Does anyone have a suggestion for the best glue to fix small cracks in rifle or shotgun stocks?

[ishawooa]

Does anyone have a suggestion for the best glue to fix small cracks in rifle or shotgun stocks?

[Del in KS]

I would fill the crack with Elmer's wood glue. It holds like steel.

[kjflorian]

Gorilla glue works pretty good too.

[CRAWLIFE]

I have tried both glues and they both failed.I too feel your pain.

[rrmont]

You might want to try and epoxy, that should hold just about anything.

[hunt_fish_sleep]

Don't use gorilla glue, I know from carpentry experience that it expands a good deal when it dries. Elmer's wood glue is tried and true.

[steve182]

There are glues you can buy from Lee Valley/ Veritas that come in a Sryinge. They are made for fixing cracks in furniture. I bet it'd work well for gunstocks.

[Beekeeper]

Accu Glass Gel from Brownell's

http://www.brownells.com/

[Jeff Bowers]

I tried several things, and also had several places look at one, but in reality, there is no truly natural looking fix.

One of the first rifles I learned to work on was a good condition K98 Mauser. Several of my friends had one. I stripped the old oil out, and sanded and hand-rubbed in 9 coats of Birchwood-Casey. The wood, being blond, mixed with the red epoxy of the lamination made for a beautiful effect. It was my first good work.

When the stock started a crack I was trying to fix it. I used several glues (Elmer's included). There was a shop that actually sleeves the grip area in metal, covered with a rubberized coat that doesn't look too bad.

But what I took as best advice came from an old Gunsmith at DeerCreek shop in Marietta. Here was his view;

The strongest hold in a wood stock is the nature of the wood "fibers" holding together. If it cracks, and you use glue, that will hold by anchoring into the tiny holes/gaps in the two sides of the split. It may hold for a while, but if the wood was weak enough to split, it will be weak enough to tear away from the adhesive bond. So any "unnatural" bonding is not as good as a single piece of wood.

Now people will say; "There are laminated stocks! Why don't they fall apart?". Companies can use proprietary (patented, complicated) resins, climate, aging, and pressure that us commoners don't have access to. And when mine split, it wasn't down a laminate seam.

So the most responses I got from people I trusted pretty much said the same thing... new stock. But depending on the stress on the rifle, some stuff may have better effect.

Oh, did I mention that I was REALLY dumb then? And that the crack in my Mauser MAY have had something to do with the fact I was shooting some steel-cased, sealed, armor-piercing rounds from boxes stamped "Fur MG42"?

[rudyglove27]

Agreed with Del in KS answer above and A + 1 for you sir!!!