VZ24 handguard repair

[Claven2]

This is the handguard repair as-received on my RC VZ24:

Yikes! This was horrible. There was more mastic or resin than wood in the repair, it did not even fill the dovetail (too short) I've seen a lot of com bloc repairs and this was the worst I had ever seen. I HAD to make it better.

The original repair was a piece of beech used in a beech handguard. I had some spare beech planks, so I decided to use beech for the repair as well.

The old repair was slotted with a hacksaw and chiseled out, then cheaned up with triangular files. New piece of beech hand-filed to a tight fit and glued in place with 2-part wood epoxy mixed with sanding dust.

Dressed flush:

Then lightly stained with walnut stain and oiled with linseed:

MUCH better

 

[camster]

Good job!

 

[Pblatzz]

What was that on the RC repair, pine tar? Was that bark on the top?

and it looks much better now. good work.

 

[Nabs]

Wow, I wish I had your wood working skills, that would fix a few of my milsurps.

 

[Claven2]

No, it don't think it's pine-tar. It's either a stained mastic or some type of shellac-based paste that hardens like fibreglass resin. It's really difficult to file too.

The problem was not the adhesive, but that the patch itself was way too short, so basically half the patch was resin, not wood.

It looks proper now.

 

[Pblatzz]

Rifle looks great, I have always wanted a VZ24...

 

[Claven2]

Well, you could buy one...? Lots left at P&S and Tradex.

 

[Pblatzz]

Yes, I have been looking at them, have to get a few projects done.

 

[y2k]

Go with Tradex.

 

[Nabs]

P&S has one Czech one and, I think, two Romanian ones.