Stock removed Now What?? Pictures/Crack

[CLAYBORN]

I finally got the stock off and now to fix the crack. It is on the left side and goes from the receiver to where the cut outs are. I tried to take some pics and spread the crack with my hand while taking the pics. Not a very good job. Any advice. Think apoxy would do the job. Would like to fix it right the first time, because the second time might not come. Repair a repair is a problem. Any advice would be helpful.
Later,
Clay

[Twice Barrel]

Clay I think we have been through this before. Make some small wedges out of round toothpicks. Insert them into the crack to spread it as much as you can without lengthening the crack. Mask off the finish around the action cuts. Mix some 5 minute epoxy and get your wife's blow dryer out and force the epoxy into the crack with the warm air (works best on the low setting). Pull out the wedges. Wrap the stock head tightly with surgical tubing, wipe off the excess epoxy that squeeze out of the crack and leave the damn thing alone for at least a day. If you want to get fancy send me a PM and I'll talk you through inletting a staple to reinforce the repair.

[ASavageFox]

Clay,

Looks like you got good advice already but if you are not a member... being a member would be helpful... there is a whole right up with pictures of just such a repair in the members only section.

[Twice Barrel]

Clay,

Looks like you got good advice already but if you are not a member... being a member would be helpful... there is a whole right up with pictures of just such a repair in the members only section.

First let me say that I have been participating in this forum since it was formed and there are some things I really need to get off my chest. As a non-paying member my advice is not available through the "members only section". Not that I cannot afford to join "the club" but as a matter of principal I refuse to join the "Club" and pay for what is and should be available through the public domain. Remember the stated purpose of this Board was to further the knowledge of and interest in Fox guns but it seems that it now more interested in extorting money from visitors seeking advice that the members of this organization should be perfectly happy to share with any and all. Maybe there needs to be a banner on the Technicana forum that asks "Have you tried posting your question on Doublegun or Shotgun World first"?

[idler]

Hi,

As a "member" I would like to reply, In the real wourld, everything costs money, there is no free lunch or any other thing etc. The info in the free sections is priceless and one should be gratfull for that.
The low cost of membership is one of the rare "bargains" in this world.

Idler

[JakeFlyFish]

I've been a gunsmith since 1976, restocked countless doubles, but when I paid dues to this board and joined, the areas I could access opened up new ideas others have been kind enough to share with all of us. I think the money paid for the dues is practically nothing compared to what the board has to offer. If you had to pay someone for the knowledge tossed around here you couldn't afford unless you had very deep pockets. Jerry

[JakeFlyFish]

Also, for what it's worth, sometimes the crack is so oil soaked it will never hold. If you can saw through the crack, I've often done that, simply make a cut through it which removes the old wood and opens the area to some new wood without oil/grease to mess up the bond. I almost always use Acra-gel or Acra-glas and I cut on the bandsaw a thin strip of wood, roughed up on both sides to insert where you made the cut. THE WOOD INSERT CANNOT BE WIDER THAN THE CUT YOU MADE OR YOU WILL CRACK THE STOCK EVEN FURTHER. Sorry about the caps but that's critical. Hope this works out and I hope you'll reconsider and join the board. It's a very helpful crew on here. Jerry Andrews

[saddlesore]

Not a membre here, but will offer my advice. Correct on the oil soak as stated above .Correct, use a good epoxy like Brownell's Acraglass. not just any 5 minute epoxy.

On 24hourcampfire forum, there is a poster Sitka Deer. He has a method of using epoxy by heating the stock and then appplying the epoxy, letting the vacuum as the stock cools suck in the epoxy. You can go to that forum and do a search for stock repair and therr is no membership.

I will say concerning the mebership fee that in all my years, I have nerver encountered such a forum.Sounds like you almost need a secret handshake too.. Some forums ask for donations to help pay for the forum expenses.
I am a part time stock maker in the winter.Not professional,but good enough to help some freinds out and make a few bucks. In the summer, my passion is raising and training mules,hence the user name. I have been doing it for 40+ years. I can go all over the world on the internet and ask questions about problems that may arise and find many folks willing and ableto help. Certainly that information is just as valuable in training a $5000 mule as fixing a $2000 shotgun.

With my long experience ,I mostly get asked quetsons rather than the opposite,and never considerd asking for money in return fo rmy help.

[oldwoodcock]

Clay, Twice Barrel has given you sound advice here quite a few times as well as others. If this is the 1912 "pin" sw and you are attempting to do a do it yourself restoration (quick fix) from your post of August 20,2010 the best advice with no intent to offend is stop what you are doing and send that stock out to a qualified stock restorer. Right now you are probably scratching your head saying what have I got myself into. Find a junker double with bad wood or some bad walnut and practice, practice, practice. Then when you are done practicing if you are honest and any thing like countless thousands of gun owner wanna be gunsmiths you'll not be at all satisfied with the result and say "I should have sent this to someone that really knows walnut and the art of wood working." Yes , it may cost something but, honestly if you are going to keep this gun and really want it right then invest in it. In the end it will give you that feeling of satisfaction that you are looking for. Just my opinion and you know what opinions are like....Paul

[JakeFlyFish]

As a gunsmith that gets many " home fixes " in the shop that's some pretty good advice. Every once in a while though you'll get a guy/gal who just has ability coming out the hind end and can do some of these repairs with excellent results. With that being said, it's the exception rather than the rule however. Jerry

[CLAYBORN]

Got the stock head glued with epoxy and was satisfied with the glue job. Used the hair dryer like Twice Barrel suggested. I then worked hard and installed a staple in the stock head. I used Brownells acuglass to inlay the staple. I was very pleased with the outcome for the first time. It has taken me a long time to get this far. To get the courage to go ahead and cut the channel drill the holes in a 1912 stock. I sometimes think I'm crazy and I'm sure some of you do also. Now that I have the staple in I'm going to glass bed the stock to the receiver. When I get that done, I'm going to install a recoil pad and then refinish the stock. Then off to Clint for re-checkering. When I started on this project I didn't even know how to take the stock off. I have been working and gathering information for 9 months. Not moving along as fast as I would like, but I know that hast makes waste. Thanks for listening to me vent. Each time I finish some phase I sigh with relief. Want to get some before and after pic, but might be awhile the rate I'm going.
Later,
Clay

[Twice Barrel]

Good going Clay. There is sure a lot of self satisfaction doing things for yourself isn't there. Have you decided what type of finish you are going to use? I believe the original would have been a hand rubbed oil but later on Fox changed to Duco which was a Dupont nitrocellulose-based lacquer made for wood finishing and used on fine furniture especially pianos.

[CLAYBORN]

Steve,
I have had alot of satisfaction in this project. Really scared at times, but things seemed to work out. Not sure what type of finish. Need to learn some about that also. I like the hand rubbed oil. I have a few dents to steam out if I can. The recoil pad will give me the length that I need. Can't wait to shoot. Can you believe that I have never shot this gun. When I got it the stock was cracked so I decided to repair it, not thinking it would take so much time and effort. Hoping to get another Fox that needs repair someday and then I can reuse all my knowledge. Foxes are not easy to come by here in Montana, or anywhere else I suppose. Good to hear from you.
Later,
Clay

[Vol423]

That is an easy repair by a professional stock man. Not me, I scratch my head sometimes on simpler things. I recommend two places to send the work: One is Clint Meier in MO and the other is Doug Fulton of Stockfixrs in Washington. I have had work done by both of them and they both are really good. Doug can repair anything, in my opinion. But he is really backed up. It took over a year for him to get to repairing a little prewar German combo gun stock that was completely broken through at the wrist. Clint could probably get to it faster, and this is a pretty simple job for him. Google them. I have their contact information somewhere if you can't find them.

[Twice Barrel]

Steve,
Hoping to get another Fox that needs repair someday and then I can reuse all my knowledge. Foxes are not easy to come by here in Montana, or anywhere else I suppose. Good to hear from you.
Later,
Clay

OK Clay now that you have a big ole 12 gauge it's time to start looking for a small frame. Even fixer upper 20 gauge's are a bit hard to find at a decent price but I have notice several 16 gauge guns that could use a bit of TLC in the $750.00 to $800.00 range. Once you start using a small frame Fox all your other guns will become closet Queens.