Duffel Cut Options

[cipherk98]

So I got my hands on a real nice Kar98, 1917 dated, needs some minor TLC. Namely the gun has a duffel cut. The original owner fixed this putting a finish nail in it, chopping off the head, then sticking the two together with a bit of glue. Needless to say this didn't pass muster when firing it.

Here are some pictures (already took the nail out, and just hand holding it here).





I know the correct way is two dowels to prevent rotation and assure better alignment... however, with a Kar98az, and in test fitting, I found that the front and rear bands will more or less work to align the stock with the full length hand guard as needed. I was thinking simply drilling that hole out, putting a dowel in, gluing it up with everything together, and calling it good.

Now, the tough part here is that the cut was extremely rough, I've already tried to clean it up as best and carefully as I can (old glue here has since been painstakingly removed) and gotten it as good as it will be. When the two ends are placed up against each other there is a small gap in the barrel channel. What are some options for fixing this? Fill it with glue or putty, leave it alone?

Since the gun is going to be a shooter the thought of getting another stock for use and leaving the matching, original one for show did cross my mind... but unlike a Kar98k these earlier guns are very tough to get a stock for and as I've found before, getting them fitted can be another matter altogether.

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[mmppres]

There is a right way to do that an I would check with warpig see if he can correct that

[HOOKED ON HISTORY]

I agree. Plenty to work with. Fix it right the second time.

[englishman_ca]

For a practical repair to fix it up as a shooter, it can be done at the bench with hand tools. Problem being that cleaning up the wood for a joint would shorten the stock a little. Ok in some instances as it is just a small detail, but a good solid repair can be made and the stock length be brought back to original spec. I really don't like filling gaps with epoxy or sawdust and glue or goop or whatever.

The concept is to cut perhaps 1/8 inch off each piece to square off and clean things back to fresh wood, then use two dowels in a horizontal pattern, pieces clamped on the barrel and glued with epoxy with a 1/4 inch thick wooden spacer in between. The spacer is final shaped when the glue is cured.

The less wood removed will mean a thinner spacer. It is a very strong repair.

If one is careful selecting the right wood colour and grain irection, the repair would not be very noticeable except being new looking, but that can be mellowed. . For a really solid repair, I use dowels cut from steel machine screws.

[Badger]

Article in the MKL...

Repairing a K98k duffle cut

Regards,
Doug

[WarPig1976]

Here's the repaired stock. Solid as a rock and will outlast us all.

[browningautorifle]

Looks pretty good, how about an overall pic?

[WarPig1976]

how about an overall pic?

All I have is the stock. I'll let cipherk98 post pics of the whole thing. It'll be a few weeks because instead of shipping we're going to meet up at the next show.

[browningautorifle]

OK, Love to see it if you remember.

[cipherk98]

Looks fantastic! This is why you let the pros do it Decided that while perhaps not impossible for me to do, experimenting on a hard to find stock that was matching was not a great idea, so I took Mike's advice and sent it off.

I will be picking this up in a few weeks and posting a thread on the entire gun in the Mauser section. It's got a fantastical story that goes with it, but I bought the gun, not the story as the gun was really nice too and something I'd been looking to find for quite awhile.