[swany]

I do believe you are at the point you should be taking the fore end off and give it a Citristrip bath also.

I do think you will be surprised at how easy you will get that squared off piece to fit in that missing area. "Fat fingers" and all.


Consider how you will place the piece in the stock. Make your square piece around 3 inches long. Place it in the area and draw some lines on it.

Rough cut a bunch of the excess away and see how well it will fit. Holding it in place while the glue dries and sets should be fairly easy using tape.

Putting an layer of blue painters tape on the wood first will help avoid the glue from the electrical tape.

Plastic electrical tape will stretch into the shape and help hold it square.

Cutting the excess off the 3 inch piece after the glue sets up should be fairly easy, then sand or file to match the rest of the surface.

 

[Finzwake]

Thanks Swany...

I know you're right. I stopped at 2 lumber places today and neither had any walnut.. I'd buy a length if I could find it. Maybe a hobby shop or something

I'll get that fore end off and start stripping tomorrow

And here's a stupid question: The area for this chip is really tiny. Should I file/sand it to make it somewhat larger? My concern is that there is so little surface area for the adhesive to grip... Granted it's not a stress point

 

[mrguvna]

Finzwake:

you are doing a great job, your patience in this process is working and the wood of the stock is really nice, can't wait to see the finished product. I would try and fill the chip with some sawdust or some of the dust from your sanding the stock, mix with a little wood glue and set in place. it might work out nice and eliminate the use of epoxy.

 

[spcl-ed]

Mals is correct in procedure and type of glue, also you must apply a thick coat of past wax to the surrounding area so Essex glue will wipe off with the wax when dry.

you can also install a sliver of wood, pre shaped and dry fitted to replace the missing piece before gluing, and do final shaping and finishing when glue sets good luck.

 

[swany]

File it so it is a square corner to glue your piece into. The glue is generally stronger than the wood so the size of the piece should not make it weak.


Worse case is to buy a piece of tight grained hardwood and dye it to match.

Myself I think I would take a close look at the back inside of your fore arm between the mag tube and bbl area for a sliver of donor wood.


Me I'm the kind of guy that would slim that fore end you got and get my donor piece from the outside. But that is me.

 

[Finzwake]

Thanks all - I'm enjoying this a hell of a lot and spending the time with my son a huge bonus - this is what it's all about.

Just pulled the fore end off and getting ready for tomorrow but got to thinking about Swany's approach: Would a dremel work in carving/slicing off that sliver I need? I'm sure it would but I haven't used one in years - probably need a fresh bit.

Same thought: could I use a dremel to carve the sliver out of the stock beneath the butt pad? This was suggested earlier but I couldn't figure out how without it becoming a train wreck.

 

[sullivan]

Same thought: could I use a dremel to carve the sliver out of the stock beneath the butt pad? This was suggested earlier but I couldn't figure out how without it becoming a train wreck.

Saw this Q last night. Morning now and no replies. Never had to do this so I am guessing.
1) Describe a circle on the flat surface of the butt that is greater than the width and thickness of the missing piece
2) Drill down around the outside of the circle with say, a 1/8th drill or smaller.
3) Keep the holes as close to each other as possible
4) The depth of the holes should be say, 1/4 inch deeper than the length of the chip
5) With luck and if you join up all the holes, you might be able to break off the island of wood at its bottom by levering with a small screw driver down one or more of the holes.

Never done this myself so good luck. Doing it this way, you will have the grain running in the right direction
6) Make the holes bigger if there is not enough leverage

 

[Dave Bulla]

Surely someone here has a piece of Walnut or a broken stock that could spare a sliver for this project? Heck, I might have s piece laying around myself. If I can find I'd gladly send you a piece big enough to do what you need to do.

 

[swany]

Taking it from the inside of the fore stock you might do it with a snapped off piece of a hack saw blade and a small vise grips.

Back of the butt. 1/2 inch hole saw, then you have to get the piece out by snapping it. Maybe if you have a very narrow jig saw aka saber saw blade. Cut a 1/4 inch section and force something in to snap it off. Not me.

Someone here has a piece of wood they can donate. I'm sure of it.

 

[swany]

On a thought of getting someone to donate, I would suggest you go here and ask.

Plenty of the bottom end of pistol grips being sawed off and some may still have a piece. I just looked in my garage, (I've sawed a few off) but must have tossed them.

Pistol Grip to Straight

 

[Finzwake]

Thanks for all of the input... I think I may have found a donor ...! Also, last night I found a place online that would send samples of walnut and others for a few bucks

This site is great... You've all been so generous with your time and ideas

I stripped the fore end today and gave it a good scrub with the steel wool and d-alcohol. Forgot to takes pictures, though, but I'll snap a few tomorrow after drying overnight

Again, many thanks

-- bob

 

[Desparodo]

This reminds me of years ago when I was given my grandfathers Remington model 42 targetmaster that he fed the famiy with quite often. The stock had a big chuck out of the bottom end of it. My wife's grandfather did all kind of woodworking in his little ole shop and lo and behold he had some walnut wood pieces. We went thru his stuff and found a piece that lined up with the grain. I glued it up and shaped with a file and it turned out great. For your problem I would call arouinfd to some cabinet shops as they use all types of wood and at least one should have a piece of walnut. Good luck.

 

[pls1911]

I just got back to this thread, and was reminded why MARLIN OWNERS is such a fine family.
Notwithstanding my successes in stock repair, I always Learn SO MUCH from contributing members EVERY TIME a project like this comes up.
Thanks to all Marlin Owners Brethren!
You are simply the best!

 

[zuikowarrior]

If you haven't found some walnut yet I can send you a chunk Monday.

 

[Finzwake]

If you haven't found some walnut yet I can send you a chunk Monday.

Zuikowarrior... Thank you very much for the offer. I should be in good shape by week's end as a buddy of mine is scouring his shop for a piece but I greatly appreciate the offer

I said it before but it's worth repeating: this site is not only a wealth of information but the generosity in both time, experience and the offering of supplies from you members is outstanding and, in today's "entitlement" culture, a very refreshing reminder of the way things SHOULD and COULD be

Thank you all very much

 

[Finzwake]

Update:

Fastened a piece of Walnut into the squared off chip in the stock. I used Titebond III and wiped up the excess after clamping with moistened paper towel. Let that sit for a day

Sanded the piece using a Dremel to get the piece shaped

Sanded using 320 - may keep working my my way up to a wet sand - hopefully some of the sanding dust will help to fill in the blemishes

I'm pretty happy about the way it turned out - was nerve racking for me having the dremel so close to the stock but slow and easy

I'm disappointed the replacement piece is so much lighter.... Any chance BLO will be absorbed in the new piece more so than the original stock to help match the colors?

If not, suggestions on what I might be able to do even them out?

Thanks

--bob

 

[sandman7925]

It happens, don't feel to bad. Shoot long enough and we all drop a gun. I dropped a brand new one at the range on cement without ever firing a shot out of it yet. The damage was significant (to the rifle and my ego because about 50 people saw it)

 

[cjs1958]

You're doing good. If it were me I wouldn't chance BLO darkening it enough, once you put it on, it's hard to get the oil back out of the grain to darken it. Try it on some of your scrap pieces, if not dark enough, experiment with some stain and a Q-tip. Good luck.

 

[GPSMAPNUT]

IMHO, your stock simply had years to absorb whatever was around it so, it's darker. Give it some years and the new piece will blend in. To speed it up, I would (warning! I never dd it before) mask the stock around the insert and than use good quality, diluted stain in small steps - apply and wipe quickly, apply / wipe. Once close, remove the mask and finish the way you want - personally, I'm fond of TrueOil. I'd expect to see a difference in shade but, if masked correctly, it should look like just a natural part of the original lumber. You will see it only because You know where and what to look for. Everybody else, not aware that it was repaired, will not even notice it.

 

[Finzwake]

Sandman - tough with an audience. Got it fixed up nicely though?

I think I'll take another piece of the walnut I have and hit up a paint store - try the q-tip approach with some stain

I know few others will see it, but we've come so far, why stop now?