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Hi,
I just won this 1903 rifle stock on egun.
The wood is a bit damaged, but I think a proper refurbishment is possible.
What kind of wood should I take for you, to fill the cut under the mouthpiece?
By the way, is my stock for sure not an A3?
Al comments are welcome.
Regards
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Donki, Use walnut for the repair. I think the stock has the clearance cut for the 03-a3 handguard ring. It's hard to see in the picture. I would not refinish the whole stock just wipe itdown with BLO (just my opinion). Salt Flat
Ok sir, the goal is to leave it as much as possible in its original state, after repair of course.
French Military armorer in the far past have learned to make repairs with patches on the woods.It was a regulatory procedure ordered in the arsenals;was it the same in the US? I have never seen or heard about such an use.
If anyone can talk about it, or better if he can show pictures of these repairs on American military weapons it would be interesting!
Actually we have a couple of members that do repairs on military wood. You could find examples here on forum of their work. What you speak of doing isn't really that hard if approached right. You'll need clean wood in the repair area first, oil and grime free.Quote:
Originally Posted by donki1967
Thank you Jim, I will check on this forum.
similar repairs were made in arsenal or at the slightest damage the whole was changed?
(I ask this because unlike France, the USA has never suffered from shortages of raw materials.)
regards
Yes USA armorers could, and did make biscuit replacements, and crack repairs if time allowed.
I suspect your crushing type injury would have meant a replacement stock in wartime.
As said above though, your repair is easily handled with a good woodworker.
Before you do anything, clean it. BLO does not clean wood. Murphy's Oil Soap or the like, does.
And before you clean it, look closely at the broken spot to be sure it's not rotted or punky(soft).
"...easily handled with a good woodworker..." Yep, but it's unlikely to be cheap.
"...biscuit replacements, and crack repairs..." In peacetime, but not during any war. Time consuming and the skill level required for that job is higher than a draftee is likely to have.
The stock is now renovated;I found a wonderful piece of American black walnut to restore the stock.
But how must the front of the stock be adjusted? the barrel is floating although the upper band is mounted?
Looking forward to seeing a pics of your repair...
Make a shim to go between the barrel and the stock tip so that the barrel is snug against the barrel band
thanks.Pics will be shown this weekend.
As said, here are the first pictures of the mini report about my 1903 A3 stock renovation.
The first step was to remove all the accumulated dirt for years.
I simply cleaned the wood in the fiber direction with "lessive saint marc" .
The surprise was to find a RIA stamp and two P proof marks!
The second step after the heavy cleaning was to find a piece of wood to make the repair!
Luckily I was able to find a nice piece of dry wood from an American walnut plantation that was introduced in Alsace at the beginning of the 20th century ...(Jnglans nigra or Eastern black walnut).
I was a little relieved to have found the raw material.
This is the first time I embark on such work!
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the following was to reduce the sink under the stock, just under and before the front band.
the wood was marked by a shock it seems.
This repair was not too difficult.
Regards
the result.The scant stock allowed me to have a reference.
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Looks much better, now oil...
the front part was badly damaged, it took me a long time to redo the missing part, but I am quite satisfied with the result.
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You have done some excellent work there.
thank you sir, but I do not have too much merit because the technique of restoration I learned it on the forum.
best regards from France
Good as new....👍🏻
Nice job, the repairs look great! Do you have a picture of the finished product once oiled up? How hard was it to match the patina of the existing wood?
Attachment 103573Attachment 103572As I have completely degreased and bleached the wood, I was able to find once finished a shade relatively close to the rest of the stock.Quote:
Originally Posted by formerlyphat