Canadian No1 MKIII* damaged draws, worth repairing?

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Silverplate

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Hello everyone,

I have a Canadian marked BSA 1917 No1 MkIII* (all matching except magazine) that has damage to the fore-stock and draws. The overall condition of the rifle is good and it's a shame to leave it in its present condition.

However, the condition of the wood may rule out any practical attempt at refitting the draws. So I have posted some pictures for those who do this sort of work. The rest of the stock is sound, so is this something that is repairable?

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Silverplate
 
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Yes, it is repairable. Yes, it is worth repairing. Pay attention to the guys like DESPORTERIZER or LOU-THE-POU as they do a superb jobs on these.
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I would say it is worth a try. Maybe some Aussie style copper recoil plates might be in order. And glue and a brass screw through the forestock (cut off and filed flush of course). You would have to get some serious grease out of the forestock methinks.
 
WASH it down THOROUGHLY with brake-drum cleaner and start from there.

I use Acra-Glass Gel for building-up missing areas inside the stock and for fixing The Damned Crack (which you have), followed by carefully padding and then lightly clamping the stock together during the curing process (about 24 hours). Once DAMAGED areas are repaired, then you can go on to refitting the woodwork to the rifle. It may not be precisely kosher, but I use the Acra-glass for this purpose also; it is hard, permanent and does NOT require as much maintenance as exposed wood. I am quite sure the factory would have used it, but it still was 60 years in the future.

The Brake-drum cleaner will remove ALL old motor-oil with which the rifle was soaked during its time in Service. The stuff which was issued (Rangoon Oil) tended to be slopped-about on the metal parts with ### abandon and then sank into the WOOD and was absorbed. Petroleum-based oils are emphatically NOT good for woodwork.

So what I do next is slather the INSIDE of the woodwork with RAW Linseed Oil (replacing the natural oils in the wood and strengthening it) until it does not want more. I then wipe it DRY and apply a final coat of Double-Boiled Linseed Oil in order to SEAL the woodwork as much as possible.

You should note that Service instructions for the OUTside of the wood were for it to be wiped down (when CLEAN and DRY, of course) a couple of times a year with RAW Linseed Oil.

You can get both the RAW and the Double-boiled Linseed Oil at any GOOD lumber dealer. A litre of each will set you back about $15 and will last you a coon's age.
 
the11 said:
I would say it is worth a try. Maybe some Aussie style copper recoil plates might be in order. And glue and a brass screw through the forestock (cut off and filed flush of course). You would have to get some serious grease out of the forestock methinks.
Click to expand...
I have a few of the copper recoil plates with screws if anybody needs some-free.
 
Canadian marked No1 is definitely worth repairing. The "king" screw at front of trigger guard is not damaged...the slot is part of the design and only the steel collar is missing. It simply needs to be fitted to correct length. The "dammed crack" needs to be de-oiled and bonded with an oil resistance glue..."Accuglass" or any epoxy will do the job. Once glued check for fit then repair the draws by replacing with "Hardwood"...been described may times and "Google" is your friend. The steel reinforcing plate is missing...you might find one in a cast off sporter stock..I would glue in place with "Accuglass"...pls ensure the plate is not proud of the wood. Do this in steps and check fit after each repair...you'll have an original to rifle stock once your done. Ron
 
Thanks everyone,

Lots of good info here.

I will proceed slowly and start by de-greasing with brake drum cleaner as the stock is very dirty. One question regarding the brake cleaner is does it remove patina or stain the wood? Is there special considerations for protecting the rest of the stock?

Silverplate
 
I find that the brakedrum cleaner lightens the wood, but what is coming out/off is DIRT. When finished, the wood will be considerably lighter in colour.

That's the bad part.

The good part is that the colour should restore to factory when it gets that drink of RLO. Then you seal that with the BLO.

Works for me, anyway.

Good luck, Friend!
 
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