Epoxy for Stock Repair

Tyler

Tyler

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Hey gents,

So I've got an issue with a K98: the stock immediately behind the recoil lug and in front of the magazine well has cracked horizontally, allowing the recoil lug to 'set back' into the stock.

The repair seems straight forward, but this is a laminate stock. Thankfully it doesn't appear to be oil-soaked, but is there an appropriate or 'best' epoxy for this kind of glue job? Would dowels or brass thread stock be useful here?

Thanks for any help!
 
If I understand OP, he is looking for something to restore the stock's recoil bearing surface back to where it used to be. If so, do not make mistake that I did. I bought big containers of Devcon - and ended up to throw most of it away when it set up, way past it's expiry date. So, lately - I have been buying "just enough" of those small squeeze tube sets of JB Weld - seems to work "good enough" - once I open them though, and use the stuff, I toss what is left in garbage. Likely is other "better" stuff - Acraglas Gel and similar - but I can not find small containers of it (or ANY) to buy locally. If trying to coax a glue into a crack in some wood - I would go with "Hot Stuff" - not an epoxy - I think I got that from Lee Valley when I needed some - but same deal - I no longer keep previously opened containers of "stuff", if I can help it.
 
Can you force the crack open further to insert some adhesive? If so, I'd go with something like PL Premium construction adhesive. That stuff bonds wood together stronger than the wood itself. But, its thick and you would need to force it in. Perhaps loaded into a large syringe and large gauge needle?
 
The flat section behind the cross bolt/recoil lug comes right out. It's like the recoil lug took out a chunk of wood of approximate equal size as it travelled backwards.

I tried a Class II carpenters glue for a first go: no bueno.
 
Tyler said:
Hey gents,

So I've got an issue with a K98: the stock immediately behind the recoil lug and in front of the magazine well has cracked horizontally, allowing the recoil lug to 'set back' into the stock.

The repair seems straight forward, but this is a laminate stock. Thankfully it doesn't appear to be oil-soaked, but is there an appropriate or 'best' epoxy for this kind of glue job? Would dowels or brass thread stock be useful here?

Thanks for any help!
Click to expand...

Check out the IFC Epoxy at Lee Valley. The G-1 is fantastic stuff. 1:1 Mix and incredibly strong. I used it to build aircraft wings.
 
Not sure I fully understand the problem but, if I understand correctly, the OP needs to fill a gap as well as glue a crack. PVA type wood glues are not a suitable choice because they have no gap-filling capability. I think epoxy is a better choice and it can be mixed one way to repair the crack and another way for gap filling. Epoxy becomes much thinner when heated and I frequently heat both parts in hot water prior to mixing and applying. The hot epoxy will more readily weep into a small crack, and could likely be injected into the crack using a hypodermic syringe without a needle. You might have to slightly enlarge the hole. For the gap filling, the epoxy should be thicker, so mix it at room temperature and add a fiberglass floc to add body and greatly increase strength. You can do both operations at the same time if you take a moment to plan things out and use a slower set epoxy.
A couple of points about epoxies.
-Both parts of older stiffened epoxy can be rejuvenated by heating them in a water bath. I am quite certain you can do the same with Acraglas. Don't toss them before trying that.
-The faster set epoxies are not nearly as strong as the slower set formulas.
 
simple repair
clean the crack best you can
fill it full of cotton from cotton ball
color it let dry
fill it with crazy glue
let it set
lightly sand
drys hard enough to drill
the cotton will fill the crack something like calking a boat so really pack it in
If you do not color it it will set up white the color of cotton
 
Lee Valley has or had an epoxy called West Systems, it’s a 2 part epoxy. There’s also a high density filler you can add to the mixed epoxy if you need to fill voids. We used to use it to glue delaminated skis and snowboards back together, it’s strong stuff.
 
One could of course make a big job out of it... I use aero laminating resin which can be thickened with glass etc. where needed.
In this case bedding and stock stiffening was done in one go with carbon cloth rovings also going left to right.

Did this one many moons ago.

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Butcherbill said:
Lee Valley has or had an epoxy called West Systems, it’s a 2 part epoxy. There’s also a high density filler you can add to the mixed epoxy if you need to fill voids. We used to use it to glue delaminated skis and snowboards back together, it’s strong stuff.
Click to expand...

There is a product available from Aircraft Spruce and Specialty called Cotton Flox. It makes a great filler when mixed into the epoxy. It is considered to be structural so no worries about losing strength in the repair.
 
Thanks for the advice so far gents. There's no gap to fill, as I have the wood for it still. It's a 1x1 inch chip taken from the area between the recoil lug and the mag well.
 
I gather there’s nothing supporting it as it’s got the recoil lug in front and mag well behind it? A combination of epoxy and some brass screws might be the solution, I know in the Lee Enfield when the draws needed repairs they would replace them but it has the reward portion of the rest of the forend to support it. Unlike the area on yours, a mechanical advantage like a screw might be the way to go.
 
Some of the Mauser action rifles have a cross-bolt (screwed together) across the stock, from one side to the other, between the recoil lug and the magazine well.
I'd be inclined to glue the chip back in with a wood glue, then put a cross pin (1/8 or 5/32 brazing rod would work for me) with epoxy after the chip was glued in.
 
You can get a bag full of threaded brass cross pins/rods for stock re-enforcement &/or repair from Brownell's, and work well. You drill a pilot hole, thread them in as one end has a flat screwdriver slot, and grind off to fit. They are used where one end or even both are visible. I've used larger threaded steel rods when fixing stocks completely broken at the wrist, but in those cases all is hidden as they were drilled from inside while the action was removed.
 
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