Which thin glue for stabilizing stock cracks?

[k22fan]

Two of my old revolvers’ walnut stocks were split by previous owners over tightening their screws. In both cases a layer of wood started to pull away from the inside stock panel that contains the nut. In both cases the split does not extent to the outside surface and so the damage was not discovered until after the revolvers were purchased. What wood glue is thin enough to run into the cracks?

I’m not inclined to replace the stocks since both are original and the damage might remain out of sight for my life time. One is the most common Ruger Black Hawk grip, the XR3RED so it wouldn’t be hard to replace but the other is on my 1937 Brazilian. From the outside the Ruger looks excellent and the Brazilian looks good.

Just in case some of you are thinking “Now why do you suppose the same unusual damage occurred to multiple guns owned by the same guy?” I’ll add it would be good to ask that if I only owned a few revolvers.

[For the writers in the crowd, does a comma belong after the second ” above?]

 

[VM]

At hobby store they have "very thin" super glue and it works well.
I'll be home after a while and post a picture of the stuff that I've used for years.

 

[Culina]

+1 on the Super Glue, Harbor Freight sells a 0.7oz bottle that is real thin and good at getting to the bottom of hairline cracks. You may even need to apply it a couple of times as it soaks in.

 

[Watchdog]

Just in case some of you are thinking “Now why do you suppose the same unusual damage occurred to multiple guns owned by the same guy?” I’ll add it would be good to ask that if I only owned a few revolvers.

[For the writers in the crowd, does a comma belong after the second ” above?]

To answer your punctuation question, no, a comma is not needed after the second quotation mark. You've completed the sentence with a question mark. Commas aren't used to separate complete sentences.

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

To answer your punctuation question, no, a comma is not needed after the second quotation mark. You've completed the sentence with a question mark. Commas aren't used to separate complete sentences.

Oops, as they say in EOD. Question mark or not, it wasn't a complete sentence, so his question stands. IMO, he has to choose between grammatical rules and clear expression. I prefer the latter, which would mandate a comma, but maybe I'm completely wrong and there is some authoritative source that DOES permit a comma.

Also, IF the sentence were ended, two spaces should follow the end of the sentence, not just one.

YMMV, but probably one of us would be wrong.

 

[k22fan]

VM and Kurac, thanks for the tips. I know you two deal in stocks and in Kurac’s case make them, so I know it’s advise from good sources.

 

[k22fan]

[...] maybe [...] there is some authoritative source that DOES permit a comma.

Where's SP when we need him? Should I edit "+P burst my pencil barrel" into my thread title?

 

[smokey04]

google stew-mac .com Nick

 

[VM]

actually "super thin" - my mistake. I think hobbytowns are nation wide.
This bottle was $4 bucks and last forever. It cures FAST 1-3 sec
PM if you need help
Mike

 

[steelslaver]

And it the crack is a bit bigger than hairline after a couple applications of thin some regular can be used and sanding dust frrom similar wood worked in before it sets. Once full a little light sanding after a light coat of CA will often make the crack look like natural grain. Small holes can become small knots.

 

[k22fan]

Insta-Cure looks perfect for stocks that can be held together with your fingers. I’ll have to practice squeezing mine together to see if I can do it fast enough. I may need to use a spring clamp, something like a small welder’s clamp. I wonder if there is a slower drying super thin.

I’m about an hour and a half away from the closest Hobby Town. I’ll have to search locally.

 

[VM]

Insta-Cure looks perfect for stocks that can be held together with your fingers. I’ll have to practice squeezing mine together to see if I can do it fast enough. I may need to use a spring clamp, something like a small welder’s clamp. I wonder if there is a slower drying super thin.

I’m about an hour and a half away from the closest Hobby Town. I’ll have to search locally.

be careful getting your fingers in the glue - you won't get them off the wood easily.
And I think you'll find similar products at any good hobby store

 

[jonbearman]

I use Loctite 420 and it is super thin and goes to the bottom of any crack. I apply it with a tooth pick.

 

[clang444]

Many Hobby Stores carry a super glue called Zap A Gap that is an excellent product to fill and seal cracks. They also make Zap CA if you prefer a really thin product.

I've made many wood repairs with these products and can recommend them highly, especially the Zap A Gap (the Zap CA is a little too thin for me).

You can also order these products from *bay with free shipping.

 

[old 1911 fan]

Use a cabinet maker/ laminates trick. Use a syringe with a fine needle to apply the glue. I've done it with super glue. I don't know about the others. The needle gives you great control over the amount and placement. Glue on the finished surface gives the finisher headaches.

old 1911 fan

 

[2152hq]

Just a plain super glue,,doesn't need to be any special thin stuff in my experience.

None I've ever used is very heavy consistancy and always seems to crawl into a crack in a piece of wood like penetrating oil.
With a few seconds of manipulation of the loose piece of wood once a bit of the glue has been introduced to the cracked area,,it'll spread into the smallest of cracks and splits.

I lay a piece of waxpaper or thin card stock over the damaged area and clamp a piece of smooth wood over than. That'll press it down smooth. The paper/card allows the wood piece to be easily pulled or twisted free of the grip & glue area. What little paper is stuck to the area is quickly sanded or scrapped off as it's nice and flat already and the paper residue will only be a few .000 thick.

You can actually do the same repair with white carpenters glue. It sets a lot slower of course and you have to tease some into the cracked area w/a toothpick or something similar. It won't run in like the superglue does. Same clamp and finish procedure.

None of these will work well if the grips are oil soaked. The Brazilians may very well be.
Acetone or Laquer Thinner will get that clear so the superglue works well.
Even just a local application w/a small brush a few times till the wood in the damaged area looks dry of oil,,both evaporate fast,,then quickly apply the superglue fix.
I've done that with good results on some small repairs where the owner didn't want to get into a full strip and finish job.

 

[Dennis]

Used CA on clarinet bodies when I was repairing musical instruments. As stated above. I used to use a heavy needle to apply. Acetone as related above if needed to degrease first.

 

[ontargetagain]

Wood grain has a mind of its own. Drying out, absorbing humidity is a continuous stress on wood. Keeping wood in an environment with the correct humidity will greatly help extend its life.

I have done a lot of woodworking, Elmers Carpenters glue is always a good choice and it will dry just about clear and there are offerings in darker glue for darker woods. However when you introduce glue into a void it will have different properties for expansion and contraction and may not help a situation at times.

A good idea would be to 'relieve' the stress crack at each end by drilling a small hole at each end, this will disperse the pressure in a radius and likely stop the continuation of the crack. The other option may be to soak the wood on the inside since it is bare wood with something like linseed oil or teak oil. That too will help equalize the internal pressures of the grain.

I hope some of this is helpful.
Karl

 

[g8rb8]

Hidden in the upper portion of the left grip (stock) forward of the S&W medallion is a split fixed with thin super glue from Home Depot. My technique: while sanding the old finish off I allowed dust to build up on the grips; next using a tiny brush I brushed away just the dust off the crack and then delicately placed super glue onto/into the crack and while the glue was setting up gently sanded over the crack with about 400 grit sandpaper allow the dust to intermix with the super glue and then continued sanding until the super glue residue outside the crack was removed; next finishing off with about 3 coats of thinly applied with an old t-shirt Minwax Tung Oil Finish.
John

 

[garbler]

As a woodworker and former gunsmith I've done my share of successful and unsuccessful stock repairs. To keep it brief almost all older revolvers that have seen some use have wood grip panels heavily fouled with gun oils and various cleaning/preservation products all of which prevent reliable adhesion with any type of glue.

You either have to flush the crack zone with a solvent like lacquer thinner or BrakCleen at the risk of damaging the adjoining finish and color and having to undertake a complete soup-to-nuts refinish or stabilize the crack from the back. A lot depends on the wood and grain structure since many if not most of these failures are following a natural weak grain boundary. In cases like that I have had very good success with a Foredom or rotary Vee bit and carefully plowing a shallow Vee trench along the crack, cleaning it several repeated steps with acetone, Lac thinner or whatever then filling the groove with a gap filing medium viscosity epoxy leaving it a bit high to allow settling or migration into the crack. Hand tools will also do as well and are perhaps safer for those who are real comfortable with high speed rotary tools. Do not force or spread the crack thinking better penetration with the epoxy or you'll run the risk of seep thru into the front of your grip.

The down side to this technique is a minor visible repair on the back side which can be finessed and blended but the epoxy will bridge and stabilize the grip

Good luck