What's in the Box?

[ssgross]

I got caught up between my day job and the summer's honey-do list. Father's Day put me back at it though!

A small shard was missing starboard underside. I already had 2 more cracks in the sidewalls I found while doing the top piece that needed spread open and fixed - and a noticeable chunk missing along the edge of the butt. So we mixed some acraglas and took care of all these issues.

The sidewall on the right side is much thinner than the left. In addition to the blowout top and bottom, there were 2 more lateral cracks. I spread these open, filled with acraglas, and smeared more acraglas to coat the inner surface to reinforce it. Hopefully I don't have to take off too much of the addition to get the hammer to fit. I'm punting on that one.

Time to fit up (or re-fit) the frame.


The cause of the initial blowout(s) was obvious during disassembly. Oil soaked end grain allowed fibers to compress under recoil until the thin outer edges bore against the frame. I pulled out all the oil I could from the end grain by smearing on a paste of chalk dust and acetone followed by a heat gun, and then I soaked the entire inletting area in a jar of acetone for a couple days. Lastly, I lightly scraped away the loose fibers.

Any adjustments, either from damage or repairs, to the bearing surfaces changes the alignment of the frame to the stock. So I skim-coated these surfaces with acraglass to make a new starting point. As you can see, the frame is now riding a bit low - original wood is proud on top and recessed on the bottom. Working back the top edge of the replacement piece allows it to slide down...until the recoil surface makes contact under the tang. The whole frame now pivots on this area. There is still a bit more to go. Once I get it where I like it, I will glass bed behind the tang, skim coat any exposed end grain around the edges, and finally set a tiny gap on all areas that shouldn't bear any recoil forces. Lots to do still. I can't see my inletting black on the dark wood inside, so I pilfered some lipstick and got yelled at. Slight delay while I go shop for my own stick! They make neon glow in the dark/blacklight lipstick! Order placed (Jerrows seems out of business)!