would be a shame for your nice work to come undone unexpectedly.

For the same dimensions - steel is stronger than brass. Brass is stronger than wood. Wood is stronger than glue. Somewhere I saw for sale long blanks of spiral threaded brass stock intended for arsenal repairs by the British. Maybe they knew something we don't?
 
For stock repairs, the brass (annealed) was used because of it's tensile strenght (elasticity) and corrosion resistance. Now (soft) SS rods are more common for the same task.
 
What`s the barrel length on this one?

The 1905R came with 22, 24 and 26 inch. Most of the ones I`ve seen are 22".

This one appears to be one of the longer ones.
 
Get a spray bottle of Easy Off oven cleaner and a dirty old bath mat. Run hot water over the metal to warm it and spray the Easy Off all over, filling the barrel well. Wait 20 minutes. Put on rubber gloves and eye protection. With old toothbrushes, maybe a bottle brush, and some ###X steel wool, give the whole rifle a good rub down then wash off in very hot water. Scrub out the barrel with the Easy Off still in it. I guarantee you purple goop will come out. Run lots of hot water through the barrel. Blow off the moisture with compressed air if you have it. Otherwise wipe down and dry on a woodstove or with a propane torch, just until the moisture evaporates. Be careful not to overheat thin parts, if they change colour you've screwed up. Spray down with G96 or whatever and let sit for a few hours. Wipe down and you will be amazed how much better it looks.

The stock is best left alone IMHO. Whatever you do, don't Easy Off it. Old stocks are like fine old furniture and when you strip them you ruin them and their value.

Live with the cracks is my advice or get a really skilled stock or furniture repair man to do it for you. There are some really gifted amateurs around too.
 
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