I recently got my 1918 SSA rifle out and stripped the front wood and metal off it. Not just for fun, but to look at some patches of rather healthy pitting to see if the rust was dead dead or still active. Anyhow..the rust seems more or less extinct for the time being.

I looked the forearm over and noticed it was missing a small chunk at the rear....can look up the trigger slot and see part of the threaded brass reinforce pin where a chunk of wood fell out! Then looking at the draws themselves it's obvious they are hammered/worn back about a sixteenth inch or so on either side.

I read up on the 'repairing draws' Laidlericon article....did some checks to see how loose my Short Lee was in the wood. Doesn't seem just horrifyingly loose. It is loose enough that I can pump it back and forth a bit. It can't slip too far forward because the wood hits the charger lug(right side)….can't go too far back as it hits the buttsocket….

Yes it's loose about a 1/16" and appears that maybe dirt rust and grease has/had taken up most of the slack in the past. I've never noted the front wood being loose when the rifle is fully assembled.

I figure I better degrease that area of the wood and repair the missing wood chunk...But I'm curious if I can simply epoxy bed the two draws back to shape. The wood looks ok and not cracked or busted-out(like the missing bottom chunk)...is there any reason I shouldn't just re-face the draws with epoxy and fit it back to the action??

Thanks..HT
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