22/02/2025
This was an interesting repair that came in; a previously repaired tang cheek had decided to removed itself from the rest of the stock. The owner was keen for a resolution - it was a gun his now deceased mother had bought for him prior to her death.
The stock had been pinned with a pair of dowels, and was nicely done visually in that it was virtually invisible. Over time though, recoil, and the travel of gun oil had opened up cracks, leading to the failure of the prior work.
Step one was a long, hot January encouraging the oil to wick out. A quick test with acetone demonstrated that the long treatment was required, especially as the remaining wood was so thin. At this point I was referring to the gun as The Pirate - the dowels looked to me like two peg legs. It was very hot, delirious summer too, on reflection.
Step two was pinning the stock laterally, and then gluing it back together with the assistance of silicone tubing as a clamp. You can see the immediate result and unwrapped tubing.
Step three was cosmetic work; the glue line was pleasing, but needed work as anticipated to get rid of excess. The previous repair had left a bridle like line across both panels of checkering, which I was hoping to minimise. You can see cracks in some photos that needed filling and repair too. When repointing the checkering to conceal the 'bridle' I was pretty surprised at how rough the factory checkering is in places - skipped lines - unfinished points in corners etc, which can be seen in the photos. Working under magnification and the right light makes for some alarming discoveries on factory guns.
Step four was tarting up the finish, which had suffered over the years - and was clearly rougher and more marked than the fore end. The repairs and checkering needed work as well. A cut back, and then some rubbed oil/poly finish completed the job. Taking the marks out completely was going to be beyond the scope of the work - but a cut and polish got it looking significantly better. There's photos of the progress there, as the finish evens and deepens.
Reflecting on the result, it would have been nice to not see the prior repair - which can be seen as two circles in the checkering - and of course the break lines - see photos - but there's only so much you can do within the scope of work.
Most significantly, the owner of the gun is delighted. It'll go a few more rounds of clays, and most importantly, remain a functional memento of his mother, exactly as she intended.
