Aged gunstocks eventually develop cracks and splits from the repeated impacts of use. Unfortunately the wood by that time is well-soaked with gun oil. Gun Oil is a light petroleum distillate and ensures that nothing really sticks to the wood. Effective gunstock repair is achieved by following the instructions below.
Cleaning the Gunstock
The start of our gunstock repair is to clean the gun oil from the wood. The treatment that works best is to first dissolve out the oil by immersion in a volatile solvent. Turpentine or white spirits are ideal solvents.
Immerse the pieces of broken gunstock totally in the solvent (use weights as needed to hold it fully immersed). Allow them to sit for 2 to 4 days. The oil in the wood migrates by diffusion into the free solvent surrounding the wood. It is replaced by solvent diffusing into the wood where the oil was.
Remove the wood every few days and discard the used solvent. Replace the used solvent with fresh. That is one cleaning cycle. Perform 6 to 12 cleaning cycles to reduce the gun-oil concentration in the wood to a negligible level.
Removing the Solvent from the Broken Gunstock
The solvent itself is now removed from the wood so that glues will stick. Not only excess oil in the wood, but solvents in the wood will reduce glue adhesion weakening the gunstock repair. This is true even if the solvent is used to clean-up wet glue line. I recommenced patience rather than heating. The rate of solvent migration from the interior of the wood to the surface is diffusion limited and is little influenced by heat. Place the parts in front of a fan at ambient conditions for about a week, perhaps two. When a sensitive nose in cupped hands is placed against the wood and no odour is detected the solvents are gone. at that point the broken gunstock is ready to be glued.
Gunstock Repair – Gluing the Broken Cleaned Gunstock
We recommend our Oak and Teak Epoxy adhesive to glue the broken gunstock together. It adheres strongly to all woods, penetrates deeply and fills voids.
Dispense equal amounts of the components and mix them thoroughly.
Follow the instructions, and allow time for the glue to settle. Wet the parts of the broken gunstock with the mixed adhesive, and remember not to clamp the parts too tightly. We do not want to squeeze the glue out of our gunstock repair.
For full instructions on the use of this adhesive, see the product page Oak and Teak Epoxy Resin.