I have already read through various posts regarding grip repair and refinishing but would like suggestions for the following two specific problems. I have refinished a few sets of grips but have not performed repairs on cracks.

The first problem is a crack in the butt (okay a butt crack) of both sides of N-frame target grips. The crack is stable. I cannot get it to compress. It only extends about half an inch. The crack is along the grain of the wood. There are a few superficial scratches on the grips so they could stand to be refinished but overall they're in excellent shape except the cracks.

Forgive the picture quality but this shows the "butt crack" is not bad and along the grain of the wood for about a half inch towards the rear of the grips (i.e. towards the left side of the photo of the grip)


The next grip crack is a beautiful set of J-frame diamond grips. The crack is along the grain of the wood and is only partial thickness. It is a very stable crack and there is no change to the crack with compressing the wood.


Thanks,
John
Scoundrel and Ne'er-Do-Well in Training

Our fire wall won't let the pictures come up. What I did on a nicely figured set of factory bananna stocks was to groove the back of the grip panel out under the crack and use Acra-Glas to fill it in. The crack isn't going anywhere now.

Your touch and bravery along with crack location and dimensions will dictate just how thin you leave the wood under the crack. If you're both talented and lucky, you might get the epoxy to flow into and fill the crack (put a strip of Scotch tape on the outside over the crack to act as a dam.

Since they are stable, I wouldn't bother them. If either worsens, you can always cross that bridge later. I have many times done more harm than good. YMMV

You can stabilize it nicely using a cyanoacrylate glue (aka crazy glue) that's made for wood.

It is thin enough to wick into the crack/split via capillary action and soak into the wood fibers, when it dries/hardens, the crack isn't going anywhere. Hot Stuff sold by Brownells, Rockler and Woodcraft Woodworking stores is ultra thin and specifically made to wick into cracks/splits.

That's a common trick used by woodworkers, I've done it with grips, knife handles, pieces of fancy burl or spalted wood that has a spot that's a little too "unstable" to stand up to tooling/machining.

__________________
Conrad
SWCA #1830 SWHF #222

Gator, you say they're stable but I also assume you can feel them and, of course, they bug you. Since I'm the kind that can't leave well enough alone, my suggestion is to take a new drywall knife blade and VERY gently open the crack JUST a touch. Run some glue in the crack as Gunhacker suggests then clamp it together as tight as you can without damaging. Since you say the pieces won't mate together tightly, there's likely old glue in there or the grain is out of alignment. If you want a combo glue/filler, put a drop of water in the crack and work some gorilla glue in. It expands when exposed to moisture. Mask off anything you don't want glue on forever. When it's dry you can sand/ file it back with the tiny tool of your choice. Clean the whole thing with some turps when you're done and top cost with a little teak oil or similar.

SuperGlue for both of the repairs. The stuff draws itself into thin cracks like penetrating oil into metal joints.
On the first set (target Grips) first check to see if the cracked piece isn't detached/loose on the one panel especially. It looks like it and may have old glue or finish in the crack.
Give the chip a decent push-off with your thumb and see if it won't come loose. If it does, clean it off and fit it back on with a bit of internal clearance.

Superglue both sides back in place. A tight fit is best with this stuff. It's not a good filler mat'l.
But as the piece(s) are put in place, lightly sand over the joint w/the still liquid glue oozing out. It'll quickly harden up but with a bit of sanding dust in it to better fill the joint.
320 grit works well. It'll load up fast, but the entire operation is only a few seconds long before the glue hardens over.

Same with the J frame grip crack. Superglue into the crack. Clamp it tight to draw the wood together even a tiny bit if it can. Then sand over the joint to fill.

Let them dry and cure for a few hrs. Then lightly sand or scrape the old finish off and sand the grips. Stain and apply a finish.

I do knife handles and scales for my custom knives. Thin crack and pores can be taken care of by super glue as mentioned. But, it is best to find some thin super glue as it will penetrate and soak in better at least for the first couple applications. Sanding with fine grit while the glue is hardening will help fill if any void. You might have to go online or to a better woodworking store for the thin glue, but it is worth it.

take some sandpaper to the inside of the grips and gather up the dust. push it into the crack and overfill it just a bit. Like a little mound. Then apply your thin superglue. Let it harden and finish as desired. You'll hardly see any evidence of the crack. Used this on wood clarinet bodies when I was a musical instrument repair tech.